More than half of EU countries broke debt and deficit rules in 2024 - Eurostat

Seventeen out of the European Union's 27 member countries exceeded the bloc's self-imposed limits for budget deficits and public debt last year, according to data published on Tuesday by the EU's statistics office Eurostat.

Twelve countries had a deficit of at least 3% of their total economic output, breaking the bloc's limit on public expenditure. The highest deficits were recorded in Romania with 9.3%, followed by Poland with 6.5% and France with 5.8%.

Only six EU countries - namely Luxembourg, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland and Portugal - earned more money than they spent last year and recorded a budget surplus.

Twelve EU countries exceeded the bloc's limit on government debt with a debt ratio higher than 60% of gross domestic product (GDP). The countries with the highest debt burden are Greece (154.2%), Italy (134.9%) and France (113.2%).

Germany's debt ratio also exceeded the limit with 62.2% in 2024. The recorded deficit of 2.7% however stayed underneath the threshold.

The countries with the lowest ratios of government debt to GDP were Estonia with 23.5%, Bulgaria with 23.8%, and Luxembourg with 26.3%.

Seven EU countries - Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Hungary, Austria and Finland, exceeded both the deficit and debt limits in 2024.