The member states of the European Union have committed themselves to curbing government deficit and government debt. The deficit may not exceed 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), government debt may not be higher than 60 percent of GDP. If government deficit exceeds the threshold of 3 percent, the member state in question shall be subject of the excessive deficit procedure.
Twice a year, before 1 April and before 1 October, EU member states supply financial information on the amount of government deficit and government debt to the European Commission. The notification procedure is laid down on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community.
Statistics Netherlands supplies data regarding the Dutch fiscal situation to Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, in Notification tables.
In addition, since 2009 member states supply supplementary information on government interventions in the financial crises in Supplementary tables for the financial crisis.
The most recent delivery of EDP information to Eurostat took place on 28 September 2012.