European Commission: Czech austerity measures sufficient

In an evaluation of deficit reducing measures adopted by twelve EU member states, the European Commission said on Tuesday that the steps implemented by the Czech government were sufficient. The commission said that Czech authorities implemented deficit reducing measures in 2010 as planned, and took additional steps in the course of the year to reach the 2010 deficit target of 5.7 percent of the country’s GDP. Overall, the commission estimates the fiscal impact of these measures at more than 2 percent of GDP.

The Czech Republic faced excessive deficit procedures last December, when the budget deficit reached 5.9 percent of GDP; the European Commission requires that the deficit be less than three percent by 2013.