Interest rates - monthly data

Data - Eurostat

Author

François Geerolf

Info

source dataset Title .html .rData
eurostat ei_mfir_m Interest rates - monthly data 2025-10-10 2025-10-10

Data on interest rates

source dataset Title .html .rData
eurostat ei_mfir_m Interest rates - monthly data 2025-10-10 2025-10-10
bdf FM Marché financier, taux 2025-08-28 2025-08-28
bdf MIR Taux d'intérêt - Zone euro 2025-08-28 2025-08-04
bdf MIR1 Taux d'intérêt - France 2025-08-28 2025-08-04
bis CBPOL_D Policy Rates, Daily 2025-10-10 2025-08-20
bis CBPOL_M Policy Rates, Monthly 2025-10-10 2024-04-19
ecb FM Financial market data 2025-10-09 2025-08-29
ecb MIR MFI Interest Rate Statistics 2025-10-09 2025-08-29
eurostat irt_lt_mcby_d EMU convergence criterion series - daily data 2025-10-10 2025-07-24
eurostat irt_st_m Money market interest rates - monthly data 2025-10-10 2025-10-09
fred r Interest Rates 2025-10-09 2025-10-09
oecd MEI Main Economic Indicators 2024-04-16 2025-07-24
oecd MEI_FIN Monthly Monetary and Financial Statistics (MEI) 2024-09-15 2025-07-24
wdi FR.INR.DPST Deposit interest rate (%) 2022-09-27 2025-09-27
wdi FR.INR.LEND Lending interest rate (%) 2025-10-10 2025-09-27
wdi FR.INR.RINR Real interest rate (%) 2025-05-24 2025-09-27

Data on public debt

source dataset Title .html .rData
eurostat ei_mfir_m Interest rates - monthly data 2025-10-10 2025-10-10
eurostat gov_10q_ggdebt Quarterly government debt 2025-10-10 2025-10-10
fred r Interest Rates 2025-10-09 2025-10-09
fred saving Saving - saving 2025-10-09 2025-10-09
gfd debt Debt 2021-08-22 2021-03-01
imf FM Fiscal Monitor 2025-08-28 2025-09-10
imf GGXCNL_G01_GDP_PT Net lending/borrowing (also referred as overall balance) (% of GDP) 2025-08-28 2025-08-05
imf GGXONLB_G01_GDP_PT Primary net lending/borrowing (also referred as primary balance) (% of GDP) 2025-08-28 2025-08-05
imf GGXWDN_G01_GDP_PT Net debt (% of GDP) 2025-08-28 2025-07-27
imf HPDD NA NA NA
oecd QASA_TABLE7PSD Quarterly Sector Accounts - Public Sector Debt, consolidated, nominal value 2024-09-15 2025-05-24
wdi GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS Central government debt, total (% of GDP) 2023-06-18 2025-09-27
wdi GC.XPN.INTP.CN Interest payments (current LCU) 2025-10-10 2025-09-27
wdi GC.XPN.INTP.RV.ZS Interest payments (% of revenue) 2023-06-18 2025-09-27
wdi GC.XPN.INTP.ZS Interest payments (% of expense) 2025-10-10 2025-09-27

Last

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  group_by(time) %>%
  summarise(Nobs = n()) %>%
  arrange(desc(time)) %>%
  head(1) %>%
  print_table_conditional()
time Nobs
2025M09 47

indic

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  left_join(indic, by = "indic") %>%
  group_by(indic, Indic) %>%
  summarise(Nobs = n()) %>%
  arrange(-Nobs) %>%
  print_table_conditional()
indic Indic Nobs
MF-LTGBY-RT Long term government bond yields - Maastricht definition (average) 12141
MF-3MI-RT 3-month interest rates (average) 5101
MF-DDI-RT Day-to-day money market interest rates (average) 4518
MF-EY10YM-RT Euro yields - 10 years (average) 253
MF-EY1YM-RT Euro yields - 1 year (average) 253
MF-EY5YM-RT Euro yields - 5 years (average) 253

geo

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  group_by(geo, Geo) %>%
  summarise(Nobs = n()) %>%
  arrange(-Nobs) %>%
  mutate(Geo = ifelse(geo == "DE", "Germany", Geo)) %>%
  mutate(Flag = gsub(" ", "-", str_to_lower(Geo)),
         Flag = paste0('<img src="../../bib/flags/vsmall/', Flag, '.png" alt="Flag">')) %>%
  select(Flag, everything()) %>%
  {if (is_html_output()) datatable(., filter = 'top', rownames = F, escape = F) else .}

time

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  group_by(time) %>%
  summarise(Nobs = n()) %>%
  arrange(desc(time)) %>%
  print_table_conditional

Interest Rates

Table

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         time %in% c("2000M01", "2005M01", "2010M01", "2020M01", "2021M04")) %>%
  select_if(~ n_distinct(.) > 1) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  spread(time, values) %>%
  mutate(Geo = ifelse(geo == "DE", "Germany", Geo)) %>%
  mutate(Flag = gsub(" ", "-", str_to_lower(Geo)),
         Flag = paste0('<img src="../../bib/flags/vsmall/', Flag, '.png" alt="Flag">')) %>%
  select(Flag, everything()) %>%
  {if (is_html_output()) datatable(., filter = 'top', rownames = F, escape = F) else .}

Germany, Italy, France, Spain

All

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 5), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 2),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

1995-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("1995-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 5), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 2),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

1998-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("1998-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 2), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

2010-2015

Interest rates

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2010-01-01"),
         date <= as.Date("2016-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

2005-

Interest rates

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2005-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 2), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

Spreads

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2005-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  group_by(date) %>%
  mutate(values = values - values[geo == "DE"]) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 2), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond spreads vs. Germany\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, .5),
                labels = percent_format(a = .1))

2000-2007

Interest rates

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2000-01-01"),
         date <= as.Date("2008-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, .2),
                labels = percent_format(a = .1))

Spreads

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2000-01-01"),
         date <= as.Date("2008-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  group_by(date) %>%
  mutate(values = values - values[geo == "DE"]) %>%
  #filter(geo != "DE") %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond spreads vs. Germany\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, .1),
                labels = percent_format(a = .1))

2014-

Interest rates

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2014-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

Spreads

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2014-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  group_by(date) %>%
  mutate(values = values - values[geo == "DE"]) %>%
  #filter(geo != "DE") %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond spreads vs. Germany\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, .5),
                labels = percent_format(a = .1))

Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Greece

All

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES", "EL")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 5), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 2),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

1995-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES", "EL")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("1995-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 5), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 2),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

1998-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES", "EL")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("1998-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 2), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

2005-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES", "EL")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2005-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 2), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

2014-

Interest rates

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES", "EL")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2014-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

Spreads

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES", "EL")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2014-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  group_by(date) %>%
  mutate(values = values - values[geo == "DE"]) %>%
  #filter(geo != "DE") %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond spreads vs. Germany\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, .5),
                labels = percent_format(a = .1))

2018-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES", "EL")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2018-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Greece, Portugal

2018-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("FR", "DE", "IT", "ES", "EL", "PT")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2018-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_6flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

Portugal, Greece, Germany, Euro area

All

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("EA", "DE", "EL", "PT")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  mutate(Geo = ifelse(geo == "EA", "Europe", Geo)) %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 5), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 2),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

1995-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("EA", "DE", "EL", "PT")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  mutate(Geo = ifelse(geo == "EA", "Europe", Geo)) %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("1995-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 5), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 2),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

2005-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("EA", "DE", "EL", "PT")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  mutate(Geo = ifelse(geo == "EA", "Europe", Geo)) %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2005-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 2), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

2014-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("EA", "DE", "EL", "PT")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  mutate(Geo = ifelse(geo == "EA", "Europe", Geo)) %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2014-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_4flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

Portugal, Spain, Italy

1998-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("EA","FR", "PT", "ES", "IT")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  mutate(Geo = ifelse(geo == "EA", "Europe", Geo)) %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("1998-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 2), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")

2014-

Code 
ei_mfir_m %>%
  filter(indic %in% c("MF-LTGBY-RT"),
         geo %in% c("EA","FR", "PT", "ES", "IT")) %>%
  left_join(geo, by = "geo") %>%
  mutate(Geo = ifelse(geo == "EA", "Europe", Geo)) %>%
  month_to_date %>%
  filter(date >= as.Date("2014-01-01")) %>%
  mutate(values = values / 100) %>%
  left_join(colors, by = c("Geo" = "country")) %>%
  ggplot + geom_line(aes(x = date, y = values, color = color)) +
  scale_color_identity() + theme_minimal()  + add_5flags +
  scale_x_date(breaks = as.Date(paste0(seq(1960, 2030, 1), "-01-01")),
               labels = date_format("%Y")) +
  xlab("") + ylab("Long term government bond yields\nMaastricht definition (average)") +
  scale_y_continuous(breaks = 0.01*seq(-30, 30, 1),
                labels = percent_format(a = 1)) + 
  geom_hline(yintercept = 0, linetype = "dashed",  color = "black")