The quarterly report of the Directorate General for Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Commission released on Tuesday, refers to an increase in household indebtedness in several member states since 2008.
According to the report, in the period from 2008 to 2013, double-digit increase in indebtedness occurred in Cyprus and Ireland, while in Spain, France, the Netherlands and Greece the increase exceeded 10 percentage points.
The report further pointed out that the economy contraction in Greece is hampering the reduction of its debt, however, other factors have contributed to avoid its further increase.
The European Commission warned that Ireland, Greece and Spain might have to deal with private deleverage that can reach 30% of GDP. It is also estimated that relatively high pressures for immediate and active deleverage will continue in the coming years in Cyprus, Greece and Slovenia.