Current policy debates on public finances across OECD countries focus on the question how a sustainable fiscal policy can be obtained. The most pertinent discussion takes place in the European Union (EU) where the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) as a follow-up to the fiscal convergence criteria of the Maastricht Treaty requires EU member states to keep budget deficits below 3 percent of GDP and public debt below 60 percent of GDP. Deviations from this general rule are only allowed for specific circumstances like severe economic downturns or extraordinary events like natural disasters.

The governments of member states are held responsible for sticking to the SGP which poses additional problems in those countries which are organised as federal states. In Austria, Germany, and Spain, regional authorities have a certain fiscal autonomy such that deficits at that sub-federal level may be at the expense of the federal level. In Germany, this situation has led to a national stability pact which lacks however effectiveness.