EU Economy Chief Says Europe's Debt Fell
Europe's overall public debt fell last year, a senior EU budget official said Friday. The budget deficit for the 12-nation euro area was on average 2.4 percent of gross domestic product last year _ down from 2.7 percent in 2004, EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told reporters at an EU finance ministers' meeting in Vienna. For the entire EU, public debt fell to 2.3 percent in 2005 from 2.6 percent the previous year, he said. The European Commission will publish the full set of figures on April 24.
Almunia said it was a clear improvement, but European governments should build on recent growth and continue to slim down their budget deficits.
No comments:
Post a Comment