In the 90s European countries put the rising public debt under control which had increased even more than in 1990 when the recession hit the whole of Europe. The positive performance in the second half of the 90s led to a reduction in public spending due to a broader monetary policy which reduced the cost of the debt. While most countries were busy trying to meet requirements needed to get into the euro monetary system, even the three countries which chose to stay outside obtained similar results, in terms of deficit. In any case they benefited to a lesser extent from the reduction of spending than the euro countries. As for welfare spending, there was a considerable reduction especially in the countries which adhered to monetary unification.only subscribers can see the full article