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Ireland's deficit climbed to the highest in the euro zone after the EU reclassified the €4 billion injection into Anglo Irish Bank as Government spending.

The move brought the deficit to 14.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009, more than four times the EU's 3 per cent deficit limit. Greece had a gap of 13.6 per cent of gross domestic product, rather than 12.7 per cent as reported earlier, Eurostat said.