Dr. Robert Sweeney:

The 0.5% rule was for countries that are in breach of the 3% deficit rule in particular. If a country was in excess of 60% but not exceeding the 3% deficit rule, it would not be subject to that 0.5% adjustment. The statement issued by the European Commission was a little vague in that regard but its website was more explicit on the 0.5% rule. It relates to countries exceeding the deficit of 3%.