The euro area has a public deficit of 3.1 per cent and a public debt level of 87.4 per cent.

According to Eurostat's April publication, in 2024 the governments of the euro area and the European Union continued to recover from the pandemic and energy shocks of recent years. However, the dynamics of budgets show unevenness: some countries are showing surpluses, while others are rapidly deteriorating.

The budget deficit of euro area countries fell from 3.5 per cent in 2023 to 3.1 per cent in 2024, and for the EU as a whole from 3.5 per cent to 3.2 per cent. This points to a moderate improvement in fiscal discipline, despite persistent challenges. Public spending remained at around 49.6% of GDP in the euro area and 49.2% in the EU, while revenues stood at 46.5% and 46% respectively - almost unchanged from the previous year.

Nevertheless, government debt in the eurozone rose from 87.3% to 87.4% of GDP and in the EU from 80.8% to 81%. This means that countries continue to accumulate debt despite deficit reduction, which can be linked to inflation, rising interest rates and structural costs such as defence and social payments.

In 2024, only six states - Denmark (+4.5%), Ireland and Cyprus (+4.3% each), Greece (+1.3%), Luxembourg (+1.0%) and Portugal (+0.7%) - reported surpluses. This is particularly noteworthy against the backdrop of ongoing volatility.

In contrast, Romania achieved the highest deficit in the EU with a deficit of -9.3% of GDP, followed by Poland (-6.6%), France (-5.8%) and Slovakia (-5.3%). A total of 12 countries violated a key rule of the EU Stability and Growth Pact by exceeding a deficit of 3 per cent of GDP.

The problem of public debt is still most pronounced in the southern part of Europe. The highest levels are recorded in Greece (153.6 per cent of GDP), Italy (135.3 per cent), France (113.0 per cent), Belgium (104.7 per cent) and Spain (101.8 per cent). These indicators significantly exceed the acceptable level of 60% set by the Maastricht Treaty.

In comparison, the lowest debt levels are found in Estonia (23.6 per cent), Bulgaria (24.1 per cent) and Luxembourg (26.3 per cent). These countries provide an example of how fiscal sustainability can be maintained even in turbulent times.

Eurostat reported that it did not make any changes to the reported data of the countries and removed the previous quality limitation on Estonia's reporting of military expenditures. This emphasises the importance of trust in the methodology and consistency of national statistical institutes with European standards.

Despite the formal deficit reduction, structural vulnerabilities are increasing: debts continue to grow and fiscal discipline is deteriorating in a number of countries. High public debt makes countries sensitive to rising interest rates and global instability. In the long term, this could pose a serious challenge to the eurozone and the sustainability of the single currency.

Thus, the current data is less a signal of stabilisation than a reminder: behind the façade of improvement lies a fragility that requires careful management and structural reforms.