The economic outlook of European Union (EU) countries would remain dim, according to the 2011 Report on Public Finance released on Monday by the European Commission.
"The overall economic situation remains fragile" while "in some countries the recovery is yet to be felt," said the report.
The report showed that the state debt to GDP ratio would continue to rise and would set to reach 83.3 percent of GDP in 2012.
In the already debt-ridden Greece, the debt would rise to 166.1 percent of the GDP, the highest in the region.
Marco Buti, Director-General for the Economic and Financial Affairs of the Commission, echoed last year's grave words in his editorial, underlining the issue of sustainability.
The relevant legislative pack, the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), was to undergo some reform, said Buti. The SGP sets out the parameters within which EU countries should manage their public finance, with a focus of budgetary policy.
The reform would introduce an expenditure rule into the preventive arm of the Pact, and would make the debt criterion operational in the corrective arm, while introducing sanctions to the preventive arm for the first and intensifying those in the corrective arm, according to the report.
"In a period of high and still increasing debt levels in EU countries, ensuring the sustainability of public finances is a prerequisite for enduring economic growth and job creation," said EU Commissioner of Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn.
Eurozone stock market witnessed a new wave of turbulence Monday morning with French CAC 40 index of Paris plunging by 4.06 percent in early trading and the country's largest banks of BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole and Societe Generale which dived by 11.53 percent, 10.05 percent and 9.63 percent respectively./.