Six eurozone states risk EU budget rule breach in 2018
The national budgets of six eurozone countries may break EU deficit rules next year, the European Commission said on Wednesday, issuing what has become a frequent plea for governments to stay within the limits.
The regulations, set out under the bloc's Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), say that EU countries should have nominal budget deficits below 3% of economic output and public debt below 60%.
For 2018, the draft assumptions of Belgium, Italy, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and France posed a risk of not cutting the structural budget gap - which strips out business cycle swings and one-offs - fast enough, the EU's executive said.
"We ask (them)....to take the necessary measures... to ensure that the 2018 budget will be compliant," Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis told a news conference.
Since the Pact was introduced in 1997, not a year has gone by without at least one EU country's public finances overshooting one or other target.
Eurozone finance ministers complain that the rules have become too complex and their application by the Commission has not been consistent, and the two sides are exploring ways to make the framework simpler.
The Commission has the power to...
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