In the view of the Governing Council, this requires a rigorous implementation of 2007 budgets, the avoidance of expenditure overruns and the allocation of unexpected extra revenues to deficit and debt reduction. For 2008, countries with remaining fiscal imbalances are expected to pursue more ambitious than currently planned budgetary targets.
Policy implications Authorities are closely monitoring these developments and will act if necessary to offset them. 5 In the absence of decisive actions to address the underlying sovereign problems, there are several alternatives to mitigate the effects.