Debt and deficits Article 104c sets out the excessive deficits procedure and will form the basis of the assessment. Voting on whether countries have excessive deficits takes place by qualified majority. The Treaty defines reference values for the government deficit of 3 per cent of GDP, and for government gross debt of 60 per cent. The data will be provided by the Commission. Deficits will be measured by the general government financial deficit, which inter alia excludes public corporations and hence privatisation proceeds from sales of publicly owned corporations.
Debt is measured by general government gross debt.
Recent interim assessments of progress towards convergence by the Commission and the EMI stressed the importance of the sustainability of fiscal positions. While the Commission is ultimately responsible for the data used in calculating deficits the member states will reach their own conclusions and judge accordingly. Interest rates Statistical comparisons of interest rates can be difficult, as the use of financial instruments varies between countries. But both the EMI and Commission reports focus on ten year bond yields which are, in most cases, comparable. Since then, the system has changed significantly.