eunbil · GT0N114861 · 2006-04-28 00:00:00 — 48/2006 - Provision of deficit and debt data for 2005 Euro-zone and EU25 government deficit fall to and of GDP respectively Government debt at and In 2005 the government deficit1 of the euro-zone2 and of the EU25 fell compared to 2004 while the government debt1 increased. In the euro-zone the government deficit decreased from of GDP in 20043 to in 2005, and in the EU25 it fell from to . In the euro-zone the government debt to GDP ratio rose from in 2004 to in 2005, and in the EU25 from to . It should be noted that, for and , has to undertake further examination of deficit and debt data. Further explanations can be found below. 2002 Euro-zone GDP market prices (mp) Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt EU25 GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP 7 248 715 -182 843 -2.5 47.7 45.1 4 938 669 68.1 9 842 110 -229 641 -2.3 46.8 44.4 5 950 191 60.5 2003 7 455 906 -226 498 -3.0 48.2 45.1 5 168 842 69.3 9 989 761 -299 554 -3.0 47.5 44.5 6 194 500 62.0 2004 7 753 484 -213 268 -2.8 47.5 44.7 5 410 264 69.8 10 464 313 -277165 -2.6 47.0 44.3 6 533 165 62.4 2005 7 991 277 -188 518 -2.4 47.5 45.1 5 654 588 70.8 10 839 380 -251 326 -2.3 47.2 44.9 6 867 945 63.4 In 2005 the largest government deficits in percentage of GDP were recorded by (-), (-), (-) and (-). Another three Member States recorded a government deficit of more than of GDP: the (-), (-) and (-). Eight Member States registered a government surplus in 2005: (+4.9%), (+2.9%), (+2.6%), Estonia (+1.6%), (+1.1%), (+1.0%), (+0.2%) and (+0.1%). In all, eighteen Member States recorded an improved government balance relative to GDP, while seven Member States registered a worsening. In 2005, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (), (), () and (). had a government debt ratio higher than of GDP in 2005: (), (), (), (), (), (), (), () and (). In 2005, government expenditure4 in the euro-zone was equivalent to of GDP, and government revenue4 to . The figures for the EU25 were and respectively. Between 2004 and 2005 the government expenditure ratio in the euro-zone stayed the same whereas the government revenue ratio increased. Reservations on reported data5 : considers that the assumption by government in 2005 of of the debt of the railway company SNCB must result, according to ESA95 rules, in a capital transfer from government to SNCB, with an impact on the government deficit by the same amount (equal to of GDP). However, the Belgian statistical authorities have informed of the intention of the Belgian government to introduce legislation to retroactively annul this operation. The accounting consequences of this must be clarified before the next EDP notification in October 2006. : Despite the recent improvement in the statistical processes and good co-operation between and the national statistical authorities of , issues remain related to the Greek government accounts of a structural and systemic nature. will undertake a methodological visit6 in the coming weeks in order to clarify the pending issues (see also Release 120/2005 of ). has withdrawn the reservations in the notification (Release 120/2005 of ) concerning the and . Amendments to reported data7 : has amended the deficit data notified by for the year 2005, due to a reclassification as a capital transfer of a capital injection in the railway company SNCF, by an amount of (of GDP). There is no change in the reported debt figures. : has amended the data notified by the for years 2002 to 2005 for consistency of recording of UMTS licence proceeds. This leads to an increase in the government deficits for 2002, 2004 and 2005 (as well as for financial years 2002/03, 2004/05 and 2005/06) by GBP 1 045 million (of GDP) and for 2003 (financial year 2003/04) by GBP 1 044 million (of GDP). There is no change in the reported debt figures. will clarify several undocumented capital injections reported by some Member States. will also clarify the accounting treatment, in a number of Member States, to be applied to the following issues: securitisation operations undertaken by government, classification of payments for the use of roads, sales or transfers of impaired government claims (notably in the case of foreign claims) and payments in connection with the transfer of pension commitments to government. In addition, the decisions on "The treatment of transfers from the EU budget to Member States" of 15 February 2005 and on "The recording of military equipment expenditure" of 9 February 2006 do not appear to have been applied correctly by a number of Member States. will clarify this issue in the coming months. Background In this news release , the Statistical Office of Communities, is providing government debt and deficit data based on figures reported in the first 2006 notification by EU Member States for the years 2002-2005 for the application of the excessive deficit procedure (EDP). This notification is based on the ESA95 system of national accounts. This news release also includes data on government expenditure and revenue. will also be releasing information on the contribution of deficit/surplus and other relevant factors to the variation in the debt level (stock-flow adjustment), as well as the underlying government sector accounts, on its website, under activities / news, in the coming days. According to the (Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure), government deficit (surplus) means the net borrowing (net lending) of the whole general government sector (central government, state government, local government and social security funds). It is calculated according to national accounts concepts (, ESA95). Government debt is the consolidated gross debt of the whole general government sector outstanding at the end of the year (in nominal value). Interest data for are not yet consolidated. Table of euro-zone and EU25 aggregates: the data are in euro. For those countries not belonging to the euro-zone, the rate of conversion into euro is as follows: - for deficit / surplus and GDP data, the annual average exchange rate; - for the stock of government debt, the end of year exchange rate. Table of national data: these are in national currencies. Euro-zone: , , , , , , , , , , and . In the previous notification, the 2004 government deficits for the euro-zone and the EU25 were and of GDP respectively. The government debt of the euro-zone was of GDP and of the EU25 of GDP. Release 120/2005 of . Government expenditure and revenue are reported to under the ESA95 transmission programme. They are the sum of non-financial transactions of the general government accounts, and include both current and capital transactions. For definitions, see Commission Regulation No. 1500/2000 of 10 2000. It should be noted that, following an amendment to ESA95, the government balance (which may be calculated as the difference between total government revenue and expenditure) is not the same under ESA95 as that of the excessive deficit procedure. Regulation (EC) No 2558/2001 on the reclassification of settlements under swaps agreements and forward rate agreements implies that there are two relevant definitions of government deficit/surplus: The ESA95 definition of net lending /net borrowing does not include streams of payments resulting from swap agreements and forward rate agreements; For the purpose of the excessive deficit procedure, net lending /net borrowing of general government includes streams of interest payments resulting from swap and forward rate agreements. Concerning 2005, for most Member States the difference, if any, between the two balances is minor except in (), (), (), (), (), () and (). The data reported by and are not strictly comparable to those of the other countries, as they have reported interest on an unconsolidated basis, which results in an overestimation of government revenue and expenditure. The term reservations is used as defined in article 8h(1) of Council Regulation 3605/93, as amended. According to the Council Regulation, the Commission () expresses reservations when it has doubts on the quality of the reported data. According to Article 8d(1) of Council Regulation 3605/93 as amended, the Commission () shall organise methodological visits in cases where substantial risks or potential problems with the quality of data are identified, especially as they relate to the methods, concepts and classification applied to the data, which Member States are obliged to report. According to Article 8h(2) of Council Regulation 3605/93 as amended, the Commission () may amend actual data reported by Member States and provide the amended data and a justification of the amendment where there is evidence that actual data reported by Member States do not comply with the requirements of Article 8a(1). For further information on the methodology of statistics reported under the excessive deficit procedure, please see the publication "ESA95 manual on government deficit and debt", second edition (2002), 240 pages, , pdf file free of charge, paper copy (excluding VAT). Recent additions on securitisation, capital injections, classification of funded pension schemes and impact on government finance, lump sum payments to government in the context of the transfer of pension obligations, and long term contracts between government units and non-government partners are available on the website. Issued by: : +352-4301-33 444 Fax: news releases on the Internet: GDP, deficit/surplus and debt in the EU (in national currencies) 2002 GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure* Government revenue* Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt Estonia GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million CZK) (million CZK) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million CZK) % of GDP (million DKK) (million DKK) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million DKK) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million EEK) (million EEK) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million EEK) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP 267 578 -32 -0.0 49.8 49.8 276 164 103.2 2 442 172 -166 787 -6.8 46.7 39.9 702 324 28.8 1 372 738 15 848 1.2 55.2 55.4 643 095 46.8 2 145 000 -79 600 -3.7 48.1 44.3 1 293 000 60.3 116 915 1 205 1.0 36.8 37.8 6 468 5.5 143 482 -7 074 -4.9 49.0 43.9 158 887 110.7 2003 274 582 217 0.1 51.1 51.2 270 552 98.5 2 581 258 -170 558 -6.6 47.2 40.7 774 989 30.0 1 409 163 14 536 1.0 55.3 55.2 625 249 44.4 2 163 400 -86 500 -4.0 48.4 44.4 1 381 000 63.8 127 334 3 019 2.4 36.7 39.1 7 588 6.0 155 543 -8 965 -5.8 49.0 43.2 167 723 107.8 2004 288 089 5 0.0 49.5 49.4 272 874 94.7 2 790 326 -79 869 -2.9 44.2 41.4 855 102 30.6 1 467 312 39 723 2.7 55.1 56.8 624 862 42.6 2 215 700 -81 200 -3.7 46.8 43.2 1 451 000 65.5 141 493 2 140 1.5 36.4 37.9 7 606 5.4 168 417 -11 681 -6.9 48.8 42.0 182 702 108.5 2005 298 180 222 0.1 50.1 50.1 278 231 93.3 2 956 125 -76 695 -2.6 43.7 41.1 901 330 30.5 1 555 134 75 545 4.9 53.1 57.1 556 442 35.8 2 245 500 -74 300 -3.3 46.7 43.4 1 520 700 67.7 164 918 2 627 1.6 35.9 37.5 7 895 4.8 181 088 -8 222 -4.5 46.2 41.8 194 666 107.5 GDP, deficit/surplus and debt in the EU (in national currencies) 2002 GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million CYP) (million CYP) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million CYP) % of GDP (million LVL) (million LVL) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million LVL) % of GDP 729 021 -1 960 -0.3 38.7 38.4 383 079 52.5 1 548 555 -48 785 -3.2 52.6 49.5 901 837 58.2 130 515 -547 -0.4 33.4 33.0 41 853 32.1 1 295 226 -37 085 -2.9 47.4 44.4 1 366 998 105.5 6 370 -284 -4.5 40.6 36.1 4 153 65.2 5 758 -131 -2.3 35.6 33.4 775 13.5 2003 780 550 -204 -0.0 38.3 38.3 381 464 48.9 1 594 814 -66 555 -4.2 53.4 49.2 994 527 62.4 139 097 239 0.2 33.4 33.6 43 252 31.1 1 335 458 -46 036 -3.4 48.3 44.8 1 392 112 104.2 6 815 -428 -6.3 45.3 39.1 4 752 69.7 6 393 -75 -1.2 34.6 33.5 923 14.4 2004 837 316 -1 173 -0.1 38.8 38.7 388 495 46.4 1 659 020 -60 564 -3.7 53.2 49.6 1 069 165 64.4 148 556 2 288 1.5 33.7 35.2 43 743 29.4 1 388 871 -47 652 -3.4 47.8 44.3 1 441 879 103.8 7 254 -299 -4.1 43.8 39.7 5 199 71.7 7 414 -70 -0.9 35.9 34.9 1 080 14.6 2005 904 323 9 933 1.1 38.2 39.3 390 277 43.2 1 705 044 -49 183 -2.9 53.9 51.0 1 138 438 66.8 160 322 1 624 1.0 34.5 35.5 44 194 27.6 1 417 241 -58 174 -4.1 48.2 44.0 1 507 556 106.4 7 740 -186 -2.4 44.7 42.3 5 443 70.3 8 904 15 0.2 36.2 36.4 1 064 11.9 GDP, deficit/surplus and debt in the EU (in national currencies) 2002 GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt (million LTL) (million LTL) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million LTL) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million HUF) (million HUF) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million HUF) % of GDP (million MTL) (million MTL) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million MTL) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP 51 948 -711 -1.4 34.3 32.9 11 591 22.3 24 028 477 2.0 41.4 43.4 1 570 6.5 16 915 000 -1 416 000 -8.4 52.0 43.7 9 295 829 55.0 1 797 -100 -5.6 44.3 38.7 1 101 61.2 465 214 -9 182 -2.0 46.2 44.2 235 079 50.5 220 688 -1 087 -0.5 50.7 50.0 145 591 66.0 2003 56 772 -693 -1.2 33.2 31.9 12 046 21.2 25 684 47 0.2 42.1 42.2 1 625 6.3 18 651 000 -1 196 300 -6.4 49.8 43.4 10 570 770 56.7 1 829 -186 -10.2 49.4 39.2 1 305 71.3 476 349 -14 908 -3.1 47.1 43.9 247 352 51.9 226 968 -3 483 -1.5 50.9 49.2 146 083 64.4 2004 62 440 -921 -1.5 33.4 31.9 12 162 19.5 27 056 -309 -1.1 43.2 42.1 1 782 6.6 20 413 000 -1 098 900 -5.4 49.5 44.1 11 665 411 57.1 1 830 -94 -5.1 48.5 43.4 1 395 76.2 488 642 -9 283 -1.9 46.6 44.5 256 924 52.6 237 039 -2 658 -1.1 50.0 48.8 150 649 63.6 2005 71 084 -372 -0.5 33.7 33.1 13 310 18.7 28 623 -552 -1.9 44.3 42.4 1 774 6.2 21 785 000 -1 334 100 -6.1 50.7 44.5 12 712 240 58.4 1 927 -64 -3.3 47.5 44.2 1 440 74.7 501 921 -1 355 -0.3 45.7 45.4 265 727 52.9 246 466 -3 738 -1. 5 49.6 48.0 155 142 62.9 GDP, deficit/surplus and debt in the EU (in national currencies) 2002 GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt (million PLN) (million PLN) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million PLN) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million SIT) (million SIT) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million SIT) % of GDP (million SKK) (million SKK) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million SKK) % of GDP (million euro) (million euro) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million euro) % of GDP (million SEK) (million SEK) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million SEK) % of GDP 807 860 -25 602 -3.2 44.2 41.0 321 446 39.8 135 434 -3 864 -2.9 44.3 41.4 75 211 55.5 5 355 440 -143 508 -2.7 48.0 45.4 1 591 973 29.7 1 111 484 -85 306 -7.7 43.3 35.7 481 328 43.3 143 974 5 896 4.1 48.8 52.9 59 400 41.3 2 371 606 -5 334 -0.2 57.9 57.5 1 232 212 52.0 2003 842 120 -39 625 -4.7 44.6 39.9 369 786 43.9 137 523 -4 000 -2.9 45.9 42.9 78 433 57.0 5 813 540 -165 684 -2.8 48.1 45.2 1 694 581 29.1 1 212 665 -45 395 -3.7 39.4 35.6 518 291 42.7 145 938 3 650 2.5 50.0 52.4 64 719 44.3 2 459 413 2 013 0.1 58.2 58.0 1 273 163 51.8 2004 922 157 -35 918 -3.9 42.5 38.6 386 303 41.9 142 843 -4 565 -3.2 46.4 43.2 83 781 58.7 6 251 244 -145 157 -2.3 47.6 45.3 1 845 381 29.5 1 355 262 -40 641 -3.0 38.9 35.9 564 106 41.6 151 935 3 525 2.3 50.3 52.4 67 270 44.3 2 573 176 46 756 1.8 56.7 58.3 1 299 558 50.5 2005 967 693 -23 953 -2.5 43.3 40.8 411 432 42.5 147 249 -8 867 -6.0 47.8 41.8 94 071 63.9 6 557 698 -115 447 -1.8 47.3 45.5 1 906 860 29.1 1 472 103 -42 465 -2.9 36.8 33.9 507 428 34.5 155 320 4 094 2.6 50.7 53.1 63 812 41.1 2 673 064 77 424 2.9 56.4 59.1 1 345 494 50.3 GDP, deficit/surplus and debt in the EU (in national currencies) 2002 ** GDP mp Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) Government expenditure Government revenue Government debt Financial year (fy) GDP mp fy Government deficit (-) / surplus (+) fy Government debt fy (million GBP) (million GBP) % of GDP % of GDP % of GDP (million GBP) % of GDP (million GBP) (million GBP) % of GDP (million GBP) % of GDP 1 065 138 -16 817 -1.6 40.9 39.4 400 303 37.6 1 021 419 -564 -0.1 380 510 37.3 2003 1 123 831 -36 715 -3.3 42.5 39.3 438 676 39.0 1 080 511 -23 244 -2.2 399 343 37.0 2004 1 183 752 -38 660 -3.3 43.2 40.0 482 801 40.8 1 138 277 -35 914 -3.2 442 534 38.9 2005 1 228 434 -44 727 -3.6 44.8 41.3 525 919 42.8 1 196 152 -39 535 -3.3 480 414 40.2 * reports, as government expenditure and revenue in table 2 of the annual national accounts transmission programme, data excluding the flows related to defined contribution funded pension schemes. See also annex II of this News Release. ** Data refer to calendar years. Data referring to the financial year (to 31 ), that reflects specific budgetary arrangements in the , are shown in italics. revisions between and EDP notifications The GDP notified in for EDP purposes is the GDP with "allocation" of FISIM (Indirectly Measured), while in the notified GDP was without "allocation" of FISIM. However, reported GDP without FISIM allocated also in . FISIM allocation generally increases GDP, but has no effect on deficit and debt. are shown country specific explanations for the largest revisions in deficit and debt between the and EDP notifications. Deficit : The significant reduction in the deficit for 2003 is mainly due to exclusion of "the maximum amount" of the guarantee (160bn CZK; of GDP) for the Investment and (Investiční a Poštovní banka) from the deficit. : The increase in the surplus for 2004 is due to updated source data on taxes and current transfers. Estonia: The reduction in the surplus for 2002-2004 is mainly due to methodological changes and to the use of different source data. : The increase in the deficit in 2004 is mainly due to a change in the working balance of the state budget and to the downward revision of the surplus of the social security funds. : The increase in deficits over 2002-2004 are related to benchmark revisions in national accounts and to updates of data sources, such as a downward revision of tax collection commissions on lotteries, a downward revision of the amounts obtained from tax amnesties and higher amounts of compensation of employees of government than previously estimated. : The increase in deficit for 2004 is mainly due to VAT repayments by government. : The increase in the deficit for 2003 is largely caused by the reclassification of certain loans from state governments (Länder) to hospitals as capital transfers. This also increases the government deficit in the years 2002 and 2004, although to a lesser extent. : The increase in the deficit for 2004 largely arises from new information on government transactions, notably at the level of local government, and from the reclassification of loans as capital transfers. : The increase in the deficit for 2004 is due to acquisitions of equities reclassified as capital transfers, to higher interest expenditure of the and to revision of data in gross fixed capital formation and VAT. : The increase in surplus for 2004 is due to updated source data. : The increase in the surplus for 2004 is mainly due to updated source data on taxes for central government and on intermediate consumption for local government. : The increase in the deficit for 2004 is due to updated source data on tax receipts and expenditure, resulting from new information on tax accruals. Debt : The increase in debt over 2002-2004 is due to the reclassification of regional transport companies inside the general government sector. The significant decrease in debt from 2003 onwards is due to the exclusion of "the maximum amount" of the guarantee (160bn CZK; of GDP) for the Investment and (Investiční a Poštovní banka) from the debt of government. The decrease in debt in 2002 is due to the inclusion of new information on repayments of debt originating in 1998. : The decrease in the debt for 2002 is due to changes in data sources. : The decrease in debt for 2004 is due to improved consolidation within the central government sub-sector and updated source data for extra budgetary units. Classification of funded pension schemes in case of government responsibility or guarantee On 2 2004 published a decision on classification of funded pension schemes in case of government responsibility or guarantee (News Release 30/2004). As announced on that occasion, organised bilateral discussions with several Member States on the implementation of the decision. In the context of these discussions, it appeared that some Member States might need a transitional period to implement the decision and to avoid disruptions in the conduct of their budgetary policies. This transitional period will expire with the notification of . Therefore, all Member States will have to abide by the decision in the context of the EDP notification at the latest. At present, , , , and have classified their defined contribution funded pension schemes inside the government sector.