Maastricht indicators

The Maastricht Treaty stipulated a number of convergence criteria (Maastricht criteria). Under these criteria, member states may only enter the European Economic and Monetary Union if they satisfy the Maastricht fiscal and monetary criteria.

The Maastricht fiscal criteria to be met are as follows:

  • The ratio of the government deficit to gross domestic product (GDP) must not exceed 3%.
  • The ratio of government debt to GDP must not exceed 60%.

The Maastricht monetary criteria to be met are as follows:

  • The national inflation rate must be no more than 1.5 percentage points higher than the rate of the three best-performing EU member states.
  • The long-term interest rate must not be more than 2 percentage points higher than the rate of the three best-performing EU member states.