BRUSSELS (MktNews) - The eurozone's net government budget balances posted a slightly surplus of 0.3% of GDP in 2000 after a deficit of 1.2% of GDP in 1999, Eurostat said Wednesday.
The EU-15 saw its budget balance post a 1.2% surplus last year after a 0.6% deficit in 1999.
Meantime, the government debt-to-GDP ratio decreased in the euro-zone to 69.7% in 2000 from 72.0% in 1999, and in the EU15 to 64.2% from 68.0%.
The ratio was reduced in all Member States. However, Belgium, Greece and Italy continued to register ratios higher than 100% of GDP.
In 2000, UMTS licence sales had a significant impact on the government balance in both the euro-zone and the EU15.
They had a particularly large impact on the figures for Germany (2.5% of GDP) and the UK (2.4%). The sales represented 1.2% of GDP in Italy, 0.7% in the Netherlands, 0.4% in Austria, 0.3% in Portugal, and 0.1% in Spain.
But excluding UMTS licence sales, the declining trend in the government deficit still continued, the agency said.
Without the UMTS sales, the euro-zone and the EU15 would have registered in 2000 a deficit of 0.8% and of 0.1% of GDP respectively.
The licences were granted for free in Finland in 1999 and in Sweden in 2000.
In the other countries there were no UMTS licence sales up to 2000.