European debt standards and excessive deficit procedure

According to the Growth and Stability Pact, the public deficit in countries which have adopted the euro as their currency may not exceed 3 percent and public debt may not exceed 60 percent of GDP. Non-compliance leads to enforcement of national efforts to reduce the deficit and/or debt. Euro countries with a debt exceeding 60 percent of GDP must recover on average one-twentieth of the amount exceeding the limit on an annual basis.

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