Euro area fiscal position in 2024

This box provides an overview of fiscal developments in 2024 – as reflected in revisions in fiscal positions across rounds of Eurosystem and ECB staff macroeconomic projections. For the euro area as a whole and in groups of countries with both high and low debt ratios, the cyclically adjusted fiscal positions projected for 2024 have gradually weakened since the September 2023 projection round. Overall, fiscal positions remain weaker in the high-debt country group than in the low-debt group. Considerable risks continue to surround fiscal positions in the short run and beyond, with mixed signals regarding the 2024 outcome. For 2025, draft budgetary plans provide for some consolidation so as, among other reasons, to comply with the requirements of the revised EU economic governance framework.