excessive deficit procedure

The provision set out in Article 104 of the Treaty and specified in Protocol No 20 on the excessive deficit procedure requires EU Member States to maintain budgetary discipline, defines the criteria for a budgetary position to be considered an excessive deficit and regulates steps to be taken following the observation that the requirements for the budgetary balance or government debt have not been fulfilled. This is supplemented by an EU Council Regulation on speeding up and clarifying the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure, which is one element of the Stability and Growth Pact.