Malta registers biggest surplus in EU in Q1

VALLETTA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Malta registered the biggest surplus in the European Union (EU) in the first quarter of 2017, data published by Eurostat revealed on Thursday.

Malta saw a surplus 3.5 percent of GDP, the biggest in the EU. This was followed by Germany and the Netherlands,both at 1.5 percent.

The biggest deficits were reported in France with -3.3 percent, and Romania with -3.2 percent.

Compared with the same quarter last year, Slovenia registered the most positive change in its surplus, with 3.1 percent.

This was followed by Austria with 2.7 percent and Malta with 2.1 percent.

In Q1, the seasonally adjusted general government deficit to GDP ratio stood at 1.0 percent, a decrease compared with 1.2 percent in Q4 of 2016.