Budget deficits: how the situation in EU countries has evolved over the years | WPN World People News

The need to limit budget deficits has been hotly debated ever since the start of the economic crisis. While many EU countries have made progress, others still have some way to go. Spain and Portugal's persistently high deficits are discussed by the economic and regional developments committees on Monday, while on Tuesday MEPs will discuss the situation in Greece. Check out our infographic to see how deficits of all EU countries have evolved over the past 17 years.

During Monday's meeting MEPs from the economic committee and regional development committee discuss possible sanctions for Spain and Portugal for not doing enough to reduce their budget deficits. Under the EU treaties and the Stability and Growth Pact, which seeks to ensure sound public finances in all member states, the budget deficit should be below the threshold of 3% of the gross domestic product, or at least declining at a satisfactory pace.

In July the Council said that the two countries had not taken effective action to correct their excessive deficits. This would mean that the countries could receive fines and have structural and investment funds suspended. However, the European Commission recommended and the Council agreed that no fines should be imposed because of the difficult economic environment. Before any decision is taken on the possible suspension of funds, the Parliament needs to be consulted and this is what Monday's committee meeting in Strasbourg is about.

During Tuesday's plenary debate MEPs will look at the progress of reforms in Greece, a country struggling with high budget deficits and an elevated level of accumulated debt.

The crisis started in 2008, many countries began running big deficits. This was due to higher social spending because of the rising unemployment, while in some countries banks were bailed out with public money and tax revenue dropped, as the economy slowed down. Many countries have since reined in their deficits, but some are still struggling.

Source: European Parliament