The euro zone's public debt and deficit dropped last year as the bloc's economy grew at a healthy rate, provisional data from the European Union's statistics office showed today.
Debt in the 19-country euro zone fell to 86.7% of gross domestic product last year from 89% in 2016, Eurostat said using data provided by member states.
The deficit dropped to 0.9% of GDP from 1.5% in 2016, Eurostat said.
The improvement in public finances can reduce governments' funding costs.
The fall in the budget shortfalls was partly due to the bloc's strong growth last year, which the European Commission in its last economic forecast in February estimated at 2.4%, the fastest pace in a decade.
Greece, which is approaching the end of its third bailout programme in August, saw its debt slightly drop to 178.6% of GDP from 180.8% in 2016.
While Athens' debt remains the highest in Europe, its decline confirms the positive trend of the Greek economy, which also recorded a budget surplus last year of 0.8% of GDP, up from 0.6% in 2016, Eurostat said.
Italy's public debt, the second largest in the bloc, was almost unchanged at 131.8% of GDP last year from 132% in 2016. But the deficit went down to 2.3% of GDP from 2.5% in 2016.
Eurostat confirmed that France last year recorded a deficit below the 3% threshold set by EU fiscal rules.
It said Paris had a deficit of 2.6% of GDP, down from 3.4% in 2016, in good news for French president Emmanuel Macron who took office last May.
However, Eurostat expressed reservations on "the quality of the data reported by France".
It urged a reclassification of some public expenditures that could slightly increase both the deficit and the debt.
Germany, the largest economy of the bloc, expanded its budget surplus to 1.3% of GDP last year, from a 1% surplus in 2016. Its debt went also down to 64.1% of GDP from 68.2% in 2016.
