Progress made by euro members concerning DBPs: Eurogroup

The Eurogroup welcomed progress made by all eurozone member states with respect to the implementation of draft budgetary plans (DBPs), as well as the additional budgetary and structural reform commitments made by certain member states here on Monday.

The Eurogroup recognized that compliance with the rules of the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) was at risk for seven member states in the meeting of December 2014, which were Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Austria and Portugal.

At this follow-up assessment after three months, the Eurogroup welcomed the additional measures taken by Belgium and the further specifications provided by Malta.

It also urged that some member states, including France, Spain and Portual, should take additional measures timely to ensure a correction of their excessive deficit and address the risks identified by the European Commission last November.

"Risks remain and in many of these countries, additional efforts are needed," said Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem at the press conference after the meeting.

The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) requires member states to limit their budget deficit to be under 3 percent of their GDP. Endit