In the Eurozone, the ratio of public debt to GDP rose to 88.1% in the second quarter of this year. The European Statistics Office (Eurostat) released the second-quarter 2024 public debt and budget deficit data for the European Union (EU) and the Eurozone. According to the data, the public debt-to-Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio in the Eurozone, which was 87.8% in the first quarter, reached 88.1% in the second quarter. In the EU, the ratio of public debt to GDP, which was 81.3% in the first quarter, reached 81.5% in the second quarter. As a result, total public debt in the Eurozone rose to 13 trillion 95 billion euros, and in the EU to 14 trillion 300 billion euros. The HIGHEST DEBT RATIO IN GREECE Among EU member states, Greece had the highest ratio of public debt to GDP in the second quarter of the year at 163.6%. Italy followed with 137%, France with 112.2%, Belgium with 108%, Spain with 105.3%, and Portugal with 100.6%. During this period, the countries with the lowest ratio of public debt to GDP were determined as Bulgaria with 22.1%, Estonia with 23.8%, and Luxembourg with 26.8%. BUDGET DEFICIT In the EU, the ratio of the budget deficit to GDP, which was 2.9% in the first quarter, rose to 3.1% in the second quarter. In the Eurozone, the ratio of the budget deficit to GDP remained steady at 3% in the second quarter. HIGH BUDGET DEFICITS Among EU countries, in the second quarter, Poland had the highest budget deficit ratio at 8.1%, followed by Romania at 7.1%, France and Slovakia at 5.5%, Finland at 5.4%, Belgium and Hungary at 5.1%, Malta at 4.3%, and Austria at 3.9%. According to EU rules, member states’ public debts should not exceed 60% of their GDP, and budget deficits should not go over 3% of their GDP under normal circumstances. When these limits are exceeded, measures should be reported to the EU Commission and effective action should be taken. However, a significant portion of EU countries are not complying with these financial rules.