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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| EU calls for action on UK deficit | EU calls for action on UK deficit |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| The government's plans for reducing the budget deficit are not ambitious enough - according to a European Commission report to be published later this week. | The government's plans for reducing the budget deficit are not ambitious enough - according to a European Commission report to be published later this week. |
| The report warns that the UK is not on course to cut its deficit in line with EU rules by a deadline of 2015. | The report warns that the UK is not on course to cut its deficit in line with EU rules by a deadline of 2015. |
| Those rules say deficits must be below 3% of GDP, but the UK's is expected to hit £178bn - 12.6% of GDP - this year. | Those rules say deficits must be below 3% of GDP, but the UK's is expected to hit £178bn - 12.6% of GDP - this year. |
| Ministers insist their plans to halve the deficit in four years are less likely to halt the economic recovery. | |
| Last year EU finance ministers gave members the 2015 deadline to bring their budget deficits in order. | Last year EU finance ministers gave members the 2015 deadline to bring their budget deficits in order. |
| Target missed | Target missed |
| But current government plans to half the deficit in four years - announced in last year's pre-Budget report - would see the UK miss that target. | But current government plans to half the deficit in four years - announced in last year's pre-Budget report - would see the UK miss that target. |
| In the run-up to next week's Budget, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has defended the government's approach to the deficit, arguing that cutting it too quickly by reducing government spending would harm the UK's fragile economic recovery. | In the run-up to next week's Budget, the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, has defended the government's approach to the deficit, arguing that cutting it too quickly by reducing government spending would harm the UK's fragile economic recovery. |
| A draft of the Commission's report suggests that "additional fiscal tightening measures" beyond those already planned are needed if the health of public finances is to be restored "within a credible timeframe". | A draft of the Commission's report suggests that "additional fiscal tightening measures" beyond those already planned are needed if the health of public finances is to be restored "within a credible timeframe". |
| The report also calls into question the Treasury's forecasts for the UK's economic growth. | The report also calls into question the Treasury's forecasts for the UK's economic growth. |
| Its forecast of 2% growth in 2010-11, and then 3.3% growth for the next four years could prove optimistic, the Commission argues, should the global economy fail to recover as strongly as expected. | Its forecast of 2% growth in 2010-11, and then 3.3% growth for the next four years could prove optimistic, the Commission argues, should the global economy fail to recover as strongly as expected. |