Brussels, 15/11/2000 (Agence Europe) - This Wednesday the European Commission adopted positive recommendations to the Ecofin Council - which will take a position during its session on 27 November - on the up dated stability programmes of three of the following Member States in the Euro area:
1) Germany. The programme foresees: i) economic growth of 2.5% per year for the 2000-2004 period, ii) a budgetary surplus of 1.5% in 2000 thanks to the receipts from the sale of UMTS licences, but a deficit of 1% if this exceptional operation did not take place (the budget will be balances in 2004, tax reform being susceptible of temporarily worsening the budgetary position: minus 1.5% in 2001 instead of -1.4% in 1999; iii) a fall in the debt ratio from 60% to 54.5% of GDP.
2) Finland. The 2000-2004 programme foresees: i) economic growth of 5.2% in 2000, of 4.2% in 2001, of 3.2% in 2002 and 2.7% thereafter, ii) a budgetary surplus of 4.5% in 2000, it should have moved to close to 5% of GDP in 2004) the Commission notes the pursuit of effort to clean-up the budget are justified notably by the impact on public finances of the ageing population, factor to which Finland is especially vulnerable); iii) the ratio of public debt should continue its fall, falling from 40% I 2001 to around 32% in 2004.
3) Netherlands. Covering the same period as the two others, the updated programme is based in two macro-economic scenarios: the Commission considers that the most favourable is the most plausible. It foresees: i) growth of 4.5% in 2000, 4% in 2001 and 3.75% for the three following years; ii) a budgetary surplus of 1% in 1999 and 2000 (+1.7% if we include, this year, the sale of UMTS licences), but which should fall to 0.7% in 2001 and 0.5% the two following years due to the planned tax reform that will be notable for a significant lightening in taxes; iii) the debt ratio should go from 56.6% in 2000 to 52.3% in 2001, before falling to 44.75% in 2004.