Brussels, 08/03/2013 (Agence Europe) - By a wide majority on Thursday 7 March, the Swedish parliament ratified the treaty to boost budget discipline, the Budget Pact, agreed upon by all EU member states apart from the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic in March 2012. Sweden is the nineteenth nation to ratify the pact, leaving only Belgium, Hungary, Bulgaria, Malta, the Netherlands and Poland yet to do so.
The pact came into force in January 2013 (see EUROPE 10758). It requires countries to keep their budget in balance or surplus over an economic cycle, in other words with a structural deficit of no more than 0.5% of GDP, or 1% if their public debt is below 60% of GDP. The pact requires countries with public debt of more than 60% of GDP to reduce the amount over the 60% mark by a twentieth a year, calculated over the past three years. This rule is eased for three years for countries against which excessive deficit proceedings are in force. (MB/transl.fl)