Eurostat

The data correspond to quarterly financial accounts for the general government sector and follows the ESA2010 methodology. The data covers financial transactions and balance sheet items for general government (consolidated and non-consolidated) and its subsectors. This includes a number of financial instruments (F.1, F.2, F.3, F.4, ...) as well as some balancing items such as net financial transactions, net financial worth and net financial assets and liabilties. Data are available in million of euro, million of national currency (average exchange rates are used for transactions and end of period exchange rates are used for stocks) and as a percentage of GDP (for transactions quarterly GDP is used; for stocks a rolling sum of the last four quarters is used). In the table gov_10a_ggfa, annualised quarterly financial accounts for general government are presented. For financial transactions, data is summed over the four quarters of each year. For the conversion from national currency into euro, the yearly average exchange rate is used. For balance sheet items (stocks), the annualised data corresponds to the data of the fourth quarter. The percentage of GDP data of annualised data uses annual GDP transmitted by the Member States. In the course of the annualisation, small rounding differences may be amplified. Geographic coverage: EU and euro area. Main data sources are the tables provided according to the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) N° 549/2013 of 21 May 2013 (OJ No L174/1).

Eurostat Dataset Id:cpc_ecgov  The focus of this domain is on the following country groups:Acceeding country: Croatia (HR)Candidate countries: the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (MK), Montenegro (ME), Iceland (IS), Serbia (RS) and Turkey (TR)Potential candidate countries: Albania (AL), Bosnia and Herzegovina (BA), as well as Kosovo under UNSCR 1244/99 (XK)

Public deficit/surplus is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as general government net borrowing/lending according to the European System of Accounts. The general government sector comprises central government, state government, local government, and social security funds. The relevant definitions are provided in Council Regulation 479/2009, as amended.

The general government deficit/surplus is defined in the Maastricht Treaty as general government net lending (+)/net borrowing (-) according to the European System of Accounts. The general government sector comprises central government, state government, local government, and social security funds. The relevant definitions are provided in Council Regulation 479/2009, as amended.

These indicators present total expenditure of general government devoted to three different socio-economic functions (according to the Classification of the Functions of Government - COFOG), expressed as a ratio to GDP. The COFOG divisions covered are 'health', 'education' and 'social protection'.

General government gross fixed capital formation (ESA 2010 code P.51g) consists of resident producers' acquisitions, less disposals of fixed assets during a given period plus certain additions to the value of non-produced assets realised by the productive activity of government producer or units. Fixed assets are produced assets used in production for more than one year.

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union defines this indicator as the ratio of government debt outstanding at the end of the year to gross domestic product at current market prices. For this calculation, government debt is defined as the total consolidated gross debt at nominal value in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA 2010): currency and deposits (AF.2), debt securities (AF.3) and loans (AF.4). The general government sector comprises the subsectors of central government, state government, local government and social security funds. For further methodological guidance and interpretation, please refer to the Eurostat Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Total government gross debt in million EUR is shown as well.

The indicator is defined (in the Maastricht Treaty) as consolidated general government gross debt at nominal (face) value, outstanding at the end of the year in the following categories of government liabilities (as defined in ESA 2010): currency and deposits, debt securities and loans. The general government sector comprises the subsectors: central government, state government, local government and social security funds.

For the purpose of the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) in the Economic and monetary union (EMU), as well as for the Growth and Stability Pact, the current Protocol 12, annexed to the 2012 consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, provides a complete definition of government debt: debt means total gross debt at nominal value outstanding at the end of the year and consolidated between and within the sectors of general government. This definition is supplemented by Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009, as amended by the Commission Regulation (EU) No 220/2014 (which has only updated references to ESA 2010 instruments) specifying the components of government debt with reference to the definitions of financial liabilities in ESA 2010. In this context, the stock of government debt in the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP debt) is equal to the sum of liabilities, at the end of year, of all units classified within the general government sector (S.13) in the following categories: AF.2 (currency and deposits) + AF.3 (debt securities) + AF.4 (loans). Basic data are expressed in national currency, converted into euro using end-year exchange rates for the euro provided by the European Central Bank (ECB). The MIP headline indicator is calculated as: [GGDt/GDPt]*100. The indicative threshold is 60% of GDP. The data are expressed in millions of units of national currency and in % of GDP.

The indicator measures the general government total expenditure on law courts according to the classification of the functions of government (COFOG). This includes expenditure on administration, operation or support of civil and criminal law courts and the judicial system, including enforcement of fines and legal settlements imposed by the courts and operation of parole and probation systems; legal representation and advice on behalf of government or on behalf of others provided by government in cash or in services. Law courts include administrative tribunals, ombudsmen and the like, and exclude prison administrations. In computing the per capita indicator, the average National Accounts (NA) population data of the reference year is used as denominator (calculated as the arithmetic mean of the population on 1st January of two consecutive years).

Government Finance Statistics (GFS) form the basis for fiscal monitoring in Europe, most notably for the statistics related to the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). The EDP is established in the Treaty and specified in the Stability and Growth Pact legislation. The Member States report data related to the EDP to the Commission (Eurostat) which, in turn, is responsible for providing the data to the Council. European GFS, including the statistics for the EDP, are produced in accordance with the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010), the EU manual for national accounts, which in September 2014 replaced the previous version of the national accounting framework ESA 95. It is supplemented by further interpretation and guidance from Eurostat, in particular the Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Council Regulation 479/2009 as amended requires that Member States report government deficit/surplus (hereinafter deficit) and debt data related to the EDP twice per year: before 1 April and 1 October for the preceding four calendar years and a forecast for the current year. The data are reported in harmonised tables. These tables are designed specifically to provide a consistent framework, with a link to national budgetary aggregates and between the deficit and changes in the debt. They should be fully consistent with GFS data delivered to Eurostat in the ESA 2010 transmission programme. The EDP notification tables contain for general government and its sub sectors: Table 1: Summary table on deficit and debt, including auxiliary indicators (Gross Fixed Capital Formation, Interest and Gross Domestic Product - GDP)Tables 2A - 2D: Transition from the working balance to the deficit/surplus for general government sub sectorsTables 3A - 3E: Transition from the deficit/surplus to the change in debt for general government and its sub sectorsTable 4: Supplementary data. The data are presented in the Eurostat's Statistics Database in national currency, euro/ECU, and percentage of GDP. In order to reflect economic and technological developments and meet user needs, in September 2014 the new national accounting framework ESA 2010 replaced the previous framework ESA 95. This led to revisions of the time series for all Member States (please see Eurostat press release for the impact of the revisions on the government deficit and debt ratios). The main changes relate to the classification of certain entities into government and the treatment of transactions related to pension schemes. Also the concept of government deficit was changed as regards treatment of interest on swaps and forward rate agreements (Commission Regulation 220/2014 amending the Council Regulation 479/2009), according to which these flows are now recorded as financial transaction in line with the core ESA accounting framework.

Main revenue and expenditure items of the general government sector, notified by national authorities in Table 2 of the ESA2010 transmission programme. Data are presented in millions of Euro, millions of national currency units and percentages of GDP. Geographic coverage: EU and euro area, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Main sources of data: National authorities (National Statistical Institutes)

The data on contingent liabilities and potential obligations of government are collected in the context of the Enhanced Economic Governance package (the "six-pack") adopted in 2011. In particular, Council Directive 2011/85 on requirements for budgetary frameworks of the Member States requires the Member States to publish relevant information on contingent liabilities with potentially large impacts on public budgets, including government guarantees, non-performing loans, and liabilities stemming from the operation of public corporations, including the extent thereof. The liabilities are called “contingent” in the sense that they are by nature only potential and not actual liabilities and can materialise as actual government liabilities only if certain specific conditions prevail. Non-performing loans could imply a potential loss for government if these loans were not repaid by their original debtor. This new data collection represents a step towards further transparency of public finances in the EU by giving a more comprehensive picture of EU Member States’ financial positions. It is to be underlined that contingent liabilities are not part of the general government (Maastricht) debt as defined in the Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25 May 2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community. Eurostat collects and publishes the following indicators: government guarantees, liabilities related to public-private partnerships recorded off-balance sheet of government, liabilities of government controlled entities classified outside general government (public corporations) and non-performing loans (government assets). Regarding government controlled entities, it should be mentioned that this refers to  government controlled units, not classified in general government, and which are controlled, directly or indirectly (through other public units), by government. In cases when the government share in a corporation is lower than 50% and government does not have control over an entity, the corporation is not considered as controlled by government. Regarding the control criteria, according to ESA 2010 paragraph 20.18: “Control over an entity is the ability to determine the general policy or programme of that entity (…)”. The criteria to be used for corporations are indicated in ESA 2010 paragraphs 2.38 and further detailed in paragraph 20.309. ESA 2010 paragraph 2.38 specifies that: “General government secures control over a corpo­ration as a result of special legislation, decree or reg­ulation which empowers the government to deter­mine corporate policy. The following indicators are the main factors to consider in deciding whether a corporation is controlled by government:(a) government ownership of the majority of the voting interest; (b) government control of the board or governing body; (c) government control of the appointment and removal of key personnel;(d) government control of key committees in the entity; (e) government possession of a golden share; (f) special regulations; (g) government as a dominant customer; (h) borrowing from government. A single indicator may be sufficient to establish control, but, in other cases, a number of separate indicators may collectively indicate control.”

Long term government bond yields are calculated as monthly averages (non seasonally adjusted data). They refer to central government bond yields on the secondary market, gross of tax, with a residual maturity of around 10 years. The bond or the bonds of the basket have to be replaced regularly to avoid any maturity drift. This definition is used in the convergence criteria of the Economic and Monetary Union for long-term interest rates, as required under Article 121 of the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Protocol on the convergence criteria. Data are presented in raw form. Source: European Central Bank (ECB)

Official development assistance (ODA) consists of grants or loans that are undertaken by the official sector with the objective of promoting economic development and welfare in recipient countries. Disbursements record the actual international transfer of financial resources, or of goods or services valued at the cost of the donor. ODA is here presented as a share of Gross National Income (GNI). GNI at market prices equals Gross Domestic Product (GDP) minus primary income payable by resident units to non-resident units, plus primary income receivable by resident units from the rest of the world. The list of countries and territories eligible to receive ODA is determined by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee. Since reference year 2016, the EU27 (from 2020) aggregate refers to the ODA provided by the EU and its Member States 'EU collective ODA'.

This indicator is defined as total public expenditure on education, expressed as a percentage of GDP. Generally, the public sector funds education either by bearing directly the current and capital expenses of educational institutions or by supporting students and their families with scholarships and public loans as well as by transferring public subsidies for educational activities to private firms or non-profit organisations. Both types of transactions together are reported as total public expenditure on education.

The data correspond to quarterly financial accounts for the general government sector and follows the ESA2010 methodology. The data covers financial transactions and balance sheet items for general government (consolidated and non-consolidated) and its subsectors. This includes a number of financial instruments (F.1, F.2, F.3, F.4, ...) as well as some balancing items such as net financial transactions, net financial worth and net financial assets and liabilties. Data are available in million of euro, million of national currency (average exchange rates are used for transactions and end of period exchange rates are used for stocks) and as a percentage of GDP (for transactions quarterly GDP is used; for stocks a rolling sum of the last four quarters is used). In the table gov_10a_ggfa, annualised quarterly financial accounts for general government are presented. For financial transactions, data is summed over the four quarters of each year. For the conversion from national currency into euro, the yearly average exchange rate is used. For balance sheet items (stocks), the annualised data corresponds to the data of the fourth quarter. The percentage of GDP data of annualised data uses annual GDP transmitted by the Member States. In the course of the annualisation, small rounding differences may be amplified. Geographic coverage: EU and euro area. Main data sources are the tables provided according to the European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) N° 549/2013 of 21 May 2013 (OJ No L174/1).

'Quarterly government debt' is defined as the total gross debt at nominal value outstanding at the end of each quarter for the general government sector (ref. Regulation  (EU) No 549/2013, Annex B transmission programme, definition of general government sector ESA 2010 §2.111). Data are measured in million Euro, million of national currency units, percentage of GDP and percentage of total consolidated debt. Data cover EU Member States and Norway. Quarterly data on government debt is provided according to the provisions of the European System of Accounts ESA 2010 (Regulation (EU) No 549/2013). Data is transmitted by national authorities (National Statistical Institutes, National Central Banks or Ministries of Finance).

18.1. Source data

Expenditure on social protection contain: social benefits, which consist of transfers, in cash or in kind, to households and individuals to relieve them of the burden of a defined set of risks or needs; administration costs, which represent the costs charged to the scheme for its management and administration; other expenditure, which consists of miscellaneous expenditure by social protection schemes (payment of property income and other).

Government Finance Statistics (GFS) form the basis for fiscal monitoring in Europe, most notably for the statistics related to the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). The EDP is established in the Treaty and specified in the Stability and Growth Pact legislation. The Member States report data related to the EDP to the Commission (Eurostat) which, in turn, is responsible for providing the data to the Council. European GFS, including the statistics for the EDP, are produced in accordance with the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010), the EU manual for national accounts, which in September 2014 replaced the previous version of the national accounting framework ESA 95. It is supplemented by further interpretation and guidance from Eurostat, in particular the Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Council Regulation 479/2009 as amended requires that Member States report government deficit/surplus (hereinafter deficit) and debt data related to the EDP twice per year: before 1 April and 1 October for the preceding four calendar years and a forecast for the current year. The data are reported in harmonised tables. These tables are designed specifically to provide a consistent framework, with a link to national budgetary aggregates and between the deficit and changes in the debt. They should be fully consistent with GFS data delivered to Eurostat in the ESA 2010 transmission programme. The EDP notification tables contain for general government and its sub sectors:Table 1: Summary table on deficit and debt, including auxiliary indicators (Gross Fixed Capital Formation, Interest and Gross Domestic Product - GDP)Tables 2A - 2D: Transition from the working balance to the deficit/surplus for general government sub sectorsTables 3A - 3E: Transition from the deficit/surplus to the change in debt for general government and its sub sectorsTable 4: Supplementary data. The data are presented in the Eurostat's Statistics Database in national currency, euro/ECU, and percentage of GDP. In order to reflect economic and technological developments and meet user needs, in September 2014 the new national accounting framework ESA 2010 replaced the previous framework ESA 95. This led to revisions of the time series for all Member States (please see Eurostat press release for the impact of the revisions on the government deficit and debt ratios). The main changes relate to the classification of certain entities into government and the treatment of transactions related to pension schemes. Also the concept of government deficit was changed as regards treatment of interest on swaps and forward rate agreements (Commission Regulation 220/2014 amending the Council Regulation 479/2009), according to which these flows are now recorded as financial transaction in line with the core ESA accounting framework.

Government Finance Statistics (GFS) form the basis for fiscal monitoring in Europe, most notably for the statistics related to the Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP). The EDP is established in the Treaty and specified in the Stability and Growth Pact legislation. The Member States report data related to the EDP to the Commission (Eurostat) which, in turn, is responsible for providing the data to the Council. European GFS, including the statistics for the EDP, are produced in accordance with the European System of Accounts 2010 (ESA 2010), the EU manual for national accounts, which in September 2014 replaced the previous version of the national accounting framework ESA 95. It is supplemented by further interpretation and guidance from Eurostat, in particular the Manual on Government Deficit and Debt. Council Regulation 479/2009 as amended requires that Member States report government deficit/surplus (hereinafter deficit) and debt data related to the EDP twice per year: before 1 April and 1 October for the preceding four calendar years and a forecast for the current year. The data are reported in harmonised tables. These tables are designed specifically to provide a consistent framework, with a link to national budgetary aggregates and between the deficit and changes in the debt. They should be fully consistent with GFS data delivered to Eurostat in the ESA 2010 transmission programme. The EDP notification tables contain for general government and its sub sectors: Table 1: Summary table on deficit and debt, including auxiliary indicators (Gross Fixed Capital Formation, Interest and Gross Domestic Product - GDP)Tables 2A - 2D: Transition from the working balance to the deficit/surplus for general government sub sectorsTables 3A - 3E: Transition from the deficit/surplus to the change in debt for general government and its sub sectorsTable 4: Supplementary data. The data are presented in the Eurostat's Statistics Database in national currency, euro/ECU, and percentage of GDP. In order to reflect economic and technological developments and meet user needs, in September 2014 the new national accounting framework ESA 2010 replaced the previous framework ESA 95. This led to revisions of the time series for all Member States (please see Eurostat press release for the impact of the revisions on the government deficit and debt ratios). The main changes relate to the classification of certain entities into government and the treatment of transactions related to pension schemes. Also the concept of government deficit was changed as regards treatment of interest on swaps and forward rate agreements (Commission Regulation 220/2014 amending the Council Regulation 479/2009), according to which these flows are now recorded as financial transaction in line with the core ESA accounting framework.