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Euro zone: National debt higher than economic output for the first time

2021-07-22T10:45:21.434Z


The fight against the economic consequences of the corona pandemic is putting an enormous strain on public finances. For the first time, the debt ratio in the currency area rose to more than 100 percent.


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Permanently closed restaurant in Barcelona

Photo: Paco Freire / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images

Help for affected companies, the self-employed and employees: In the corona crisis, the states in the euro zone are spending a lot of money to cushion the consequences of the pandemic - and have to take out large new loans for this.

Now the debt level in the currency area has risen above 100 percent of economic output for the first time at the beginning of the year, said the Eurostat statistics office.

In the first quarter, the public debt rose accordingly to 100.5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).

The European statistics authority refers to the increased need for financing at the beginning of the year due to the corona crisis.

In the fourth quarter of 2020, the debt level was 97.8 percent, compared to 86.1 percent in the last quarter before the crisis at the beginning of 2020.

However, the public budget deficit in the euro area has fallen somewhat.

The ratio of budget deficit to GDP in the first quarter was 7.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, in the last quarter of 2020 it was 8.1 percent.

This is still a much higher deficit than before the corona crisis.

In the whole of the European Union - including the Member States that do not have the euro - the trend was similar.

fdi / dpa-AFX

Source: spiegel

All business articles on 2021-07-22

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