In spite of guarded optimism about the growth of the European economy as a whole, the estimates of Brussels on national deficits are giving rise to concerns about the budgets of various EU member states. The Commission which presented its own autumn forecasts of economic policy in the course of the last plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg considers that at least five countries are set to register deficits close to or exceeding the 3% threshold fixed by the Stability Pact, and this situation is likely to continue at least till the end of 2005: in the absence of “added measures of consolidation” and a diminution of the “significant one-off measures” so far implemented, France, Germany, Greece, Italy and Portugal all in fact risk breaching the 3% threshold in 2005. In the same year, however, the average deficit of the euro zone countries is set to stabilise at close to 2.9%, before descending to 2.5% by 2006. Paradoxically, the forecasts are better for the 25-member EU: 2.8% in 2004, and 2.4% for the next two years. For further information, consult the website: http://europa.eu.int
