France and six other countries singled out by the European Commission for their excessive public deficit

The European Commission opened the way, Wednesday June 19, to procedures for “excessive public deficits” against seven countries of the European Union, including France, where spending promises are multiplying two weeks before the legislative elections. Besides France, these procedures “are justified” for Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Malta, said the Commission in a press release. These countries, which last year exceeded the public deficit limit set at 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), will have to take corrective measures to respect the budgetary rules of the European Union in the future, under penalty of financial sanctions.

France is among three countries with high debt and an excessive public deficit, specifies the Commission. Paris has until June 2025 to take initial measures, with the aim of reducing the deficit by at least 0.5 points per year, adds this same source. LFrance, whose debt reaches 110% of GDP, has been in an excessive deficit procedure most of the time since the creation of the euro at the turn of the 2000s. However, it emerged from it in 2017.

The EU’s budgetary rules were put on hold after 2020, because of the economic crisis linked to Covid-19 and then the war in Ukraine. They were reformed and reactivated this year. The Stability Pact in principle provides for financial sanctions of 0.1% of GDP per year for countries that do not implement the imposed corrections, or nearly 2.5 billion euros in the case of France. . In reality, these politically explosive punishments were never applied.