BRUSSELS, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) - European Union countries posted deficit levels last year sharply down from those recorded in 2005, according to revised EU figures published Monday.

The average deficit level in the 13-nation eurozone, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), fell to 1.5 percent from 2.5 percent in 2005, the Eurostat data agency said, revising slightly down estimates from April.

Deficits were also down across the full 27-country EU, with the average falling to 1.6 percent of GDP in 2005 from 2.4 percent the previous year.

LONDON, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) - Britain's public finances deteriorated last month, recording the biggest-ever deficit for September, official data showed Thursday.

Public sector net borrowing (PSNB) -- the government's preferred measure of the public finances -- widened to 6.9 billion pounds (9.9 billion euros, 14.1 billion dollars) in September, the sixth month of the fiscal year.

That was up from 5.7 billion pounds a year earlier and market expectations of a 6.3-billion-pound deficit.

PARIS, Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) - The French current account deficit shrank in August to a seasonally-adjusted 1.7 billion euros compared with a revised deficit of 2.1 billion in July, the Bank of France said on Friday.

The provisional figure for July had been 2.2 billion euros, while in June the deficit stood at 1.8 billion euros.

The current account is the broadest measure of trade in goods and services and also includes certain financial transfers.

LISBON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - Portugal will have slashed its budget deficit to three percent of output this year from six percent thanks to two years of drastic belt-tightening, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said Thursday.

'Portugal will put its public finances in order one year ahead of schedule. In two years, we passed from six to three percent,' Socrates said.

If it achieves in cutting the deficit to three percent this year, euro zone member Portugal will have managed to lower the shortfall to within the limit of three percent set out in European rules.

WASHINGTON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) - The US federal budget deficit fell to 163 billion dollars in the fiscal year ended September 30, down sharply from 248 billion in the prior year, the Treasury said Thursday.

The latest figures for the past fiscal year highlighted a steady improvement since the shortfall hit a record 413 billion dollars in fiscal 2004.

ROME, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) - The head of the Italian central bank on Wednesday criticised government efforts to rein in spending and reduce the public deficit as having been 'slow' and 'modest' to date.

'The reduction of the debt has been slow' and 'progress in lowering public deficits has been modest,' Mario Draghi told parliament.

LUXEMBOURG, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia warned the bloc's members on Wednesday against squandering windfall revenues from strong economic growth by failing to use extra cash to cut their public deficits.

'I know that sometimes it is difficult from the political point of view when an economy is growing, when revenues are higher than expected to say that 'we need to consolidate (finances) and reduce debt levels',' he said.

LUXEMBOURG, Oct 9, 2007 (AFP) - The European Union on Tuesday dropped disciplinary deficit action against Britain after concluding that London had reined in its fiscal shortfall within European limits, an EU official said.

EU finance ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, rubber-stamped a recommendation from the European Commission to call off the action after Brussels received evidence that the British public deficit had reduced to within an EU limit of three percent of output.

BRUSSELS, Oct 8, 2007 (AFP) - ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet rallied to the defence Monday of the tough rules underpinning spending discipline in Europe, stressing that they are 'absolutely essential.'

Under the 1997 Stability and Growth Pact, the 13 countries sharing the euro are supposed to keep public deficits to less than three percent of output -- a target that many members have struggled to meet in the past -- or face huge fines.

LJUBLJANA, Sept 29, 2007 (AFP) - Slovenia revised its 2008 budget deficit Saturday to 0.6 percent of gross domestic product from 0.9 percent forecast earlier.

'A solid economic situation over the last years, especially the strong economic growth registered this year, have changed the macroeconomic conditions on which we base our budgets,' Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told reporters.

The parliament is expected to pass the 2009 budget -- that sees a 0.3 percent deficit -- and revised 2008 budget by the end of November.

FRANKFURT, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - Germany expects an essentially balanced budget this year, for the first time since its reunification in 1990 and nearly three years ahead of schedule, a finance ministry spokesman said on Friday.

The budget should have a 'deficit of at most 0.1 percent of gross domestic product,' he said, compared with the latest official forecast of a much larger deficit of 1.2 percent of GDP.

LONDON, Sept 24, 2007 (AFP) - Britain's public finances worsened in August compared with the same month last year, official data showed on Monday.

The public sector net cash requirement (PSNCR) chalked up a deficit of 5.0 billion pounds (7.2 billion in euros, 10.1 billion dollars) in August -- the highest-ever level for the month, the Office for National Statistics said.

That compared with a shortfall of 3.7 billion pounds in August 2006 and market expectations of a 3.5 billion-pound deficit.

FRANKFURT, Sept 17, 2007 (AFP) - Key eurozone members are set to remind France it must cut its public deficit, a German press report said on Monday.

The eurozone countries, which were not identified, would send a written warning to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, pressing him to tighten the government's budget discipline, the Financial Times Deutschland said, without naming its sources.

The warning would take the form of a European Commission procedure, a so-called 'political counsel,' which the newspaper described as 'declaration of war.'

PRAGUE, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - The European Union has raised questions over whether an extra 4.5-5.0 billion koruna (133-149 million euros, 186-206 million dollars) should be included in the Slovak budget deficit, Slovakia's leftist premier Robert Fico said Friday.

'The question is whether these (debts) should be included in the overall deficit or not. The figure amounts to around 4.5-5.0 billion Slovak koruna' he said at a meeting of Social Democrat leaders in Prague.

PORTO, Portugal, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) - France's partners in the eurozone criticised Paris on Friday for not doing enough to rein in its public deficit and urged further efforts at a meeting of the bloc's finance ministers.

'We think that the ambitions that France has shown do not entirely correspond to the level of our expectations,' Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told journalists after leading the meeting.

BRUSSELS, Sept 12, 2007 (AFP) - The European Commission called on Wednesday for EU finance ministers to drop disciplinary deficit action against Britain after London reined in its fiscal shortfall.

The recommendation came after the Commission received data from London that the public deficit for the year ending March 31 came in at 2.7 percent of gross domestic product, compared with 3.2 percent the previous year.

BRUSSELS, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - The European Commission will soon recommend to member states to drop disciplinary deficit action against Britain after London reined in its fiscal shortfall, a spokeswoman said Thursday.

'The decision will be taken soon on account of the figures for the past fiscal year,' said Commission spokeswoman for economic and monetary issues, Amelia Torres.

FRANKFURT, Sept 4, 2007 (AFP) - Germany could balance its budget in 2008, two years ahead of schedule, putting the national accounts in the black for the first time since reunification in 1990, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said Tuesday.

The budget should be 'slightly in the black' in 2008 if economic growth remains solid, Steinbrueck told a German banking conference here, confirming comments made by a ministry spokesman last week.

Berlin had forecast a balanced budget for 2010 after narrowing the public deficit to 1.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2006.

BERLIN, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - Germany could balance its public accounts in 2008, two years earlier than the official target, if the economy remains strong, a finance ministry spokesman said Thursday.

'This is not an official target but if the economy remains very robust or grows even more dynamic, we will come close this year and we could get there next year,' he told AFP.

Berlin's official goal is to balance the public accounts -- which include spending at the federal, regional and local levels, as well as the social security budget -- by 2010.

WASHINGTON, Aug 23, 2007 (AFP) - The federal budget deficit is coming down faster than expected and will likely be reduced to 158 billion dollars for the current fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.

The nonpartisan research office said the deficit for fiscal 2007, which ends September 30, would be 19 billion dollars less than it estimated in March and a decline of 90 billion dollars from last year.

SARAJEVO, Aug 21, 2007 (AFP) - Bosnia's trade deficit increased nearly 32 percent during the first seven months of the year over the same period last year, an official at the office of foreign trade said Tuesday.

Over the period the deficit stood at four billion convertible marks (2 billion euros, 2.7 billion dollars), Momir Tosic the head of the office's macroeconomic sector said.

Tosic explained that the deficit increase was a result of a nearly 20-percent increase in both exports and imports.