European Commission Unveils Planned Debt Rules

The European Commission presented plans to punish countries whose excessive debt levels pose a potential risk to the euro.

The proposals include automatic fines for countries that mismanage their finances and economies, BBC News said.

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The rules aim to prevent a repeat of this year's debt crisis, when speculation about the condition of Greece's public finances threatened the value of the euro.

The proposals will now be sent to national parliaments and the European parliament for approval.

Under the rules, national governments must keep deficits under 3% of their GDP and also work to reduce total debt to 60% of GDP. Governments are expected to reduce the excess debt by one twentieth each year.