The expenditure and revenue of general government constitute an integral part of national accounts and form the basis for the Maastricht deficit. Compilation follows the concepts of the “European System of Accounts” (ESA 2010) and an additional ESA based handbook, the Manual on Government Deficit and Debt (MGDD).
The presentation is consolidated, i.e. at subsector level, flows within the subsector are balanced; at general government level flows between subsectors are also balanced. Quarterly data is compiled within three months after the end of the reported quarter; annual data is revised (usually for the last three years) at the end of March and end of September. Time series according to ESA 2010 are available for annual data from 1995 onwards and for quarterly data from 2001 onwards. The data is sourced from public finance statistics, in which data is collected and processed on all units in the general government sector.