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BUDGET

French government hails cut in public deficit

France's Socialist government on Thursday was cheered by the news the country's public deficit had been cut. Paris is under pressure from Brussels to bring its public finances under control.

Published: 26 March 2015 08:37 CET
French government hails cut in public deficit
Photo: AFP

France's public deficit in 2014 stood at 4.0 percent of gross domestic product, instead of the 4.4 percent estimated previously, the national statistics agency said on Thursday.

Finance Minister Michel Sapin hailed the unexpected figures, saying they raised the possibility the public deficit in 2015 could stand at 3.8 percent of GDP instead of the 4.1 percent currently estimated.

The 2013 public deficit in France, the eurozone's second-largest economy, stood at 4.1 percent of GDP.

Under European Union rules, members' public deficits — the difference between government spending and revenue — cannot exceed 3.0 percent of economic output.

France has repeatedly been above this figure and earlier in March won a two-year reprieve to get its public deficit within the bloc's limits.

Under the controversial decision — which came amid accusations that bigger EU member states are treated more leniently than smaller ones — France got until 2017 to work down its public deficit to 2.8 percent.

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ECONOMY

Sweden boosts spending on civil defence in spring budget

Sweden is to channel a further 800 million kronor to local government and other organisations to bolster Sweden's civil defence capabilities, the country's finance minister has announced.

Published: 19 April 2022 09:11 CEST
Sweden boosts spending on civil defence in spring budget

The new funding, which will go to municipalities, regional government, and other organisations, was announced of part of the country’s spring budget, announced on Tuesday. 

“This will strengthen our ability to resist in both war and peace,” Sweden’s finance minister, Mikael Damberg, said in a press conference. “If the worst happens, it’s important that there is physical protection for the population.” 

The government is channelling 91m kronor towards renovating Sweden’s 65,000 bomb shelters, and will also fund the repair the country’s network of emergency sirens, known as Hesa Fredrik, or Hoarse Fredrik, many of which are currently out of order. 

A bomb shelter in Stockholm. Sweden’s government is spending 800m kronor in its spring budget to boost civil defence. Photo: Anders Wiklund/ TT

Sweden’s Social Democrats are currently ruling on the alternative budget put together by the right-wing opposition, making this spring budget, which makes changes to the autumn budget, unusually important. 

The budget includes extra spending of some 31.4 billion kronor (€299m), with 500m kronor going to extra spending on healthcare,  and 10.3 billion kronor going towards supporting Ukrainian refugees, of which nine billion will come from the aid budget. 

The spring budget also includes the so called “pension guarantee bonus”, or garantitillägg, which will see four billion kronor (€390m) going to those with the lowest pensions. 

The bonus, which was the price the Left Party demanded for letting Magdalena Andersson take her place as prime minister, risks being voted down by the right-wing parties in the parliament. 

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