The widest budget deficit, of 7.1 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), was registered by Ireland, after its 0.2 percent budget excess posted in 2007. This is, practically, the largest difference of all the states in the EU. Another similar upset occurred in Spain, where the government posted a 3.8 percent deficit in 2008 from a 2.2 percent excess in 2007.
The United Kingdom, which doubled its budget deficit, to 5.5 percent last year from 2.5 percent in 2007, ranked second, followed by Romania, with a 5.4 percent budget deficit.
On the whole, the budget deficit in the EU nearly tripled in 2008 year-on-year. Thus, when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU, the total deficit of the EU was 0.8 percent of GDP, widening to 2.3 percent last year.
In the eurozone, the budget deficit widened to 1.9 percent of GDP in 2008, compared to 0.6 percent in 2007.
The data published by Eurostat confirms that many EU members have exceeded the eurozone convergence criterion which sets the maximum budget deficit at 3 percent of GDP, which would justify the Commission’s decision to take disciplinary action against countries such as Greece, Spain, France, and Ireland. Thus, France and Spain have until 2012 to narrow their budget deficits below the 3 percent GDP threshold, while Ireland and Greece have until 2013 and 2010, respectively.
