Nevertheless, even with nation-states no longer able to rely on inflation to solve their unbalanced finances, the single currency allows them to use the debt capacity properly belonging to other members of the European Union to extend their spending sprees and postpone political accountability for periods of laissez les bons temps roulés. To head off this possibility, the EU created the Stability and Growth Pact: government deficits had to be less than 3% of GDP.
然而，即便各国无法再依赖通货膨胀来解决其资金不平衡的问题，单一货币使它们能够使用应当属于欧洲联盟其他成员的借债能力，来推动其采购热潮，并延迟“及时行乐”期间的政治问责。为了阻止这种可能性，欧盟制定了《稳定和增长协定》，规定政府赤字必须低于国内生产总值（GDP）的3%。