Professor John McHale:

Previously, the maximum was 1%. Then the treaty stated the maximum deficit any country could have would be 0.5%. It has always been the case, however, that each country has its own specific medium-term objective which is revised every three years. Ireland’s medium-term objective had been a deficit of 0.5% but was revised to 0%. One can separate out what the maximum level that applies to all countries and the actual medium-term objectives which are periodically reset by the country-specific recommendations.