Countries refuse to share debt data

Four countries, Germany, France, Italy and Portugal are refusing to share information on debt in key areas with the EU.

Under the terms of the new budget surveillance legislation, all eurozone countries are obliged to release data on government liabilities stemming from public pension schemes, guarantees to banks and public corporations where they have a large impact on public budgets.

The final details are being negotiated between the European Parliament and the member states but talks were broken off yesterday when the parliament objected to the four countries refusing to share this information.

The chair of the economics and monetary affairs committee of the parliament, Sharon Bowles, was furious about the move, accusing the countries of trying to hide debts despite the debacle of the euro crisis.

“Three years down the line and some EU governments are incredibly still blind to the most basic lessons to come out of the sovereign debt crisis.

“While EU finance ministers will be discussing ways to solve the crisis, member states are simultaneously refusing to release key data on public liabilities linked to pensions and bank bailouts, making it difficult to believe that future banking union talks can succeed,” the Liberal Democrat MEP for South East England said.

The four big countries form a blocking minority opposing releasing the data. The economic governance package, known as the six-pack, was agreed last autumn but with the details are being finalised now.

Ms Bowles described the four countries as a “coalition of the shy” and said they were trying to wriggle out of the promise given by their government leaders.

“The gulf between what government representatives say and do in the end is as wide as ever. This is not the road to credibility.”