Dhaka, Dec. 6 -- Finland, ranked the world's happiest nation for eight years and traditionally one of the European Union's most fiscally disciplined countries, has just received a wake-up call from Brussels.

The European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, last week ordered Helsinki to devise a credible plan to resolve the country's budget deficit, which has crossed the EU's limit of 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).

The Commission said Finland's deficit was projected to reach 4.5 per cent of GDP in 2025, while the country's debt burden was set to hit 90 per cent of GDP next year, up by nearly half since 2019.

The Nordic nation, whose annual economy is worth €300 billion, has now been formally placed under the EU's Ex...