The EU’s big 5 economies – France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK – dominate the EU by dint of their sheer size, accounting for 71% of GDP in 2013. However, they are by no means the top performers in the EU. France, the UK and Spain all have budget deficits larger than the EU average, whilst Germany is the only one of the five to run a current account surplus. The UK has above average inflation and all five economies fall outside of the EU’s biggest-spending economies.