EU debt mountain continues to grow
(BRUSSELS) - European national debt levels have continued to rise way above EU limits, official data showed Wednesday, as the eurozone debt crisis undermines government revenues.
The EU statistics agency Eurostat said total accumulated national debt in the 17 eurozone nations increased to 90 percent of Gross Domestic Product in the second quarter, up from 88.2 percent in the first three months of the year.
In the full 27-member EU, debt rose to 84.9 percent from 83.5 percent.
The EU sets a 60 percent cap on total debt and 3.0 percent on annual public deficits but such limits have been under pressure for years in many states and the eurozone debt crisis has only made things worse.
The austerity policies adopted to cope with the crisis have cut government spending but in doing so they have also undercut growth sharply, with tax revenues falling in tandem.
Debt at levels approaching 100 percent are widely seen as unsustainable for the long term but some countries such as Japan have lived with them much higher than that for years.
The most indebted nations at the end of the second quarter were Greece, with a debt to GDP ratio of 150.3 percent and Italy 126.1 percent, followed by bailed-out Portugal and Ireland at 117.5 percent and 111.5 percent.
Eurostat said Estonia at 7.3 percent, Bulgaria 16.5 percent and Luxembourg at 20.9 percent had the lowest debt burdens.