It is of vital importance to the credibility of the budgetary surveillance that the reliable compilation and timely reporting of government finance statistics is ensured. The European accounting rules must be fully respected when recording all types of expenditure and revenue. This should be done in a manner that is consistent and stable over time and homogeneous across countries.
The procedures must not be vulnerable to political and electoral cycles, as stated by the ECOFIN Council. Countries should consider the quality and integrity of their statistics as a priority matter. Finally, let me report on the detailed discussion we had today on employment and unemployment developments in the euro area.