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Economy and Finance

EU Public finances have improved

The indicator value shown in the chart is an early-detection indicator on sustainability challenges in the short term.


EU Public finances have improved

The indicator captures  risks of fiscal stress in the upcoming year. Such risks can be linked to either fiscal slippages and/or macro-financial imbalances. A value of the indicator above its critical threshold signals risks of fiscal stress.

The critical threshold, marked in the graph as a dotted line, has been statistically determined by analysing the behaviour of a large set of fiscal and macro-financial variables ahead of past episodes of fiscal stress in advanced economies. This indicator has been developed by the Commission and introduced in its fiscal sustainability assessment framework in 2012.