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Persistent violations of the Maastricht criteria have plunged the euro into the worst crisis since its introduction. But how bad is the situation in the individual countries really? tagesschau.de has summarized deficits, total debt and economic growth in the 28 EU countries in graphics.
As of May 2019
EU countries' budget deficit / surplus (% of GDP)
2016 2017 2018 * 2019 * 2020
Belgium -2.4 -0.8 -0.7 -1.3 -1.5
Bulgaria +0.1 +1.2 +2.0 +0.8 +1.0
Denmark -0.1 +1.4 +0.5 +0.6 -0.1
Germany +0.9 +1.0 +1.7 +1.0 +0.8
Estonia -0.3 -0.4 -0.6 -0.3 -0.5
Finland -1.7 -0.8 -0.7 -0.4 -0.2
France -3.5 -2.8 -2.5 -3.1 -2.2
Greece +0.5 +0.7 +1.1 +0.5 -0.1
UK -2.9 -1.9 -1.5 -1.5 -1.2
Ireland -0.7 -0.3 0.0 0.0 +0.3
Italy -2.5 -2.4 -2.1 -2.5 -3.5
Croatia -1.0 +0.8 +0.2 +0.1 +0.5
Latvia +0.1 -0.6 -1.0 -0.6 -0.6
Lithuania +0.2 +0.5 +0.7 +0.3 0.0
Luxembourg +1.9 +1.4 +2.4 +1.4 +1.1
Malta +0.9 +3.4 +2.0 +1.1 +0.9
Netherlands 0.0 +1.2 +1.5 +1.4 +0.8
Austria -1.6 -0.8 +0.1 +0.3 +0.2
Poland -2.2 -1.5 -0.4 -1.6 -1.4
Portugal -2.0 -3.0 -0.5 -0.4 -0.1
Romania -2.7 -2.7 -3.0 -3.5 -4.7
Sweden +1.0 +1.4 +0.9 +0.4 +0.4
Slovakia -2.2 -0.8 -0.7 -0.5 -0.6
Slovenia -1.9 0.0 +0.7 +0.7 +0.9
Spain -4.5 -3.1 -2.5 -2.3 -2.0
Czech Republic +0.7 +1.6 +0.9 +0.2 -0.2
Hungary -1.6 -2.2 -2.2 -1.8 -1.6
Cyprus +0.3 +1.8 -4.8 +3.0 +2.8
The allowable deficit limit in the Maastricht Treaty is -3.0%.
Source: Eurostat / EU Commission; *Estimate
Total debt of the EU countries (in% of GDP)
2016 2017 2018 * 2019 * 2020 *
Belgium 106.1 103.4 102.0 101.3 100.7
Bulgaria 29.6 25.6 22.6 20.5 18.4
Denmark 37.2 35.5 34.1 33.0 32.5
Germany 68.5 64.5 60.9 58.4 55.6
Estonia 9.2 9.2 8.4 8.5 8.5
Finland 63.0 61.3 59.8 58.5 57.5
France 98.2 98.5 98.7 98.5 97.2
Greece 178.5 176.1 182.5 174.9 167.4
United Kingdom 87.9 87.4 86.0 84.5 82.6
Ireland 73.5 68.5 64.8 61.3 55.9
Italy 131.4 131.4 132.2 133.7 135.2
Croatia 80.5 77.8 74.6 70.9 67.6
Latvia 40.3 40.0 35.9 34.5 33.5
Lithuania 40.0 39.4 34.2 37.0 36.4
Luxembourg 20.7 23.0 21.4 20.7 20.3
Malta 55.5 50.2 46.0 42.8 40.2
Netherlands 61.9 57.0 52.4 49.1 46.7
Austria 83.0 78.2 73.8 69.7 66.8
Poland 54.2 50.6 48.9 48.2 47.7
Portugal 129.2 124.8 121.5 119.5 116.6
Romania 37.3 35.2 35.0 36.0 38.4
Sweden 42.4 40.8 38.8 34.4 32.4
Slovakia 51.8 50.9 48.9 47.3 46.0
Slovenia 78.7 74.1 70.1 65.9 61.7
Spain 99.0 98.1 97.1 96.3 95.7
Czech Republic 36.8 34.7 32.7 31.7 31.1
Hungary 76.0 73.4 70.8 69.2 67.7
Cyprus 105.5 95.8 102.5 96.4 89.9
The allowed limit of total debt in the Maastricht contract is 60%.
Sources: Eurostat / EU Commission; *Estimate
Economic growth of the EU countries (in% compared to the previous year)
2016 2017 2018 * 2019 * 2020 *
Belgium +1.5 +1.7 +1.4 +1.2 +1.2
Bulgaria +3.9 +3.8 +3.1 +3.3 +3.4
Denmark +2.4 +2.3 +1.4 +1.7 +1.6
Germany +2.2 +2.2 +1.4 +0.5 +1.5
Estonia +3.5 +4.9 +3.9 +2.8 +2.4
Finland +2.8 +2.7 +2.3 +1.6 +1.2
France +1.2 +2.2 +1.6 +1.3 +1.5
Greece -0.2 +1.5 +1.9 +2.2 +2.2
UK +1.8 +1.8 +1.4 +1.3 +1.3
Ireland +5.0 +7.2 +6.7 +3.8 +3.4
Italy +1.1 +1.7 +0.9 +0.1 +0.7
Croatia +3.5 +2.9 +2.6 +2.6 +2.5
Latvia +2.1 +4.6 +4.8 +3.1 +2.8
Lithuania +2.4 +4.1 +3.4 +2.7 +2.4
Luxembourg +2.4 +1.5 +2.6 +2.5 +2.6
Malta +5.7 +6.7 +6.6 +5.5 +4.8
Netherlands +2.2 +2.9 +2.7 +1.6 +1.6
Austria +2.0 +2.6 +2.7 +1.5 +1.6
Poland +3.1 +4.8 +5.1 +4.2 +3.6
Portugal +1.9 +2.8 +2.1 +1.7 +1.7
Romania +4.8 +7.0 +4.1 +3.3 +3.1
Sweden +2.7 +2.1 +2.3 +1.4 +1.6
Slovakia +3.1 +3.2 +4.1 +3.8 +3.4
Slovenia +3.1 +4.9 +4.5 +3.1 +2.8
Spain +3.2 +3.0 +2.6 +2.1 +1.9
Czech Republic +2.5 +4.4 +2.9 +2.6 +2.4
Hungary +2.3 +4.1 +4.9 +3.7 +2.8
Cyprus +4.8 +4.5 +3.9 +3.1 +2.7
Source: Eurostat / EU Commission; *Estimate
