ECOFIN issues new recommendations to Lithuania, Malta and Romania

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council - ECOFIN issued new recommendations to Lithuania, Malta and Romania on measures to be taken in order to correct their excessive government deficits, revising the timetables set for bringing their deficits back below 3% of gross domestic product (GDP), the reference value set by the EU treaty. In the texts, adopted under article 126(7) of the EU treaty, the Council extends by one year the deadline for correction of the deficits, on account of a worse-than-expected deterioration in their economies since July 2009, when the excessive deficit procedures
were opened and the Council issued its initial recommendations.

The Council calls on Malta to reduce its deficit to below 3% of GDP by 2011 instead of 2010, and on Lithuania and Romania to do so by 2012 instead of 2011. It sets 16 August 2010 as the deadline for all three countries to take corrective action, and outlines a strategy for reducing their deficits by the specified deadlines.

It calls on:

• Lithuania to rigorously implement corrective measures planned in its 2010 budget
  and to ensure an average annual fiscal effort of at least 2 ¼% of GDP over the
  2010-2012 period;
• Malta to achieve the 3.9% deficit target set in its 2010 budget and to ensure a
  fiscal effort of ¾% of GDP the following year;
• Romania to implement measures planned in its 2010 budget, whilst avoiding any
  further deterioration, and to ensure an annual fiscal effort of 1 ¾ % of GDP over
  the 2010-2012 period.