This procedure begins with a Member State:
- either having breached or being in risk of breaching the deficit threshold of 3% of GDP
- or having violated the debt rule by having a government debt level above 60% of GDP, which is not diminishing at a satisfactory pace. This means that the gap between a country's debt level and the 60% reference needs to be reduced by 1/20th annually (on average over three years)
In determining whether a numerical breach should lead to the opening of an EDP the legislation specifies how all relevant factors should be taken into account.