2024-07-28 16:54 update: 2024-07-28, 16:59
Photo EPA/PATRICK SEEGER
The EU Council has launched an excessive deficit procedure against Poland and six other EU member states.
EU member states at an EU Council meeting on Friday decided to launch an excessive deficit procedure against Poland, France, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Malta and Slovakia.
The voting on whether to initiate the procedure started on Wednesday and concluded on Friday.
The seven countries covered by the procedure will have between four and seven years to implement remedial measures.
The European Commission decided to cover the seven countries by the procedure on June 19 as in its opinion they had implemented no remedial measures. In addition the Council established that Romania, which is under the excessive deficit procedure since 2020, has not taken effective action to correct its deficit and therefore the procedure should remain open.
An excessive deficit procedure is launched in a member country when its deficit exceeds 3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) and its debt exceeds 60 percent of its GDP. All member states have to respect these Treaty reference values.
The deficit-based excessive deficit procedure aims to ensure that all member states return to or maintain discipline in their governments’ budgets, and avoid running excessive deficits. Ultimately, the goal is to maintain low government debt or reduce high debt to sustainable levels.
Towards the end of the year, the Council will be invited to adopt, on a recommendation from the Commission, recommendations addressed to the member states to take effective action to correct their deficit within a given time period.
The EC is expected to present recommendations for Council recommendations around November.
Poland was earlier covered by the excessive deficit procedure in the years 2004-2008 and 2009-2015. (PAP)
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