Brussels - The EU said Wednesday that Britain had not done enough to meet budget deficit targets and would have to remain under Brussels oversight for another two years to make sure it does.
The European Commission said Britain, despite tough spending cuts, remained in breach of the 28-nation bloc's deficit rules and gave it another two years, to 2016-17, to put its fiscal house in order.
"These recommendations are not about Brussels lecturing governments," EU Commissioner for Economic Affairs Pierre Moscovici said.
"They are about encouraging national efforts to deliver the jobs and growth that we collectively need."
The Commission, the EU's executive arm, said Britain's budget deficit -- the shortfall between revenue and spending -- stood at 5.2 percent of annual economic output in the current 2014-15 financial year, still well above the EU limit of three percent.
European Union rules adopted since the 2008 global financial crisis give Brussels increased oversight powers to ensure member states meet the targets and so avoid a repeat of the crash which brought the economy to its knees.
For the 19 euro zone countries, Brussels can impose fines and other sanctions.
While it cannot go so far for non-euro Britain, keeping the country under an Excessive Deficit Procedure (EDP) may prove politically embarrassing for newly re-elected Prime Minister David Cameron.
Cameron fought the May 7 election on his stewardship of the economy, pushing through harsh spending cuts and promising more to come in order to put the public finances on the sound footing needed for sustainable economic growth.
He also promised voters a referendum on Britain's EU membership by 2017, and the Commission's report may be additional grist to the mill for anti-EU campaigners who resent what they see as interference by Brussels.
The Treasury in London conceded there was more work to be done but stressed that the government had made "significant progress in turning Britain around."
"We will continue working through our plan to build a resilient economy and bring our budget back to surplus," a statement said.
AFP
