The state collects taxes and contributions and spends more than it collects; the difference is the deficit. Here is where the money comes from, where it goes, and how that compares.
Eurostat's figure: the one the EU's 3% limit applies to.
The Finance Ministry's monthly figure, counted as money moves. It starts again every January.
Two deficits. The ESA deficit is the European measure: it counts revenue and spending when they fall due, covers the whole of government, and is the figure the EU’s 3% limit applies to. Eurostat publishes it once a year. The Finance Ministry’s cash deficit counts money as it moves, month by month from January; it arrives much sooner, but the two don’t match.
Where the money goes. Spending by function follows the UN’s COFOG classification, the same for every EU country. Social protection — pensions above all — is the largest part everywhere in the region. These figures come a year after the totals, so the “where it goes” chart can be a year behind the others.
Interest. Interest on the public debt is spending that buys nothing new. It rises with the debt and with the rate the state borrows at, which is how deficits and ratings end up in it.