BRATISLAVA, August 24, (WEBNOVINY) — Slovakia can serve as a model for other eurozone countries in what he does for consolidation of public finances and at the same time competitiveness of the economy. German Economy Minister and Deputy Federal Minister Philipp Rosler said this after talks on Friday with Slovak Finance Minister Peter Kazimir. He went on to say that he understands that consolidating public finances and simultaneously maintaining economic growth is not easy.
„It turned out that Slovakia represents this course not only in political debates, but also in concrete steps,“ said Rosler. He praises Slovakia although its budget deficit in recent years was well above the Maastricht limit of 3 percent. „The Slovak government doesn’t just stand there idle in front of those numbers. It is doing very much to reduce the deficit and we have a lot of respect for that. Regarding growth, Slovakia has really taken an exemplary path,“ said the Federal Minister of Economics.
Finance Minister Peter Kazimir confirmed the government’s commitment to continue consolidating public finances at the meeting with Rosler. „We accept the Fiscal Compact, and not just us. Any country that accepts it, must take this document dead serious,“ says Kazimir. According the Fiscal Compact, every country should gradually work its way to a balanced budget. Discussions within the Cabinet suggest that achieving this will require a fundamental change in the revenue and expenditure policies of the state. „For that we need time,“ he said. He indicated, however, that one way to go may be through reform of the public administration, where it is possible to cut spending by up to 1 percent of gross domestic product. Slovakia also has great reserves in collecting value-added tax.
Both ministers also talked about the position of Germany as the largest trading partner of Slovakia and the largest investor. Although they said they did not speak about any investment plan in particular, they discussed the quality of the investment environment in Slovakia. „It’s not about bringing new investors, but about those investors who are already in Slovakia to further expand their businesses and investments,“ said Rosler to the fact that the German side is particularly interested in expanding cooperation in the field of education.
The strong bond to Germany for Slovakia also means that how the German economy develops influences the development of the local economy. Despite the strength of the German economy, it is already feeling the pressure of the worsening situation in the eurozone. „We have a very robust economy, but still we are concerned, our businesses are concerned. The reason is problems in the eurozone, and it is proof that a stable eurozone is needed for the entire economy,“ said Federal Minister of Economics.
SITA