EU in slow progress on deficit cuts

New figures from the European Commission show that EU governments are gradually making progress with their financial problems.

The budget deficit - the amount of new borrowing they undertake - came down last year.

For the whole EU, it fell from 3.9% of GDP in 2012 to 3.3%. For the eurozone, the decline was from 3.7% to 3%.

But they are still borrowing substantial amounts, so the total accumulated debt continued to rise.

That pattern affected both the eurozone and the European Union as a whole.

The eurozone figure is in line - just - with the upper limit that the EU expects member countries to meet.

Of course, there was a wide variation within the eurozone, with some countries borrowing a lot less than maximum.

Germany's government finances were close to being balanced: no new borrowing. Luxembourg managed a small surplus, which means it reduced its government debt slightly.

Others still couldn't comply with the 3% of GDP limit. France and Spain were the two big economies that went over that level, while Italy was just in line with it.