COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION Harmonized framework for draft budgetary plans and debt issuance reports within the euro area
Date: 2013-06-27
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: budget deficit, budgetary equilibrium, euro area, public debt, stability pact

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Brussels, 27.6.2013  
COM(2013) 490 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 

Harmonized framework for draft budgetary plans and debt issuance reports within the 
euro area 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

Regulation  (EU)  No  473/2013  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  common 
provisions for monitoring and assessing draft budgetary plans and ensuring the correction of 
excessive  deficit  of  the  Member  States  in  the  euro  area  (OJ  L140,  27.05.2013)  entered  into 
force on 30 May 2013. It builds on and complements within the euro area (EA) the Stability 
and  Growth  Pact  (SGP),  the  European  framework  for  fiscal  surveillance.  This  Regulation 
takes  a  concrete  and  decisive  step  towards  strengthening  the  surveillance  mechanisms 
applicable to all EA Member States.  

The  new  fiscal  surveillance  features  for  EA  Member  States  stemming  from  Regulation  No 
473/2013  mean  increased  transparency  on  their  budgetary  decisions  and  stronger  budgetary 
coordination between them starting with the 2014 budgetary cycle.  

In particular, the new common budgetary provisions include a new coordinated surveillance 
exercise  that  will  take  place  annually  in  the  autumn.  By  15  October  every  autumn,  all  EA 
Member States will submit their draft budgetary plans (DBPs) for the forthcoming year. For 
each  EA  Member  State,  the  Commission  will  then  issue  an  opinion  on  the  DBP  before  the 
adoption of the corresponding national budget. Where, in exceptional cases, the Commission 
identifies particularly serious non-compliance of a plan with the budgetary policy obligations 
laid down in the SGP, a revised draft plan will be requested after consulting the Member State 
concerned.  This  new  common  budgetary  timeline  will  facilitate  policy  coordination  among 
euro  area  Member  States  and  ensure  that  Council  and  Commission  recommendations  are 
appropriately integrated in the budgetary procedure of the Member States 

As established in Article 6(5) of Regulation No 473/2013, "The specification of the content of 
the  draft  budgetary  plan  shall  be  set  out  in  a  harmonized  framework  established  by  the 
Commission  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States."  This  Communication  puts  forward  a 
harmonized framework for EA Member States to submit their DBP. A set of templates are to 
be  found  in  the  Annex,  covering  the  key  budgetary  and  macroeconomic  data  for  the 
forthcoming year as required by Regulation No 473/2013.  

Furthermore,  Regulation  No  473/2013  also  fosters  a  better  coordination  of  national  debt 
issuance plans, establishing a reporting obligation for all EA Member States. In particular, all 
EA Member States are required to ex-ante and timely report on their national debt issuance 
plans. This information will further enable an adequate monitoring of debt developments in 
the euro area and will increase coordination of debt issuance decisions. According to Article 8 
of this Regulation, the harmonized form and content of these reports "shall be laid down by 
the  Commission,  in  cooperation  with  the  Member  States".  Thus,  this  Communication  also 
puts forward a harmonized form and content for EA Member States to report on their national 
debt issuance plans.  

2. 

SPECIFICATIONS ON THE FORM AND CONTENT OF DRAFT BUDGETARY PLANS. 

The guidelines set out below should be considered as a code of good practice and checklist to 
be  used  by  Member  States  in  preparing  DBP.  Member  States  are  expected  to  follow  the 
guidelines, and to justify any departure from them.  

The DBP essentially should present an update of some of the standardized set of tables from 
the Stability Programmes, complemented by detailed information on the measures presented 
in the DBP. 

 
 
 
In  line  with  existing  guidelines  provided  for  Stability  and  Convergence  Programmes,  the 
concepts used should be consistent with the standards established at European level, notably 
in the context of the European system of accounts (ESA).  

The  DBP  should  allow  the  identification  of  sources  of  possible  discrepancies  from  the 
budgetary  strategy  in  the  most  recent  Stability  Programme.  For  this  reason,  besides  the 
required data for the forthcoming year, i.e. the year for which the budget is being drafted (year 
t+1 in the standardized tables in the Annex), the corresponding estimates for the current year 
(t in the standardized tables in the Annex) should also be included, together with the outcomes 
of  the  previous  year  (t-1  in  the  standardized  tables  in  the  Annex),  consistent  with  data 
reported under the excessive deficit procedure.  

A.  Independent  macroeconomic  forecasts  and  assumptions.  Estimated  impact  of 
aggregated budgetary measures on economic growth. 

DBPs should be based on independent macroeconomic forecasts, as set out in Article 6(3) of 
Regulation  No  473/2013.  Accordingly,  Tables  1a,  1b,  1c,  1d  of  the  DBP,  included  in  the 
Annex, present the main expected economic developments and important economic variables 
used in the preparation of the DBP. 

In particular, Table 1a contains data on real GDP rate of change observed in year t-1, and real 
GDP rate of change forecasted for years t and t+1. The estimated impact on economic growth 
of  the  aggregated  budgetary  measures  envisaged  in  the  DBP  should  be  included  in  these 
forecasted growth rates for years t and t+1. Therefore, following Article 6(3)(g) of Regulation 
No 473/2013, this estimated impact on economic growth is recommended to be specified in 
Table 1a or otherwise detailed in the methodological annex.  

The basic assumptions upon which macroeconomic forecasts are based should be presented in 
table  0.i)  of  the  Annex.  Further  main  assumptions  typically  relevant  for  the  production  of 
macroeconomic forecasts are presented in table 0.ii).  Member States may find useful to check 
the  latter  when  trying  to  summarise  the  assumptions  upon  which  the  independent 
macroeconomic forecasts are based.  

Member  States  should  also  make  explicit  whether  the  independent  macroeconomic  and 
budgetary forecasts have been produced or endorsed by the independent body. 

B. Budgetary targets  

The budgetary targets for the general government balance, broken-down by sub-sector of the 
general  government  (central  government,  state  or  regional  government  for  Member  States 
with federal or largely decentralized institutional arrangements, local government and social 
security)  should  be  presented  in  the  corresponding  tables  also  included  in  the  Annex.  As 
stated in Article 7(2) of Regulation No 473/2013, the Commission should assess whether the 
DBP complies with the budgetary policy obligations laid down in the SGP. In order to make 
this  assessment  possible,  structural  budgetary  targets  and  one-off  and  other  temporary 
measures are also among the required information in this section. Compliance with the debt 
benchmark  is assessed against debt developments data,  which should be consistent with the 
previously detailed budgetary targets and macroeconomic forecasts. This information, which 
is required in the tables 2.a, 2.b and 2.c of the Annex, could be complemented with data on 
contingent liabilities that could affect the medium-term government debt position. 

To allow for a comprehensive understanding of the government balance and of the budgetary 
strategy in general, information should be provided on expenditure and revenue targets and on 

3 

 
 
 
their  main  components.  This  information  is  contained  in  table  4a  of  the  Annex.  Bearing  in 
mind  the  conditions  and  criteria  to  establish  the  expenditure  growth  to  be  assessed  in 
accordance  with  Article  5(1)  of  Regulation  No  1466/97,  which  defines  an  expenditure 
benchmark,  the  DBP  also  presents  the  planned  growth  of  government  expenditure  which 
receives a special treatment in the computation of the expenditure benchmark.  

A  breakdown  of  the  general  government  expenditure  by  function  is  contained  in  the 
corresponding tables in the Annex. Where possible, Member States are encouraged to provide 
this  information  broken  down  into  the  categories  detailed  in  the  Classification  of  the 
Functions of Government (COFOG). In any case, according to Article 6(3)(d)) of Regulation 
No  473/2013,  relevant  information  on  the  general  government  expenditure  on  education, 
healthcare  and  employment  should  be  provided,  either  in  the  proposed  table  or  otherwise 
detailed in the DBP. 

C.  Public  expenditure  and  revenue  under  the  no-policy-change  scenario  and 
discretionary budgetary measures. 

Each  Member  State  should  appropriately  define  a  scenario  for  expenditure  and  revenue  at 
unchanged policies for the forthcoming year (i.e. pre-budget, excluding the new measures that 
have been proposed in the context of the budgetary process) and make public the underlying 
assumptions,  methodologies  and  relevant  parameters.  The  'no-policy  change'  assumption 
involves  the  extrapolation  of  revenue  and  expenditure  trends  before  adding  the  impact  of 
discretionary  budgetary  measures  decided  in  the  context  of  the  budgetary  process  for  the 
forthcoming year. The results of projections for the expenditure and the revenue sides on the 
basis of the unchanged policy assumption are presented in table 3 of the Annex, while the set 
of tables 5.a, 5.b and 5.c describe and summarize the discretionary measures in the process of 
being adopted by the different sub-sectors to reach the budgetary targets.  

These three tables should contain an exhaustive technical description of the measures being 
taken  by  the  different  sub-sectors,  together  with  information  concerning  the  motivation,  the 
design  and  the  implementation  of  the  measure.  The  target  of  the  budgetary  measure  should 
also be detailed, in ESA terms, specifying whether it is a discretionary expenditure or revenue 
measure. Furthermore, the precise component of the expenditure or revenue side targeted by 
the discretionary measure should also  be  specified.  This  will  make  the  comparison  between 
the targets and the no-policy-change outcomes feasible. In other words: 

−   On the revenue side, it should be stated whether it is a measure targeting: 

o   Taxes on production and imports (ESA code: D.2) 

o   Current taxes on income, wealth, etc. (ESA code: D.5) 

o   Capital taxes (ESA code: D.91) 

o   Social contributions (ESA code: D.61) 

o   Property income (ESA code; D.4) 

o   Other (ESA code: P.11+P.12+P.131+D.39+D.7+D.9 {other than D.91}) 

−   On the expenditure side, it should be stated whether it is a measure targeting: 

o   Compensation of employees (ESA code: D.1) 

o   Intermediate consumption (ESA code: P.2) 

o   Social  payments  (social  benefits  and  social  transfers  in  kind  supplied  to 
households  via  market  producers  ESA  code:  D.62,  D.6311,  D.63121, 

4 

 
 
D.63131), of which, where applicable, unemployment benefits including cash 
benefits (D.621 and D.624) and in kind benefits (D.6311, D.63121, D.63131) 
related to unemployment benefits should be also specified. 

o   Interest expenditure (ESA code: D.41) 

o   Subsidies (ESA code: D.3) 

o   Gross fixed capital formation (ESA code: P.51) 

o   Capital transfers (ESA code: D.9) 

o   Other 

(ESA 

code: 

D.29+D.4 

{other 

than 

D.41} 

+D.5+D.7+P.52+P.53+K.2+D.8) 

The time profile of the measures should be specified in order to distinguish measures with a 
transitory  budgetary  effect  that  does  not  lead  to  a  sustained  change  in  the  intertemporal 
budgetary position (i.e. in the permanent level of revenues or expenditure) from those having 
a permanent budgetary effect that leads to a sustained change in the intertemporal budgetary 
position (i.e. in the permanent level of revenues or expenditure). According to Regulation No 
473/2013  measures  with  an  estimated  budgetary  impact  above  0.1%  of  GDP  should  be 
described  in  detail,  whereas  those  with  a  budgetary  impact  below  this  threshold  need  to  be 
identified  and  their  aggregated  budgetary  impact  indicated.  To  the  extent  possible,  smaller 
measures affecting  the  same revenue  / expenditure category could be meaningfully grouped 
together. However, in the context of the Economic and Financial Committee Member States 
have  agreed  to  further  improve  the  quality  of  discretionary  tax  measures  (DTM)  reporting, 
committing  themselves  to  describe  in  detail  all  DTM  with  a  minimum  budgetary  impact  of 
0.05% of GDP. Thus, in the context of the DBPs and to improve consistency across reporting 
requirements,  Member  States  are  also  encouraged  to  provide  detailed  information  on  all 
discretionary budgetary measures with an estimated budgetary impact above 0.05% of GDP. 

DBPs  should  also  contain  information  on  the  estimated  budgetary  impact  of  discretionary 
measures at the level of each sub-sector, included in tables 5.a, 5.b and 5.c of the Annex. The 
budgetary  impact  of  all  measures  is  to  be  recorded  in  terms  of  the  incremental  impact  –as 
opposed to recording the budgetary impact in terms of levels- compared to the previous year 
baseline  projection.  This  implies  that  simple  permanent  measures  should  be  recorded  as 
having an effect of +/- X in the year(s) they are introduced and zero otherwise, i.e. the overall 
impact  on  the  level  of  revenues  or  expenditures  must  not  cancel  out.  If  the  impact  of  a 
measure  varies  over  time,  only  the  incremental  impact  should  be  recorded  in  the  table1.  By 
their nature, one-off measures should be always recorded as having an effect of +/-X in the 
year of the first budgetary impact and -/+ X in the following year, i.e. the overall impact on 
the level of revenues or expenditures in two consecutive years must be zero.2  

Depending  on  each  specific  measure,  Member  States  should  adapt  the  dimension  of  these 
three tables accordingly, so they contain as many columns as needed to reflect the complete 
budgetary impact over time. Underlying assumptions used to estimate the budgetary impact of 

1 For instance: a measure which takes effect in July of year t may have a total impact of 100 in the first year and 200 in the years after. In the reporting tables, this should be 

recorded  as  +100  in  year  t  and  again  +100  (the  increment)  in  year  t+1.  The  total  impact  of  a  measure  in  a  given  year  can  be  derived  as  the  cumulative  impact  of  the 

increments since its introduction.  

2 One-off measures covering  more than one  year (e.g. a tax amnesty generating income in  two consecutive  years) should be recorded as two separate  measures, one as a 

measure having its first impact in t and one having its first impact in t+1.  

5 

 
 
                                                            
each measure (e.g. elasticities or evolution of the tax base)  should  also  be  described  in  the 
DBP. Finally, DBPs should also specify the accounting principle on which the data are being 
reported: by default, they should be reported on accrual basis, but, if impossible, it should be 
indicated explicitly that the value reported is based on cash reporting.  

D.  Union's  Strategy 
Recommendations. 

for  growth  and 

jobs 

targets  and  Country  Specific 

Details on how the measures adopted address the CSRs or the national targets in accordance 
with the Union's strategy for growth and jobs are included in tables 6.a and 6.b of the Annex. 

E.  Indications  on  the  expected  distributional  impact  of  the  main  expenditure  and 
revenue measures. 

Information  on  the  expected  distributional  impact  of  the  main  expenditure  and  revenue 
measures  should  also  be  specified  in  DBPs,  according  to  Article  6(3)(d)  of  Regulation  No 
473/2013. 

Whereas  the  majority  of  Member  States  already  include  in  their  budgets  qualitative 
considerations  on  the  distributional  impact  of  fiscal  measures,  quantitative  estimations  are 
much less common. Certainly, quantifying the distributional impact of budgetary measures is 
a challenging task. For this reason no standardized table on this aspect of DBPs is included in 
the Annex; on the contrary, Member States should provide, to the extent possible, qualitative 
information and quantitative estimations on the distributional effects of budgetary measures, 
presented  as  best  fits  each  Member  State's  specific  measures  and  available  analytical 
frameworks. 

F. Comparison between DBP and the most recent Stability Programme.  

Table 7 of the Annex compares the budgetary targets and projections at unchanged policies in 
the DBP with those of the latest SP. Possible differences in past and planned data with respect 
to those in the SP should be duly explained.  

G. Methodological Annex. 

Finally, table 8 in the Annex contains the methodological aspects that should be included in 
the DBP. These should include details on the different estimation techniques applied along the 
budgetary  process,  together  with  its  relevant  features  and  the  assumptions  used.  In  case  the 
estimated  impact  of  aggregated  budgetary  measures  on  economic  growth  has  not  been 
reported in Table 1.a, it should be specified in this Annex.  

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. 

GUIDELINES ON THE FORM AND CONTENT OF DEBT ISSUANCE REPORTS. 

Following Article 8(2) of Regulation No 473/2013, this section provides a harmonised form 
and content for EA Member States to report on their national debt issuance plans. 

In  order  to  place  the  national  debt  issuance  plans  in  a  fiscal  surveillance  framework  they 
should be accompanied by general information on the overall financing needs of the central 
budget. Therefore, two reports are to be submitted: an annual and a quarterly report. 

Given the need for flexibility in changing market conditions, the forward-looking information 
in these reports  is  understood to be indicative and  subject  to  market  conditions. The  reports 
should  in  principle  not  be  disseminated  to  the  public,  given  the  potential  sensitivity  of  this 
information.  

1. 

 The annual report should contain: 

−  general  information  on  the  overall  financing  needs  of  the  central  budget,  such  as 
(i) redemptions of securities with an original maturity of one year or more; (ii) stock 
of securities with an  original  maturity  of less than one  year;  (iii) net cash financing; 
(iv)  cash  deficit  and  (v)  net  acquisition  of  financial  assets,  excluding  net  cash 
financing, 

− 

the  issuance  plans  for  the  next  year  including  the  break-down  into  short-term  and 
medium- to long-term securities following the template provided below.  

Table III – Template to be contained in annual debt issuance reports3. 

Total funding requirement (EUR million) 

Financing plan (EUR million) 

Redemptions 
of securities 
with an 
original 
maturity of 
one year or 
more 
(1) 

Stock of 
T-bills and 
Commercial 
Papers at 
the end of 
the previous 
year 
(2) 

Net cash 
financing 
(3) 

Total 
refinancing 
needs 
(4 = 1+2 +3) 

Cash 
deficit/
surplus 
(5) 

Net acquisi-
tion of 
financial 
assets, excl. 
net cash 
financing 
(6) 

Other
(7) 

Total 
(8 = 4+5 
+6+7) 

Change in 
the stock 
of short-
term  
(T-bills + 
CPs) 
(9) 

Medium 
to long-
term 
(10) 

Other 
(11) 

Total 
(12 = 2+9+ 
10+11) 

The  report  should  be  submitted  to  the  Commission  at  least  one  week  before  the  end  of  the 
calendar year. 

3 Provision of data on variables in bold characters is a requirement. 

Provision of data on other variables is optional but highly desirable. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 The quarterly report should present the issuance plans, per quarter (non-cumulative) 
2. 
including the breakdown into short-term and medium- to long-term securities. Issuance plans 
for  the  quarter(s)  to  come  should  be  accompanied  by  a  report  on  actual  issuance  in  the 
preceding  quarter  as  well  as  the  estimate  of  issuance  for  the  current  quarter  following  the 
template  provided  below.  While,  in  principle  and  under  more  normal  market  conditions, 
foreseen  issuance  plans  should  be  reported  for  several  quarters  ahead,  under  the  current 
market  conditions  such  issuance  forecasts  might  be  difficult  to  make  or  be  of  limited 
informational value.  Therefore, it is suggested that only the immediate quarter ahead would 
be subject to such reporting.  

Table IV – Template to be contained in quarterly debt issuance reports4,5. 

Financing plan (EUR million) 

Short-term  
(T-bills + CPs)* 
(1) 

Medium to long-
term 
(2) 

Other 
(3) 

Total 
(4=1+2+3) 

actual data 

actual data 

actual data 

actual data 

estimate 

estimate 

estimate 

estimate 

plan 

plan 

plan 

plan 

q-1  
(preceding quarter, actual 
data) 

q  
(current quarter, estimate) 

q+1  
(next quarter, plan) 

*  Please  report  here  the  actual  issuance,  i.e.  including  multiple  counting  of  1-month  bill 
rollover  

The report should be submitted to the Commission at least one week before the beginning of 
the next quarter. 

The quarterly periodicity of issuance plans reporting is considered to strike the right balance 
between,  on  the  one  hand,  increasing  the  transparency  and  predictability  of  funding  plans, 
and, on the other hand, leaving enough flexibility for issuance policies and procedures.  

All the amounts should be expressed in million Euros. 

Where  data  are  available,  Member  States  are  encouraged  to  provide  comparable  templates 
with similar information concerning national agencies and regional or local governments. 

4 Provision of data on variables in bold characters is a requirement. 

Provision of data on other variables is optional but highly desirable. 

5The reporting horizon will be revisited in dependence of a stabilisation of conditions on European sovereign debt markets 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
ANNEX. MODEL STRUCTURE AND TABLES TO BE CONTAINED IN DRAFT 
BUDGETARY PLANS.6 

A. MODEL STRUCTURE FOR DRAFT BUDGETARY PLANS. 

1. Macroeconomic Forecasts. 

2. Budgetary targets. 

3. Expenditure and revenue projections under the no-policy change scenario. 

4. Expenditure and revenue targets. General government expenditure by function. 

5. Discretionary measures included in the draft budget. 

6. Possible links between the draft budgetary plan and the targets set by the Union's 
Strategy for growth and jobs and CSRs. 

7. Comparison with latest Stability Programme.  

8. Distributional impact of the main expenditure and revenue measures. 

Annex: Methodological aspects, including the estimated impact of aggregated budgetary 
measures on economic growth. 

6 Provision of data on variables in bold characters is a requirement 

Provision of data on other variables is optional but highly desirable 

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
B. TABLES TO BE CONTAINED IN DRAFT BUDGETARY PLANS. 

1. Macroeconomic forecasts  

Table 0.i) Basic assumptions 

Year 
t-1 

Year 
t 

Year 
t+1 

Short-term interest rate1 (annual 
average) 
Long-term interest rate (annual 
average) 
USD/€ exchange rate (annual 
average)   
Nominal effective exchange rate 
World excluding EU, GDP growth 
EU GDP growth  
Growth of relevant foreign markets 
World import volumes, excluding EU 
Oil prices (Brent, USD/barrel) 
1If necessary, purely technical assumptions. 

Table 0.ii). Main assumptions. Non-exhaustive check list. (Similar information can be provided in different formats) 

Year t-1 

Year t 

Year t+1 

1.  External environment 

a.  Prices of commodities 
b.  Spreads over the German bond 

2.  Fiscal policy 

a. 

 General government net lending 
/ net borrowing 

b.  General government gross debt 

3.  Monetary policy / Financial sector / 

interest rates assumptions 

a. 

Interest rates: 

i.  Euribor 
ii.  Deposit rates 
iii.  Interest rates for loans 
iv.  Yields to maturity of 
10 year government 
bonds 

b.  Evolution of deposits 
c. 
 Evolution of loans 
d.  NPL trends 

4.  Demographic trends 

a. 

b. 

 Evolution of working-age 
population 
 Dependency ratios 

5.  Structural policies 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ESA Code 

B1*g 

Year 
t-1 

Level 

Year  
t-1 

rate of 
change 

Year  
t 

rate of 
change 

Year  
t+1 

rate of 
change 

--- 

--- 

Table 1.a. Macroeconomic prospects 

1. Real GDP 

Of which 

1.1. Attributable to the  
estimated impact of 
 aggregated budgetary 
 measures on economic  
growth1 
2. Potential GDP 

contributions: 
- labour 
- capital 
- total factor productivity 

3. Nominal GDP  

Components of real GDP 

4. Private final consumption 
expenditure 
5. Government final consumption 
expenditure 
6. Gross fixed capital formation 

7. Changes in inventories and net 
acquisition of valuables (% of 
GDP) 
8. Exports of goods and services 

9. Imports of goods and services 

Contributions to real GDP 
growth 

10. Final domestic demand  

11. Changes in inventories and 
net acquisition of valuables  

B1*g 

P.3 

P.3 

P.51 

P.52 + P.53 

P.6 

P.7 

P.52 + P.53 

- 

- 

- 

12. External balance of goods and 
services  

B.11 

1/ Please report here the estimated impact on real GDP growth of the aggregated budgetary measures contained in the DBP. 

ESA Code 

Year 
t-1 

Level 

Year  
t-1 

rate of 
change 

Year  
t 

rate of 
change 

Year  
t+1 

rate of 
change 

Table 1.b. Price developments 

1. GDP deflator 

2. Private consumption deflator 
3. HICP 
4. Public consumption deflator 

5. Investment deflator  

6. Export price deflator (goods 
and services) 
7. Import price deflator (goods 
and services) 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 1.c. Labour market developments 

ESA 
Code 

Year 
t-1 

Level 

Year  
t-1 

rate of 
change 

Year  
t 

rate of 
change 

Year  
t+1 

rate of 
change 

1. Employment, persons1 
2. Employment, hours worked2 
3. Unemployment rate (%)3 
4. Labour productivity, persons4 
5. Labour productivity, hours worked 

6. Compensation of employees 

7. Compensation per employee 

D.1 

1/ Occupied population, domestic concept national accounts definition. 
2/ National accounts definition. 
3/ Harmonised definition, Eurostat; levels. 
4/ Real GDP per person employed. 
5/ Real GDP per hour worked. 

- 
- 

Table 1.d. Sectoral balances 

1. Net lending/net borrowing vis-à-vis 
the rest of the world 
of which: 

- Balance on goods and services 
- Balance of primary incomes and 
transfers 
- Capital account 
2. Net lending/net borrowing of the 
private sector 
3. Net lending/net borrowing of general 
government 
4. Statistical discrepancy 

ESA 
Code 

Year  
t-1 

Year  
t 

Year  
t+1 

B.9 

% GDP 

% GDP 

% GDP 

B.9 

B.9 

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2. Budgetary Targets 

Table 2.a. General government budgetary targets broken down by subsector 

ESA 
Code 

Year 
t 
% GDP 

Year 
t+1 
% GDP 

Net lending (+) / net 
borrowing (-) ( B.9) by 
sub-sector 

1. General government 

S.13 

2. Central government 

 3. State government 

4. Local government 

S.1311 

S.1312 

S.1313 

5. Social security funds 

S.1314 

D.41 

6.  Interest expenditure 
7. Primary balance2 
8. One-off and other 
temporary measures3 
9. Real GDP growth 
(%) (=1. in Table 1a) 
10. Potential GDP 
growth (%) (=2 in Table 
1.a) 

contributions: 
- labour 
- capital 
- total factor     
productivity 
11. Output gap (% of 
potential GDP) 
12. Cyclical budgetary 
component (% of 
potential GDP) 
13. Cyclically-adjusted 
balance (1 - 12) (% of 
potential GDP) 
14. Cyclically-adjusted 
primary balance (13 + 
6) (% of potential GDP) 
15. Structural balance 
(13 - 8) (% of potential 
GDP) 

1/ TR-TE= B.9. 
2/ The primary balance is calculated as (B.9, item 8) plus (D.41, item 9). 
3/ A plus sign means deficit-reducing one-off measures. 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 2.b. General government debt developments  

ESA Code 

Year 
t 

Year 
t+1 

% GDP 

% GDP 

D.41 

1. Gross debt1 

2. Change in gross debt ratio 

Contributions to changes in 
gross debt 
3. Primary balance (= item 10 
in Table 2.a.i)  
4. Interest expenditure (= item 
9 in Table 2.a.i) 
5. Stock-flow adjustment 

of which: 

- Differences between cash and 
accruals2 
- Net accumulation of financial 
assets3 
of which: 

- privatisation proceeds 

- Valuation effects and other4 

p.m.: Implicit interest rate on 
debt5 
Other relevant variables 

6. Liquid financial assets6 

7. Net financial debt (7=1-6) 

8. Debt amortization (existing 
bonds) since the end of the 
previous year 
9. Percentage of debt 
denominated in foreign currency 
10. Average maturity 

1/ As defined in Regulation 479/2009.  
2/ The differences concerning interest expenditure, other expenditure and revenue could be distinguished when relevant or in case the debt-
to-GDP ratio is above the reference value. 
3/ Liquid assets (currency), government securities, assets on third countries, government controlled enterprises and the difference between 
quoted and non-quoted assets could be distinguished when relevant or in case the debt-to-GDP ratio is above the reference value. 
4/ Changes due to exchange rate movements, and operation in secondary market could be distinguished when relevant or in case the debt-to-
GDP ratio is above the reference value. 
5/ Proxied by interest expenditure divided by the debt level of the previous year. 
6/  Liquid  assets  are  here  defined  as  AF.1,  AF.2,  AF.3  (consolidated  for  general  government,  i.e.  netting  out  financial  positions  between 
government entities), AF.511, AF.52 (only if quoted in stock exchange). 

Table 2.c Contingent liabilities 

Year 
t 

Year 
t+1 

% GDP 

% GDP 

Public guarantees 

Of which: linked to the financial 
sector 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Expenditure and Revenue Projections under the no-policy change scenario7. 

Table 3. General government expenditure and revenue projections at unchanged policies broken down by main components. 

General government (S13) 

1. Total revenue at unchanged policies 

Of which 

1.1. Taxes on production and imports  
1.2. Current taxes on income, wealth, etc  
1.3. Capital taxes  
1.4. Social contributions  
1.5. Property income   
1.6. Other1 
p.m.: Tax burden  

(D.2+D.5+D.61+D.91-D.995)2 
2. Total expenditure at unchanged policies 

Of which 

2.1. Compensation of employees   
2.2. Intermediate consumption 
2.3. Social payments  

        of which Unemployment benefits4 
2.4. Interest expenditure  
2.5. Subsidies  
2.6. Gross fixed capital formation  
2.7. Capital transfers 
2.8. Other5 

ESA Code 

Year 
t 
% GDP 

Year 
t+1 
% GDP 

TR 

D.2 
D.5 
D.91 
D.61 
D.4 

TE3 

D.1  
P.2 
D.621 
 D.632 

D.41  
D.3 
P.51 
D.9  

1/ Under ESA95: D6311_D63121_D63131pay; in ESA2010 D632pay 

4. Expenditure and Revenue targets. 

Table 4.a  General government expenditure and revenue targets, broken down by main components. 

General government (S13) 

1. Total revenue target 

Of which 

1.1. Taxes on production and imports  
1.2. Current taxes on income, wealth, etc.  
1.3. Capital taxes  
1.4. Social contributions  
1.5. Property income   
1.6. Other 1 
p.m.: Tax burden  
(D.2+D.5+D.61+D.91-D.995)2 

2. Total expenditure target 

Of which 

2.1. Compensation of employees   
2.2. Intermediate consumption 
2.3. Social payments  

        of which Unemployment benefits4 
2.4.= Table 2.a.9.  Interest expenditure  
2.5. Subsidies  
2.6. Gross fixed capital formation  
2.7. Capital transfers 
2.8. Other5 

ESA Code 

Year 
t 
% GDP 

Year 
t+1 
% GDP 

TR 

D.2 
D.5 
D.91 
D.61 
D.4 

TE3 

D.1  
P.2 
D.626 
D.632 

D.41  
D.3 
P.51 
D.9  

1/ .11+P.12+P.131+D.39rec+D.7rec+D.9rec (other than D.91rec) 
2/ Including those collected by the EU and including an adjustment for uncollected taxes and social contributions D.995), if appropriate.  

7  Please  note  that  the  no-policy  change  scenario  involves  the  extrapolation  of  revenue  and  expenditure  trends  before  adding  the  impact  of  the  measures  included  in  the 

forthcoming year's budget. 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
3/ TR-TE = B.9. 
4/ Includes cash benefits (D.621 and D.624) and in kind benefits (D.631, under ESA2010 D.632) related to unemployment benefits. 
5/ D.29pay + D.4pay (other than D.41pay) +D.5pay +D.7pay +P.52+P.53+K.2+D.8. 
6/ Under ESA95: D6311_D63121_D63131pay; in ESA2010 D632pay 

Table 4.b Amounts to be excluded from the expenditure benchmark 

ESA Code 

Year 
t-1 
Level 

Year 
t-1 
% GDP 

Year 
t 
% GDP 

Year 
t+1 
% GDP 

1. Expenditure  on EU programmes 
fully matched  by EU funds revenue 
2. Cyclical unemployment benefit 
expenditure 1 
3. Effect of discretionary revenue 
measures 2 
4. Revenue increases mandated by 
law 
1/ Please detail the methodology used to obtain the cyclical component of unemployment benefit expenditure. It should build on unemployment 
benefit expenditure as defined in COFOG under the code 10.5. 
2/ Revenue increases mandated by law should not be included in the effect of discretionary revenue measures: data reported in rows 3 and 4 
should be mutually exclusive. 

Table 4.c  General government expenditure by function. 

4.c.i) General government expenditure on education, healthcare and employment 

Year t 

Year t+1 

% GDP 

% general government 
expenditure 

% GDP 

% general government 
expenditure 

Education1 
Healthcare1 
Employment2 

1/ These expenditure categories should correspond respectively to items 9 and7 in table 4.c.ii). 
2/ This expenditure category should contain, inter alia, government spending related to active labour market policies (ALMPs) including public 
employment  services.  On  the  contrary,  items  such  as  compensation  of  public  employees  or  vocational  training  programmes  should  not  be 
included here. 

4.c.ii) Classification of the functions of the Government 

Functions of the Government 

COFOG 
Code 

Year t 

% GDP 

Year t+1 

% GDP 

1. General public services 
2. Defense 
3. Public order and safety 
4. Economic affairs  
4. Environmental protection 
6. Housing and community amenities 
7. Health 
8. Recreation, culture  and religion 
9. Education 
10. Social protection 
11. Total Expenditure (= item 2 in 
Table 2.c.i) 

1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 
8 
9 
10 

TE 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5. Description of discretionary measures included in the draft budget. 

Table 5.a Discretionary measures taken by General Government 

List of measures 

Detailed 
description
1 

Target 
(Expenditure 
/ Revenue 
component) 
ESA Code 

Accounting  
principle 

Adopt
ion 
Status 

Budgetary impact 

Yea
r t  
% 
GD
P 

Year   
t+1 

% 
GDP 

Yea
r t+2 
% 
GD
P 

Year 
t+… 

% 
GDP 

(1) 
(2) 
… 

1/ Please describe in further  detail in case of major fiscal policy reform plans with potential spillover effects for other Member States in the 
Euro Area.  

TOTAL 

Table 5.b Discretionary measures taken by Central Government 

List of measures 

Detailed 
description
1 

Target 
(Expenditur
e / Revenue 
component) 
ESA Code 

Accounting  
principle 

Adoptio
n Status 

Budgetary impact 

Yea
r t  
% 
GD
P 

Year   
t+1 

% 
GDP 

Yea
r t+2 
% 
GD
P 

Year 
t+… 

% 
GDP 

(1
) 
(2
) 
… 

1/ Please describe in further  detail in case of major fiscal policy reform plans with potential spillover effects for other Member States in the 
Euro Area. 

TOTAL 

Table 5.c Discretionary measures taken by sub-sectors of the General Government1. 

List of measures 

Detailed 
description2 

Target 
(Expenditure 
/ Revenue 
component) 
ESA Code 

Accounting  
principle 

Adoption 
Status 

Budgetary impact 

Year 
t  

% 
GDP 

Year   
t+1 

% 
GDP 

Year 
t+2 

% 
GDP 

Year 
t+… 

% 
GDP 

(1
) 
(2
) 
… 

TOTAL 
1/ Please name whether State Government, Local Government and/or Social Security Funds. 
2/ Please describe in further  detail in case of major fiscal policy reform plans with potential spillover effects for other Member States in the 
Euro Area.  

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Indications on how the measures in the DBP address CSR and the targets set 
by the Union's Strategy for growth and jobs.  

Table 6.a CSR recommendations  

CSR 
number 

List of measures 

Description of direct relevance  

Table 6.b Targets set by the Union's Strategy for growth and jobs. 

National 2020 headline targets 

List of measures 

Description of direct relevance to address the target 

National 2020 employment target […] 

National 2020 R&D target […] 
GHG emission reduction target […] 

Renewable energy target […] 

National energy efficiency target […] 

National early school leaving target […] 

National target for tertiary education […] 
National poverty target […] 

7. Divergence from latest SP. 

Table 7. Divergence from latest SP. 

ESA Code 

Year 
t-1 

Year 
t 

Year 
t+1 

% GDP 

% GDP 

% GDP 

Target general government 
net lending/net borrowing  
Stability Programme 

Draft Budgetary Plan 

Difference 
General government net 
lending projection at 
unchanged policies  
Stability Programme 

B.9 

B.9 

Draft Budgetary Plan 
Difference1 
1/ This difference can refer to both deviations stemming from changes in the macroeconomic scenario and those stemming from the effect of 
policy measures taken between the submission of the SP and the submission of the DBP. Differences are expected due to the fact that the no-
policy change scenario is defined differently for the purpose of this Code of Conduct with respect to the Stability Programme. 

8. Distributional impact of the main expenditure and revenue measures. 

In accordance with Article 6(3)(d) of Regulation 473/2013,Member States should provide, to the extent possible, qualitative information and 
quantitative estimations on the distributional effects of budgetary measures, presented as best fits each Member State's specific measures and 
available analytical frameworks.  

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Quantifying  the  distributional  impact  of  budgetary  measures  is  a  challenging  task.  For  this  reason  no  standardized  table  on  this  aspect  of 
DBPs is included in this Annex. Quantitative estimations of the distributional impact of budgetary measures could be assessed by computing 
the expected changes in the Gini index, the S80/S20 indicator or the poverty rates as a result of them. This methodology could represent one 
possible way forward among others.  

Annex 
underpinning the information contained in the DBP.  

the  DBP:  Methodology,  economic  models  and  assumptions 

to 

Table 8. Methodological aspects. 

Estimation Technique 

Step of the budgetary 
process for which it was 
used1 

Relevant features of the 
model/ technique used 

Assumptions 

Tool n.1 

Tool n.2 
… 

1/ Modeling tools may have been used: 

- when doing macro forecasts 

- when estimating expenditure and revenue under the no policy change scenario 
- when estimating the distributional impact of the main expenditure and revenue measures 
- when quantifying the expenditure and revenue measures to be included in the draft budget  
- when estimating how reforms included in the DBP address targets set by the Union's Strategy for growth and jobs and CSRs. 

19