Romania, among EU countries with highest budget deficits in 2016

Romania was among the four European Union countries which had budget deficits equal to or higher than 3% of their gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016, according to the EU’s statistical office Eurostat. Spain had the highest deficit last year, namely 4.5% of its GDP, followed by France with 3.4%, and Romania and UK with 3% each. Meanwhile, ten EU countries had budget surpluses in 2016, the highest of which were recorded in Luxembourg (+1.6% of GDP), Malta (+1.0%), Sweden (+0.9%), Germany (+0.8%), and Greece (+0.7%). However, despite its high deficit, Romania had one of the lowest public debts in the EU compared to its GDP. At the end of 2016, the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were recorded in Estonia (9.5%), Luxembourg (20.0%), Bulgaria (29.5%), the Czech Republic (37.2%), Romania (37.6%), and Denmark (37.8%). Sixteen member states had government debt ratios higher than 60% of GDP, with the highest registered in Greece (179.0%), Italy (132.6%), Portugal (130.4%), Cyprus (107.8%), and Belgium (105.9%). The overall budget deficit in the EU was 1.7% of the total GDP in 2016, down from 2.4% in 2015, and the debt to GDP ratio was 83.5%, down from 84.9%. The figures are according to the ESA 2010 system of national accounts. Fiscal Council president: Budget deficit to reach 6% of GDP in Romania in 2018 editor@romania-insider.com