European Union at the end of 1997: who is within the public finance “sustainability†zone?

The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 contains regulations on the eligibility of European Union (EU) member countries to join the single currency. 'Sustainability' of a country's public finance position is one of the four criteria for membership of the single currency. One major finding is the extremely important role to be played by the policies aimed at regulating the level of the medium- and long-term rates of interest within a framework of financial and fiscal stability. Belgium and Italy, which have higher debt/GDP ratios, may achieve convergence sooner through privatisation of public debt enterprises.