In the UK, Chancellor Alistair Darling has pledged to cut the budget deficit by half.

Although the UK's overall level of debt is similar to other major economies, it has increased its borrowing at a much faster rate than its competitors.

Mr Darling, while pledging to halve the budget deficit over the next four years, has argued he does not want to make the cuts immediately as any such move could harm the UK’s recovery from the economic crisis.

On Wednesday, the European Union published a report saying that the UK government's plans to cut the deficit had not been ambitious enough.