EU criticizes France over its debt spending at the height of its crucial election campaign
The European Union’s executive arm is criticizing France for running up excessive debt, astinging rebuke that comes at the height of the election campaign where President Emmanuel Macron is fighting off challenges of the extreme right and the left
BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's executive arm on Wednesday criticized France for running up excessive debt, a stinging rebuke that comes at the height of the election campaign where President Emmanuel Macron facing a strong challenge from the extreme right and the left.
France was one of seven nations instructed by the EU Commission to start a so-called “excessive deficit procedure,” the first step in a long process before any member state can be hemmed in and moved to take corrective action.
For decades, the EU has set out targets for member states to keep their annual deficit within 3% of Gross Domestic Product and keep overall debt within 60% of output. During that time, thosesuch targets have been disregarded when it was convenient, sometimes even by countries like Germany and France, the biggest economies in the bloc.
The French annual deficit stood over 5% last year.
