Main aggregates of general government
1. Contact
Responsible agency
Unit
Contact person
Position
Email (agency)
Phone
2. Statistical presentation
Data description
General government finance statistics is used for monitoring fiscal discipline in the European Union (EU) Member States and for the purposes of the Excessive Deficit Procedure.
Statistical concepts and definitions
Statistical unit
The statistical unit is the institutional unit, as defined in ESA 2010.
Statistical population
According to the Classification of Institutional Sectors of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), the general government sector includes all state and local government budget institutions, the Social Insurance Fund and selected enterprises that are financed and controlled by the state and local governments.
3. Institutional mandate
Legal acts and other agreements
Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2009 of 25 May 2009 on the application of the Protocol on the excessive deficit procedure annexed to the Treaty establishing the European Community.
4. Accessibility and clarity
On-line database
5. Comparability
Comparability - geographical
Data on European Union Member States
Data are comparable across Europe, as harmonised European rules (ESA 2010, and Manual on Government Deficit and Debt) are used by all Member States for compiling the EDP data.
Data on EU countries are available in Eurostat database.
Length of comparable time series
Since 1995
6. Coherence
Coherence- cross domain
Comparison of expenditures included in the table VFV040. Expenditure of general government by function by sub-sectors (million euro) drawn up based on the Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG) methodology and the table IGD011. Expenditure on education by level of education (million euro) drawn up based on the UOE (UNESCO-UIS/OECD/Eurostat) methodology.
VFV040 | IGD011 | |
COFOG | UOE | |
State and municipal direct expenditure: | Yes | Yes |
formal education (incl. music and sports schools) | Yes | Yes |
non-formal education, i.e., lifelong learning (adult education not definable by level) | No | No |
food, lodging and related subsidiary services to education | Yes | Yes |
applied research and experimental development into education affairs and services | Yes | Partly |
formulation and administration of government policy * | Yes | Partly |
preparation and setting of standards for the provision of education ** | Yes | No |
* UOE does not cover the following expenditures: administration, operation or support of activities such as formulation, administration, coordination and monitoring of overall educational policies, plans, programmes and budgets; preparation and enforcement of legislation and standards for the provision of education, including licensing of educational establishments; production and dissemination of general information, technical documentation and statistics on education.
** UOE does not cover the following expenditures: development of educational standards, curricula, teaching aids and textbooks, including translation, editing, reviewing; organisation of seminars, conferences, production of forms and regulatory documents, accreditation of educational institutions.
7. Statistical processing (data source etc.)
Source data
The main sources of statistical data on general government finances are the annual report of the Ministry of Finance on the execution of the central and local government budgets and information from the statistical surveys on the activity of central and local government-controlled enterprises.
Data collection
N/A
Data compilation
Financial indicators of the general government are calculated in line with the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), EU Manual for National Accounts, Manual on Government Deficit and Debt.