Brussels, 11/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday, the Commission, as expected, referred the United Kingdom's excessive budget deficit (article 104§6) t the Council and recommended that British authorities be required to bring it back under 3% before the end of the current fiscal year. “While the deficit is close to the reference value, it does not result from a severe economic downturn or an unusual event, as defined by the Stability and Growth Pact, nor is the excess of a temporary nature”, Mr Joaquin Almunia told reporters. The British deficit was 3.3% of GDP in 2004-2005, after reaching 3.2% in the previous financial year, and forecasts for 2005-2006 are of the order of 3.5%, says the Commission. In the light of a projected recovery in 2006 (2.3% against 1.6% in 2005 and 3.2% in 2004), and debt below the 60% threshold (40.8% of GDP), the Commission has asked the ECOFIN Committee of 24 January to follow its recommendations. When questioned by the Press, the Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner expressed confidence in the outcome of the procedure. Mr Almunia said he had received assurances that the ECOFIN Committee would accept the Commission's recommendation, adding that he considered that the drift was not so great that it required great efforts to readjust. The Chancellor of the Exchequer should be able to conform. Even though the UK is not part of the euro zone, it is nonetheless required to avoid excessive deficits, in accordance with Article 116§4 of the Treaty.