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The Portuguese government has revealed the details of its draft budget for 2013. It is said to be one of the harshest in the country's recent history.  The Portuguese government has spent a significantly greater amount than the total revenue, and is therefore experiencing a budget deficit. Due to this deficit, government is forced to borrow money from the public, thus increasing its budget deficit even further, and ultimately increasing their total national debt.  The government was already granted a 78 billion- euro bailout last year, which has still not accounted for their budget deficit. Therefore, the Portuguese government was forced to make some huge changes in the economy,.  As stated in the article, the government will have to borrow money from the public through average income taxes, which will increase from 9.8% to 13.2%. Furthermore, they will have to cut spending worth up to 2.7 billion euros next year, which includes laying off 2% of the countries 600.000 public sector employees.  Moreover, the Portuguese government has decided to cut their spending by not raising social security contribution next year from 11% to 18%.  According to Vitor Gaspar,finance minister, this budget would allow Portugal to reduce its budget deficit to 4.5% in 2013.  Ultimately hoping to achieve the European Union target of 3% of GDP. 

Britain's budget deficit has turned out to be smaller than previously thought in the first six months of the current tax year. However, recent data suggests that they will have to announce extra government spending cuts or taxes rises if it is to meet this year's deficit-cutting target. Britain's plans to eliminate the deficit by 2015 have been pushed back by two years as economic growth has been far weaker than predicted and its deficit still remains the largest of any major European country. 

Spain's 17 regional governments have agreed to stick to budget deficit targets set by the central government but regions are struggling to meet the deficit target of 1.5% gross domestic product for this year. Some of the regions have accessed an 18 billion euro emergency fund set up by the central government to meet their debt financing obligations. Furthermore, five regions have asked for a combined 15 billion euros. The regional leaders have called for a redistribution of the burden sharing between the central and regional governments in meeting deficit targets. However, Prime Minister Rajoy has stated that the overhaul should not be negotiated until  next year, to avoid unnerving investors already concerned about Spain's lack of budgetary discipline.

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Junker is defending the newly released budget bill, in place for 2013. The bill set in place plans to invest more money into the consolidation package, in place to consolidate Luxembourg's budget. A 1.8% increase in government spending, in relation to the budget set in 2012, is put forth to remove any divergence from the country's stability and growth. Juncker stressed that although the recent financial crisis which has caused a recession in Luxembourg over the past 4 years, the bill will insure that Luxembourg's deficit will be lower in 2013 than 2009. Juncker says that in 2013, Luxembourg's deficit will be at 4.3%.  Juncker says the reason Luxembourg has come into deficit is the investment of 200 million Euros into Luxembourg's employment fund. Furthermore, the increase of unemployment isn't beneficial to the countries current financial situation.  He does not plan to raise VAT, as some countries in the EU such as the Netherlands have recently done to fill part of their deficit. This would only harm economic recovery and affect the country's low-income earners.  Juncker's ultimate goal is to make Luxembourg debt free by 2014. The minister promised that the government would try their very best to achieve this goal, while still being aware that the economic development of Luxembourg remains "extremely fragile".

Based on the article it can be deduced that budget deficit plan in Germany is quite successful. Overall Germany has been able to accumulate a surplus of 8.3 billion Euros through tax revenues and social security funding in only 6 months. The surplus was quite unexpected because in 2011 their was a deficit in Germany. However, this surplus also suggests that the revised tax plan and fiscal policy in Germany are quite successful and that the nation is working towards fully reaching the 4 major economic goals, in particularly that of economic growth. However, the article also suggests that this surplus could decrease by the end of 2012, in which case the fiscal policy may not be as successful after all. To fully examine this budget deficit in Germany data from the whole year of 2012 is needed. However, as of now the article suggests that the policy implemented is quite a successful one.  

The article discusses that the US may face a fiscal cliff in order to reduce the large deficit that has accumulated in the past. A fiscal policy stands for a series of major tax increases and government spending cuts if Congress does not act. The article discusses that through lower government spending and higher taxes it is expected that $600 billion can be extracted from the economy to decrease the debt. However economists think that every dollar of deficit reduction will subtract the same or a greater amount from economic growth. In theoretical terms this would make sense. If government spending decrease this reduces aggregate demand in the economy and by that will cause a decrease in real GDP. Households will cut back on purchases and especially households that are dependent on government support through unemployment benefits will suffer from the policy. Although this will decrease the deficit of the US it may be that it distracts the fragile recovering economy. 

Currently the economic growth forecast of South Africa isn't looking as promising as thought, while  additionally its budget deficit is going to be higher than promised. 4.8 percent of GDP instead of 4.6 percent. According to the president, Gordhan, this is due to slower economic growth and not due to increase in government spending. He emphasizes that there will be no increase in government spending. From a neoclassical side this is a good thing as an increase in spending accompanied by a decrease in taxes will only further increase the governments budget deficit. The mining strikes ongoing in South Africa have had two significant consequences. 1. more people have become unemployed due to the strikes for higher wages.2. Offshore investors are worried that the government will increase spending to ease the social tensions. As a result both decreases AD as there is less consumption and investment. 

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research has advised the UK government to ease its fiscal policy because of the danger of the economy entering another recession. The UK fiscal policy is unintentionally causing deficient demand. Demand was already relatively low as private and public sectors were focusing on paying off their debts. This decline in demand has lead to a decrease in consumption and a fall in GDP. Also, businesses have become reluctant to invest due to the uncertainty about domestic and foreign demand. The UK government has been cautious about easing their fiscal policy because of their desire to achieve their fiscal goals, which they have been relatively successful in reaching so far, as stated by a Treasury spokesman who said: "… the government's commitment to deficit reduction has helped maintain market confidence". A way for the UK to ease their fiscal policy and subsequently increase demand would be to cut taxes, which would allow households to have a higher level of disposable income and firms would be incentivized to invest more because of the rising domestic demand.