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ANNUAL REPORT 2008 - Polymer Bank Notes of the World

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In <strong>the</strong> remaining non-euro area EU countries(i.e. Bulgaria, <strong>the</strong> Czech Republic, Denmark,Hungary, Poland and Slovakia), budgetaryoutcomes for <strong>2008</strong> were broadly in line with orbetter than <strong>the</strong> convergence programme targets.In a generally deteriorating economic andfiscal environment, Slovakia, Sweden and<strong>the</strong> United Kingdom planned or implementedfiscal stimulus packages towards <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong><strong>2008</strong>, whereas several o<strong>the</strong>r non-euro area EUMember States announced plans for – in somecases ambitious – fiscal consolidation in 2009.Latvia and Hungary, which received emergencyfinancial support from, among o<strong>the</strong>rs, <strong>the</strong> EUand <strong>the</strong> IMF, committed to sizeable fiscalconsolidation packages for 2009 and beyond.At <strong>the</strong> end <strong>of</strong> <strong>2008</strong>, Hungary and <strong>the</strong>United Kingdom were subject to excessivedeficit procedures. The ECOFIN Councilabrogated <strong>the</strong> excessive deficit proceduresfor <strong>the</strong> Czech Republic and Slovakia in Juneand for Poland in July. In June Romania receivedpolicy advice from <strong>the</strong> European Commissionin view <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> risk that it would breach <strong>the</strong>3% <strong>of</strong> GDP deficit ceiling in an environment <strong>of</strong>strong GDP growth.The government debt ratio remainedsubstantially below <strong>the</strong> 60% <strong>of</strong> GDP referencevalue in <strong>2008</strong> in most non-euro area EU MemberStates, with only Hungary recording a debt ratioabove 60%. However, developments differedsignificantly across countries. The debt ratioincreased in Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Hungary,Poland, Romania and <strong>the</strong> United Kingdom,while it declined or was broadly unchanged in<strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>r countries. Increases in <strong>the</strong> debt ratio inmost countries reflect mainly <strong>the</strong> deteriorationin GDP growth and in <strong>the</strong> budget balance. For<strong>the</strong> United Kingdom <strong>the</strong> increase in <strong>the</strong> debtratio relates to some extent also to <strong>the</strong> budgetaryimpact <strong>of</strong> emergency support provided t<strong>of</strong>inancial institutions. In <strong>the</strong> case <strong>of</strong> Denmark,<strong>the</strong> increase reflects bond issuance in excess <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> funding requirement.BALANCE OF PAYMENTS DEVELOPMENTSThe combined current and capital accounts <strong>of</strong><strong>the</strong> non-euro area EU Member States continuedto vary considerably across countries in <strong>2008</strong>Table 9 Balance <strong>of</strong> payments <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> non-euro area EU Member States and <strong>the</strong> euro area(as a percentage <strong>of</strong> GDP)Current andcapital account balance Net direct investment Net portfolio investment2005 2006 2007 <strong>2008</strong> 2005 2006 2007 <strong>2008</strong> 2005 2006 2007 <strong>2008</strong>Bulgaria -11.3 -17.1 -20.6 -22.7 14.7 23.3 21.8 18.0 -4.7 1.3 -1.6 -2.4Czech Republic -1.2 -2.3 -1.2 -1.4 9.4 2.8 4.5 4.9 -2.7 -0.8 -1.5 1.3Denmark 4.5 2.9 0.7 1.6 -1.3 -2.1 -2.8 -3.6 -4.5 -6.3 -2.0 -6.2Estonia -9.2 -14.6 -16.9 -10.5 15.7 4.2 5.3 5.5 -16.0 -8.0 -2.4 0.5Latvia -11.2 -21.3 -20.6 -13.0 3.6 7.5 6.7 4.4 -0.8 0.2 -2.3 1.2Lithuania -5.8 -9.5 -12.8 -12.4 2.6 5.1 3.6 2.5 -1.0 -0.8 -0.8 0.7Hungary -6.7 -7.1 -5.1 -5.7 5.0 1.0 3.2 1.7 3.9 5.5 -1.6 1.7Poland -0.9 -2.1 -3.6 -3.7 2.3 3.1 4.3 2.8 4.1 -0.9 -1.2 0.7Romania -7.9 -10.5 -13.1 -13.2 6.6 8.9 5.8 6.3 1.0 -0.2 0.4 -0.2Slovakia -8.5 -7.8 -4.7 -5.2 4.8 7.5 3.8 2.8 -2.0 2.9 -1.0 1.3Sweden 7.0 7.8 8.4 8.0 -4.5 0.6 -3.7 2.0 -0.1 -5.2 2.2 -2.0United Kingdom -2.5 -3.4 -2.7 -1.3 4.4 2.6 -2.7 -2.8 -1.5 1.1 8.4 20.5EU9 1) -4.1 -5.5 -5.5 -5.6 5.9 4.4 4.9 4.0 0.7 0.7 -1.2 0.9EU12 2) -1.0 -1.8 -1.5 -0.8 3.1 2.4 -1.1 -0.6 -1.0 -0.4 4.5 10.7Euro area 0.3 0.2 0.6 -0.2 -2.6 -1.9 -1.0 -1.9 1.6 3.5 1.5 1.6Source: ECB.Note: Data for <strong>2008</strong> refer to <strong>the</strong> sum <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> four quarters up to <strong>the</strong> third quarter <strong>of</strong> <strong>2008</strong>.1) The EU9 aggregate comprises <strong>the</strong> nine non-euro area EU Member States that joined <strong>the</strong> EU on 1 May 2004 or 1 January 2007.2) The EU12 aggregate comprises <strong>the</strong> 12 non-euro area EU Member States as at 31 December <strong>2008</strong>.ECBAnnual Report<strong>2008</strong>89

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