Lord Bruce of Doningtonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What factual or estimated information they have of the total unfunded liabilities of each member state of the European Union; and in respect of any member state for which they have no such information when they propose to obtain it.
§ Lord McIntosh of HaringeySeveral estimates of the value of unfunded pension liabilities are available. For example, the OECD has published recent estimates of the net present value of public pension schemes for most of the member states inAgeing populations pension systems and government budgets: simulations for 20 OECD Countries. Economics Department Working Paper No. 168, 1996. Estimates and projections of pension expenditure by member states are available in Public pension expenditure prospects in the European Union: A survey of national projections, published by the European Commission in European Economy No. 3 1996. Copies are available in the Library of the House of Lords. Information on other unfunded liabilities for each member state of the EU is difficult to obtain and subject to considerable uncertainty. However the excessive deficit procedure and the Stability Pact are designed to ensure that member states cannot follow irresponsible budgetary policies. If a member state needs to address a build-up of liabilities of any kind, it will not be able to fund them through excessive borrowing.