UK Stability Pact breach earns it first warning

The European Commission is getting set to slap Britain with infraction proceedings over its excessive budget deficit. Brussels forecasts it will top 3% this year, much as last year. In fact, Britain has overshot the Stability Pact limit for three years in a row but runs no risk of sanctions, since it is not a euro-zone member. It is
supposed to avoid excessive deficits though. Brussels calculates it will stay
above the limit into 2007.When the Labour government came to power in 1997, the prime minister and the finance minister made it a point of pride to maintain
strict budget discipline. And Tony Blair is widely expected to be succeeded by
Gordon Brown. So the censure is at least an embarrassment for London, in terms
of credibility among its European partners.Traditionally ambivalent British
attitudes to the EU have hardened, with many Britons becoming more sceptical
about closer ties with the 25-member bloc. Fonte:
Euronews.

É de começar a pensar seriamente
se não será mais realista
elevar o limite do défice para 5%. Quando foi
fixado o limite de 3%, a economia
europeia estava sobre-aquecida e era
importante controlá-la (leia-se:
arrefecê-la). Agora passa-se o contrário.
Quando (quase) ninguém cumpre o limite
de 3%, o que está mal é o próprio
limite.