Fiscal deficits are on average high or even very high in a number of new Member States and mostly despite very high economic growth. Their governments are confronted with competing expenditure demands, including public investment in infrastructure and the need to strengthen the effectiveness of public administration and the judicial systems.
This, however, should not be seen as an excuse to delay fiscal consolidation, but as an additional reason to design and implement a credible consolidation path based on durable and growth-enhancing structural reforms.