Eurostat corrects Italy’s deficit and debt and cuts them. But levels remain high

Public finance from special surveillance, but in the meantime less debt and also less deficit. The situation of the Italian public accounts for 2022 is corrected downwards. Eurostat changes the European Commission’s expectations, improving the estimates produced by the community executive in the spring economic forecasts last May. There it was argued that at the end of 2022 Italy would record a deficit/GDP level of 8.6%, and a debt/GDP ratio of 144.4%. The consolidated data from the European Statistical Institute released today read: deficit 8% and debt 141.7%.
Be careful though. Because despite these corrections, the condition of the country system is such that it does not allow celebrations. At the end of 2022, the “highest level” of deficit in relation to GDP is the Italian one, and also as regards the level of debt, the Italian one continues to be the second highest in the Eurozone and the EU, after the Greek one.
The Italian data is part of a more general review by Eurostat which improves the Commission’s estimates also for the Eurozone area. At the end of 2022, Euroland’s deficit compared to its gross domestic product was 3.6% instead of 3.7% as expected by the Commission, while the debt level was 91% instead of 93.2%.
The European Commission will publish its next economic forecasts, the autumn ones, on 15 November. It is here that you will be able to have proof of the data released by Eurostat. In any case, the situation of the state of health of public finances continues to take center stage in the discussion between member states for the reform of the stability pact. Germany and the Netherlands would like clear rules and clear and measurable deficit and debt reduction commitments. Conditions which, if approved, for Italy could mean strict commitments to consolidate its public finances and control public spending, as well as surveillance by the European Commission.