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Bijlage 1: Council recommendation of 2 December 2009
(1) Recognizing that Belgium's budgetary position
in 2009 resulted from measures amounting to ½ % of GDP, which is an
adequate response to the downturn in view of the limited fiscal room for
manoeuvre and were broadly in line with the European Economic Recovery
Plan principles, as well as the free play of automatic stabilizers, the
Belgian authorities should put an end to the present excessive deficit
situation by 2012.
(2) The Belgian authorities should bring the
general government deficit below 3 % of GDP in a credible and
sustainable manner by taking action in a medium-term framework.
Specifically, to this end, the Belgian authorities should:
(a) implement the deficit-reducing measures
in 2010 as planned in the draft budget for 2010, and strengthen the
planned fiscal effort in 2011 and 2012;
(b) ensure an average annual fiscal effort of
¾ % of GDP over the period 2010-2012, which should also contribute
to bringing the government gross debt ratio back on a declining path
that approaches the reference value at a satisfactory pace by
restoring an adequate level of the primary surplus;
(c) specify the measures that are necessary
to achieve the correction of the excessive deficit by 2012, cyclical
conditions permitting, and accelerate the reduction of the deficit
if economic or budgetary conditions turn out better than currently
expected;
(d) strengthen monitoring mechanisms to
ensure that fiscal targets are respected.
(3) In addition, the Belgian authorities should
seize opportunities beyond the fiscal effort, including from better
economic conditions, to accelerate the reduction of the gross debt ratio
back towards the reference value.
(4) The Council establishes the deadline of 2
June 2010 for the Belgian government to take effective action to
implement the deficit-reducing measures in 2010 as planned in the draft
budget for 2010 and to outline in some detail the strategy that will be
necessary to progress towards the correction of the excessive deficit.
The assessment of effective action will take into account economic
developments compared to the economic outlook in the Commission
services' autumn 2009 forecast.
Council opinion of July 2010 on effective
actions
The Council examined a communication from the
Commission assessing the action taken by Belgium, the Czech Republic,
Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria,
Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and the United Kingdom to bring their
government deficits below the 3 % reference value set by the Treaty for
the ratio of deficit to gross domestic product (GDP).
The Council shared the Commission's view that,
according to the information currently available:
− those thirteen Member States had up to now
acted in accordance with its recommendations;
− no additional step in the excessive deficit
procedure is therefore necessary at this stage.
Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, the
Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia have been subject
to an excessive deficit procedure since December 2009, as have Ireland,
Spain and France since April 2009 and the United Kingdom since July
2008.
In the recommendations addressed to them on
corrective action to be taken, the Council required Belgium and Italy to
bring their deficits below the 3 % of GDP threshold in 2012 at the
latest and the Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria,
Portugal, Slovenia and Slovakia to do so in 2013.
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