the developments in the medium-term government debt position, its dynamics and sustainability, including, in particular, risk factors including the maturity structure and currency denomination of the debt, stock-flow adjustment and its composition, accumulated reserves and other financial assets, guarantees, in particular those linked to the financial sector, and any implicit liabilities related to ageing and private debt, to the extent that it may represent a contingent implicit liability for the government.

Public finances remain confronted with the challenge to implement severe spending cuts and suffer from significant contingent liabilities related to financial sector distress, with a gross general government debt level of almost 90% of GDP.

The legislative act to be adopted (on the basis of, inter alia, Article 126 TFEU) should aim in particular to strengthen the preventive arm of the SGP and include economically and politically more sensible sanctions and incentives, while taking due account of the structure of the national deficit and debt (including implicit liabilities), the ‘economic cycle’, in order to avoid pro-cyclical budgetary policy, as well as the nature of the public revenues and expenditures needed for growth-enhancing structural reforms; all Member States should aim to make progress but those with larger gaps should generally contribute ...[+++]more towards meeting targets in respect of debt stock and deficits. Demographic evolution should also be taken into account when assessing current account imbalances.

whereas more attention must be given to implicit liabilities and off-balance sheet operations which may increase public debt in the medium- and long-term and reduce transparency,

Public finances remain confronted with the challenge to implement severe spending cuts and suffer from significant contingent liabilities related to financial sector distress, with a gross general government debt level of almost 90% of GDP.

In practice, however, in many countries the evolution of debt has not been as expected due to the application of exceptional measures or the appearance of implicit debts.