According to the updated stability and growth programmes, a discernible improvement in fiscal positions is not foreseen in most countries until 2011 and 2012.
The magnitude of the worsening of public finances is underscored by the official estimate that the average debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to reach 87% in 2012, compared with 66% in 2007 – that is 21 percentage points higher than five years earlier. Thus, fiscal imbalances are sizeable, broad-based and likely to persist for some time to come.