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Eurostat: Romania, EU champion of government deficit and increasing government debt, in the third quarter of 2019
Romania recorded, in the third quarter of last year, the largest seasonal adjusted government deficit (calculated on the basis of the ESA 2010 methodology, the system of European accounts - no) in the European Union, 4.9% of GDP, rising against a deficit of 4.3% of GDP in the previous quarter, Eurostat data released on Tuesday shows.
In the third quarter of 2019, the seasonally adjusted general government deficit to GDP ratio stood at 0.7% in the euro area (EA19), compared with 0.7% in the second quarter of 2019. In the EU28, the deficit to GDP ratio stood at 0.9%, compared with 0.9% in the previous quarter. These data are released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Seasonally adjusted government revenue and expenditure for the euro area and EU28
In the third quarter of 2019, total government revenue in the euro area amounted to 46.5% of GDP, an increase compared with 46.4% of GDP in the second quarter of 2019. Total government expenditure in the euro area stood at 47.2% of GDP, an increase compared with 47.1% in the previous quarter.
In the EU28, total government revenue was 45.1% of GDP in the third quarter of 2019, an increase compared to 45.0% of GDP in the second quarter of 2019. Total government expenditure in the EU28 was 45.9% of GDP, unchanged compared with the previous quarter.
Government debt at the end of the third quarter 2019 by Member State
The highest ratios of government debt to GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2019 were recorded in Greece (178.2%), Italy (137.3%), Portugal (120.5%), Belgium (102.3%) and France (100.5%) and the lowest in Estonia (9.2%), Luxembourg (20.2%) and Bulgaria (20.6%).
Romania had the largest increase of the government debt / GDP ratio in the European Union and on an annual basis, the third quarter of 2019 compared to the third quarter of 2018, also with an advance of 1.4 percentage points. On an annual basis, the government debt / GDP ratio has grown in just seven EU Member States in the third quarter of last year.
Compared with the second quarter of 2019, four Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2019 and twenty-three a decrease, while the ratio remained stable in Germany. Increases in the ratio were observed in Romania (+1.4 percentage points – pp), France (+0.9 pp), Slovenia (+0.4 pp) and Bulgaria (+0.2 pp). The largest decreases were recorded in Cyprus (-9.2 pp), Malta (-2.3 pp), the Netherlands (-1.7 pp), Finland (-1.5 pp), Greece (-1.4 pp), Ireland (-1.3 pp), Croatia and Czechia (both -1.2 pp).
Compared with the third quarter of 2018, seven Member States registered an increase in their debt to GDP ratio at the end of the third quarter of 2019 and twenty-one a decrease. The largest increases in the ratio were recorded in Romania (+1.4 pp), Italy (+1.2 pp), France (+1.1 pp) and Lithuania (+1.0 pp), while the largest decreases were recorded in Cyprus (-10.1 pp), Portugal (-5.0 pp), Ireland (-4.7 pp), Austria (-4.5 pp) and Greece (-4.1 pp).
At the end of the third quarter of 2019, the government debt to GDP ratio in the euro area (EA19) stood at 86.1%, compared with 86.4% at the end of the second quarter of 2019. In the EU28, the ratio decreased from 80.4% to 80.1%. Compared with the third quarter of 2018, the government debt to GDP ratio fell in both the euro area (from 87.1% to 86.1%) and the EU28 (from 81.4% to 80.1%). At the end of the third quarter of 2019, debt securities accounted for 80.8% of euro area and for 81.6% of EU28 general government debt. Loans made up 15.5% and 13.6% respectively and currency and deposits represented 3.8% of euro area and 4.8% of EU28 government debt. Due to the involvement of EU Member States' governments in financial assistance to certain Member States, quarterly data on intergovernmental lending (IGL) is also published. The share of IGL as percentage of GDP at the end of the third quarter of 2019 amounted to 1.9% in the euro area and to 1.4% in the EU28.