HC Deb 23 April 1998 vol 310 c697W
36. Mr. Hawkins

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many EU member states have deficits of less than 3 per cent. of gross domestic product. [38280]

Mr. Gordon Brown

According to the Commission's Convergence Report, 14 Member States had a government balance in 1997 which was better than or equal to the Maastricht reference value for the deficit of 3 per cent. of GDP.