Public finances

The global financial crisis led to a significant deterioration in public finances, with the situation beginning to improve only after 2015. The exceptional health and economic circumstances resulting from the COVID-19 epidemic led to a renewed general government deficit and an increase in public debt in 2020, as the government assumed much of the financial burden of mitigating the impact of the epidemic through extensive support measures. The state of public finances improved again in 2021 and 2022. Today, short-term challenges are becoming increasingly intertwined with the longer-term challenges posed by the green and digital transformation and population ageing. These challenges will have important implications for the future development of public finances, particularly in terms of striking an appropriate balance between their stabilisation and development functions.