BRATISLAVA, August 24, (WEBNOVINY) – Priorities of the 2012 budget remain open following Tuesday’s meeting of coalition leaders. In the upcoming days, experts from the coalition parties are to debate the priorities in a working group. According to Prime Minister Iveta Radicova, experts should wind up the talks within two weeks, while coalition leaders should resume talks on the budget on September 7.
The prime minister restated after Tuesday’s Coalition Council meeting that consolidation of public funds is the basic priority. “We made a commitment to reduce the deficit; we will fulfill our commitment,” she stated. Radicova went on to say that based on the Finance Ministry’s proposal, the deficit should be squeezed in particular by cost-cutting. She added that in order to avoid laying the burden on citizens, the state’s expenditures are to be reduced to the bare minimum.
Radicova further said that she supports the Finance Ministry’s draft budget, which does not include raising taxes. If some ministries insist on getting more funding from the budget, there will not be any other way than increasing the budget revenues, she pointed out.
The budget draft may have to be revised further, as it is based on a very optimistic macroeconomic development. “The prognosis of economic growth is defined too optimistically. A new prognosis and an estimate should be available in a couple of weeks, and it will of course be included in the final proposal of the state budget,” Radicova added.
SITA