EU initiates excessive deficit procedure against Slovakia

The Council of the EU decided to initiate an excessive deficit procedure against Slovakia and six other member states during its meeting on Friday, following the recommendations previously issued by the European Commission (EC). The EU Council adopted decisions establishing the existence of excessive deficits for Belgium, France, Italy, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia. In addition, Romania has not yet taken effective action to correct its deficit since 2020.

The countries involved will have between four and seven years to carry out corrective actions. When a member country’s deficit exceeds 3 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) and its debt surpasses 60 percent of its GDP, an excessive deficit procedure is launched. All member states must adhere to these treaty reference values.

The excessive deficit procedure is designed to ensure that all member states adhere to disciplined budgeting and avoid running excessive deficits. The ultimate goal is to maintain low debt or to reduce it to sustainable levels.

Source: TASR