Brussels, 31/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 31 March, the European Commission said that the higher than forecast French deficit figures published by INSEE that same day had, unfortunately, come as no great surprise.
INSEE says the French deficit will be 4.1% in 2013, compared with the target of 3.9%. A European Commission spokesman, Simon O'Connor, said that the figures were close to those published in the Commission's winter macroeconomic forecasts (a deficit for 4.2% in France), but Eurostat's final figures will not be published until 23 April. O'Connor said that, earlier in March, the Commission had adopted a recommendation that France “take the necessary steps to ensure that the structural effort recommended by the Council is met”. France should report on measures responding to this recommendation in a dedicated section of its forthcoming 2014 stability programme to be published in April (see EUROPE 11032). O'Connor said that new measures would now be needed in the stability programme. The Commission will examine each country's stability programme and issue special recommendations. France has been set the target of reducing its deficit to 3.6% and 2.8% of GDP for 2014 and 2015. INSEE says French public debt stands at 93.5% of GDP, compared with the government forecast of 93.4%. (EL)