translate English to French: Notwithstanding the efforts and the substantial progress made towards improving the current fiscal situation, there is an evident ongoing concern as to whether the ratio of government debt to GDP will be sufficiently diminishing and approaching the reference value at a satisfactory pace and whether sustainability of the fiscal position has been achieved; addressing this issue will have to remain a key priority for the Belgian authorities.
Par comparaison, le déficit budgétaire enregistré en 1997 est de 2,1 % du PIB et devrait revenir à 1,7 % en 1998.