Members of the European Union (EU) are required to keep their deficits below 3 percent of Gross Domestic Product. Countries that violate the rule can face huge fines. Nonetheless, many European countries have not met the 3 percent deficit target, and no fines have actually been imposed. On the basis of the US experience with congressional budget rules, how effective would you predict the EU deficit limits to be?

What kind of behavior would you expect to see EU countries exhibit?