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Excessive deficit procedure

The excessive deficit procedure (EDP) data are reported in harmonised tables, the EDP notification tables. These tables are specifically designed to provide a consistent framework, with a link to national budgetary aggregates and between the government net lending (+) / net borrowing (−) (B.9) and changes in government debt. 

The emphasis of EDP and government finance statistics (GFS) is on the economic substance over the legal form of the event. Hence, EDP and GFS differ noticeably from the budget or public accounting presentations that are nationally specific, as far as the scope of units and recording of transactions are concerned.

The European Commission uses the EDP statistics to assess whether EU Member States' government deficits and debt levels comply with the relevant EU legislation.

Government finance statistics

The GFS presentation is similar to that of business accounting in that the profit and loss account and the balance sheet are presented together in an integrated manner. 

The European GFS are produced in accordance with the European system of accounts (ESA 2010) and are supplemented by further interpretation and guidance documentation from Eurostat. This ensures that GFS are based on common concepts, definitions, classifications, and accounting rules to arrive at a consistent, reliable, and comparable quantitative description of government finances. EDP statistics should be fully consistent with the GFS data supplied through the ESA 2010 transmission programme.

GFS are part of national accounts, which cover a wide range of statistics that describe an economy in various ways.

Available data

Data cover the euro area, the EU and its Member States. There is also some information available for countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and EU enlargement countries.

Aggregates for the euro area and the EU are calculated using Eurostat's aggregation method. This involves the conversion of national currency data into a single currency: the euro (or the ECU before 1999), using for flows the average exchange rate of the period, and for stocks the end of period exchange rate.

Data are available on an annual basis and, at a lower level of detail, on a quarterly basis.

The GFS and EDP statistics cover data for the general government sector (code S.13) and its subsectors. The general government sector consists of 4 subsectors:

  • central government (code S.1311)
  • state government (code S.1312)
  • local government (code S.1313)
  • social security funds (code S.1314).

The government finance statistics (GFS) presentation shows in an integrated way the following:

  • government total revenue and total expenditure and its components
  • government surplus (+) / deficit (-), referred to in national accounts terminology as net lending (+) / net borrowing (-)
  • transactions in financial assets and liabilities
  • other changes in assets and liabilities (other changes in volume and revaluation)
  • balance sheets.

Revision policy

Eurostat asks EU Member States to transmit data according to a pre-defined timetable. In general, EU Member States introduce revisions to their data before each transmission. For GFS, Eurostat accepts revisions given that adequate explanations are provided. In the Eurostat database, aggregates for the euro area and the EU are automatically updated when there is a change in national data series.