CR's government debt at 39.8 pct of GDP, seventh lowest in EU

Debt-to-GDP ratio in the EU in the third quarter rose in a quarter-on-quarter comparison from 81.7 percent to 82.2 percent. In contrast, in the euro zone the ratio fell from 87.7 percent to 87.4 percent.

The data show that the "debt criterion" of a maximum debt of 60 percent of GDP is fulfilled by only 13 out of 27 EU member states.

This criterion is one of the conditions for adopting the euro. But the single currency is now undergoing a deep crisis which jeopardises the form and the future of the euro zone.

In a year-on-year comparison, the EU's debt rose to 82.2 percent of GDP in the third quarter of last year from 78.5 percent. The euro zone's debt grew to 87.4 percent in Q3 2011 from 83.2 percent in the same period of 2010, Eurostat said.

Source: Eurostat

Author: ČTK
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