Missed spending target to be tackled

LUXEMBOURG - The Government yesterday agreed to implement the European Commission recommendations to tackle its failure to meet public spending targets, writes Sarah Lambert.

The recommendations, which have not been made public, will be presented to the House of Commons scrutiny committee. Under Maastricht treaty criteria, total accumulated debt must be below 60 per cent of GNP.

After a meeting of EU finance ministers the Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke, said the excessive deficit procedure was designed essentially for countries such as Italy whose economies were way out of line.

Hamish McRae, page 30