[2][4] The US Congress began using the measure in 1917 and modified the financing law in 1939 to give the treasury more flexibility in issuing debt.
[2] Poland has a constitutional limit on public debt, set at 60% of GDP; by law, a budget cannot pass with a breach in place.
[1] As part of the Maastricht Treaty, all member states of the European Union (except the United Kingdom, which had a treaty opt-out from the EMU rules while being a member), have since 1992 pledged via treaty legislation and European Union law to keep their general government debt below 60% of GDP (or on a sufficiently slowly declining trajectory towards respecting the 60% limit at some point in the future) and their annual general government budget deficit below 3% of GDP (or if above it need to be corrected with a sufficiently acceptable declining speed over the following few years).
[10] A revision of the EU debt rule and deficit rule is planned (also known as the Stability and Growth Pact),[11][12] although when this revision was agreed and adopted in spring 2024, it was only minor - as no changes were made to the overall treaty legislation - with changes only agreed upon to the SGP related Regulations defining how fast and flexible countries shall correct a potential excessive deficit or debt level towards respecting the treaty defined maximum 60% of GDP debt level and 3% of GDP budget deficit level in the future.
The debt ceiling was contained in section 5(1) of the Commonwealth Inscribed Stock Act 1911[17] until its repeal on 10 December 2013.