Government guarantees were the most common form of contingent liabilities across EU countries in 2024, Eurostat said.
The highest levels of government guarantees were recorded in the Netherlands at 31.0% of GDP, followed by Finland at 17.0% and Italy at 14.6%, Eurostat announced on Friday.
The lowest levels — at 1% of GDP or less — were reported in Ireland, Czechia and Bulgaria.
A government guarantee is a promise by the state to cover a third party’s debt if the borrower cannot pay.
In most EU countries, central government provided the bulk of guarantees, while local government guarantees accounted for a notable share in Finland, Sweden, France and Denmark.
Public corporation liabilities highest in Germany
Liabilities held by public corporations that are classified outside general government reached 84.4% of GDP in Germany in 2024, ahead of the Netherlands at 73.1%, Luxembourg at 65.0% and France at 61.9%, Eurostat reported.
At the other end of the scale, public corporation liabilities were below 10% of GDP in Slovakia at 3.4%, Spain at 4.3%, Cyprus at 7.3% and Romania at 8.7%.
Cyprus recorded the highest stock of non-performing loans held as government assets in 2024, at 9.0% of GDP.
In all other EU countries, non-performing loans were below 1% of GDP, with the highest shares reported in Croatia at 0.8%, Greece at 0.6% and Sweden at 0.5%.
Liabilities linked to off-balance public-private partnerships — long-term contracts where the related assets are recorded outside government accounts — were below 2% of GDP across the EU.
Portugal reported the highest share at 1.2% of GDP, followed by Slovakia at 1.0% and Latvia at 0.6%, with most of these liabilities linked to motorway projects, it added.
