EU Council Recommends UK Take Action On Deficit

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Reference: PRES/08/203
Date: 28/07/2008

The Council recommends that the United Kingdom take action to put an end to its excessive deficit

The Council today adopted [1], under Article 104(6) of the Treaty, a decision on the existence of an excessive government deficit in the United Kingdom and a recommendation, under Article 104(7), on action to be taken for its correction.

The decision is based on information received from the UK authorities to the effect that the deficit should reach 3.2 % of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2008-09, i.e. above the 3 % reference value set by the Treaty.

The Council's recommendation gives the UK a period of six months to take corrective measures. The UK is required to put an end to its excessive deficit by the 2009-10 financial year at the latest, with at least a 0.5 % of GDP improvement in structural balance during the 2009-10 financial year.

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[1] The decision was taken at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council.

ENDS

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