Fiscal stability in the EU is preserved under the Maastricht Treaty through the "Excessive Deficit Procedure" of the "Stability and Growth Pact". Under the European System of Accounts (ESA 95), the general rule is that a Government should report in its national accounts those assets for which it bears most of the risks. As a general statistical principle under ESA95, SGs are considered to be contingent liabilities that are not normally accounted for by Governments unless and until they are called. However, in cases where it is known with certainty or judged that the SG will be called, the debt which is guaranteed by the SG will be considered Government debt5.
Guidance: Prior to committing to an SG programme or an individual SG, the Government should assess its statistical classification.
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5 For further information, please see "Manual on Government Deficit and Debt, Implementation of ESA95, 2010 edition" at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-RA-09-017/EN/KS-RA-09-017-EN.PDF .