BRATISLAVA, March 1, (WEBNOVINY) – In explaining price growth in Slovakia, the Cabinet has been openly lying to people, opposition SMER Chairman Robert Fico stated at Tuesday’s news conference dedicated to January’s harmonized inflation figures for the EU. Prices in Slovakia soared most within the EU in monthly terms (+ 2.1 percent), but the majority of euro club members saw a decrease in prices. “How then can the argument of Prime Minister Radicova that oil and foodstuffs prices are to be blamed for the price increase [in Slovakia] hold water?” Fico asked. SMER-SD is of the opinion that consolidation measures adopted by the Cabinet contributed to the negative price development most.
According to Fico, these figures are embarrassing. He has further questioned the capacity of PM Radicova and her team to cope with their responsibilities. Fico said that these events should lead to a no-confidence vote in the Cabinet but his party has picked a different path this time. They would like to debate their own proposals to bring the VAT rate back down to 19 percent, introduce a 6-percent VAT rate on the direct sale of farm produce and a special bank levy and to adopt a law banning the privatization of heating companies in an unscheduled parliamentary session. “We are giving the Cabinet a chance to correct its actions. The politicians in the Cabinet who have been preaching about the living standard of citizens will be unmasked by these blueprints,” Fico declared.
Consumer prices measured by the EU’s Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) grew 3.2 percent year-over-year in the first month of this year, the Statistics Office of the Slovak Republic reported. For the purpose of comparison, harmonized inflation in December 2010 reached 1.3 percent. Year-over-year and month-on-month inflation in Slovakia was higher compared to figures for the entire euro zone and the EU median.
SITA
