THE IMPACT OF THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC DEBT CRITERION ON THE REAL SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

In the period between 2004 and 2016, only 11 out of 28 European Union member states complied with the public debt criterion set out in the Stability and Growth Pact. These data clearly indicate that the public debt criterion does not fulfil its intended role and its revision should be considered, though it cannot be done hastily, and consequences of such a move should be borne in mind. The article indicates, based on qualitative research systematised with a descriptive method, to what extent the European public debt criterion has no impact on the real socio-economic development. Research conducted on selected country groups demonstrates that a low public debt level does not have a positive effect on respective countries' socio-economic development level.