HC Deb 10 June 1998 vol 313 cc584-5W
Mr. Flight

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what steps his Department took to establish whether the adjusted Italian gross domestic product figures used in calculating Italy's convergence performance under the Maastricht criteria were accurate; [44371]

(2) what factors were taken into account by the European Commission in estimating the size of the underground economy in Italy when determining its gross domestic product to national debt ratio. [44370]

Mrs. Liddell

Under Council Directive 89/130/EEC, all Member States submit to the Commission (Statistical Office of the European Communities) data on gross domestic product according to the European System of Accounts (ESA 1979). As set out in Council Regulation (EC) No. 3605/93, these ESA 1979 data are used as the denominator for calculating the Maastricht definition of deficit and debt ratios.