Decision 2012/369 - 2012/369/EU: Council Decision of 22 June 2012 abrogating Decision 2010/285/EU on the existence of an excessive deficit in Germany

Please note

This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.

Contents

  1. Current status
  2. Key information
  3. Key dates
  4. Legislative text
  5. Original proposal
  6. Sources and disclaimer
  7. Full version
  8. EU Monitor

1.

Current status

This decision has been published on July 11, 2012 and entered into force on June 27, 2012.

2.

Key information

official title

2012/369/EU: Council Decision of 22 June 2012 abrogating Decision 2010/285/EU on the existence of an excessive deficit in Germany
 
Legal instrument Decision
Number legal act Decision 2012/369
Original proposal COM(2012)274 EN
CELEX number i 32012D0369

3.

Key dates

Document 22-06-2012
Publication in Official Journal 11-07-2012; OJ L 179 p. 17-18
Effect 27-06-2012; Entry into force Date notif.
End of validity 31-12-9999
Notification 27-06-2012

4.

Legislative text

11.7.2012   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 179/17
 

COUNCIL DECISION

of 22 June 2012

abrogating Decision 2010/285/EU on the existence of an excessive deficit in Germany

(2012/369/EU)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 126(12) thereof,

Having regard to the recommendation from the European Commission,

Whereas:

 

(1)

On 2 December 2009, by Decision 2010/285/EU (1), following a proposal from the Commission in accordance with Article 126(6) of the Treaty, the Council decided that an excessive deficit existed in Germany. The Council noted that the general government deficit planned for 2009 was 3,7 % of GDP, thus above the 3 % of GDP Treaty reference value, while the general government gross debt was planned to reach 74,2 % of GDP in 2009, thus above the 60 % of GDP Treaty reference value (2).
 

(2)

On 2 December 2009, in accordance with Article 126(7) of the Treaty and Article 3(4) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1467/97 of 7 July 1997 on speeding up and clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure (3), the Council, based on a recommendation from the Commission, addressed a recommendation to Germany with a view to bringing the excessive deficit situation to an end by 2013 at the latest. The recommendation was made public.
 

(3)

Article 4 of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaties requires that the Commission provide the data for the implementation of the procedure. As part of the application of this Protocol, Member States are to notify data on government deficits and debt and other associated variables twice a year, namely before 1 April and before 1 October, in accordance with Article 3 of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25 May 2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community (4).
 

(4)

When considering whether a decision on the existence of an excessive deficit should be abrogated, the Council should take a decision on the basis of notified data. Moreover, a decision on the existence of an excessive deficit should be abrogated only if the Commission forecasts indicate that the deficit will not exceed the 3 % of GDP threshold over the forecast horizon (5).
 

(5)

Based on data provided by the Commission (Eurostat) in accordance with Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 following the notification by Germany before 1 April 2012 and on the Commission services 2012 spring forecast, the following conclusions are justified:

 

—

Having stood at 3,2 % of GDP in 2009 and 4,3% of GDP in 2010, the general government deficit in Germany has been brought down to 1 % of GDP in 2011, thus below the 3 % reference value, two years ahead of the deadline set by the Council. This improvement was driven by favourable cyclical conditions, the robust labour market, the phasing-out of stimulus measures, fiscal consolidation efforts and the fading-out of the one-off impact of financial sector stabilisation measures on the deficit in the previous year.
 

—

The German 2012 Stability Programme plans for the deficit to remain at 1 % of GDP in 2012 and to drop to ½ % of GDP in 2013, which is broadly in line with the Commission services forecast of a deficit of 0,9 % of GDP in 2012 and 0,7 % of GDP in 2013. Thus, the deficit is set to remain well below the reference value of 3 % of GDP. In addition, according to the Commission services’ forecast, the cyclically adjusted budget deficit, net of one-off and other temporary measures, will be 0,4 % of GDP in 2012 and 0,3 % of GDP in 2013. Meanwhile, the growth rate of government expenditure net of discretionary revenue measures is forecast to exceed the expenditure benchmark as...


More

This text has been adopted from EUR-Lex.

5.

Original proposal

 

6.

Sources and disclaimer

For further information you may want to consult the following sources that have been used to compile this dossier:

This dossier is compiled each night drawing from aforementioned sources through automated processes. We have invested a great deal in optimising the programming underlying these processes. However, we cannot guarantee the sources we draw our information from nor the resulting dossier are without fault.

 

7.

Full version

This page is also available in a full version containing the legal context, de Europese rechtsgrond, other dossiers related to the dossier at hand and the related cases of the European Court of Justice.

The full version is available for registered users of the EU Monitor by ANP and PDC Informatie Architectuur.

8.

EU Monitor

The EU Monitor enables its users to keep track of the European process of lawmaking, focusing on the relevant dossiers. It automatically signals developments in your chosen topics of interest. Apologies to unregistered users, we can no longer add new users.This service will discontinue in the near future.