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Fico: We'll Consolidate Budget Next Year, Going Against Mainstream in EU
Monday 14 December 2009 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, December 14 (TASR) - Slovakia, with its plans for launching a significant budget consolidation next year, will go against the mainstream of the EU, Prime Minister Robert Fico said at the HN Club discussion on Monday.
According to Fico, a conviction has prevailed in Europe that fiscal stimuli for support of economies can continue in the next few years until the economic crisis is over. This approach will lead to further growth of public deficits, however, cautioned Fico. At the same time, Slovakia intends to begin to decrease gradually its public deficit from this year's level of 6.3 percent of GDP as early as in 2010.
"The deficit of the entire EU will be more than 7 percent in 2009, and it will rise to 7.5 percent in 2010. Slovakia isn't going that way, we are going to decrease the public finance deficit. We'll do everything for it, and I think that we have enough vigour and experience to end the year 2010 with consolidated public finances at 5.5 percent," stressed Fico.
The premier also criticised rating agencies. Although Slovakia hasn't any problems with evaluations by rating agencies, it was the very agencies with their non-proffessional approach that were supporting the bubble on financial markets, which eventually led to the financial crisis.
"It's the very agencies and the very people, who were sitting there two or three years ago, and they are now criticising some EU-states: you aren't consolidating enough, you aren't saving and cutting enough. We reject such evaluations," said Fico, stressing that it isn't only his personal opinion but also a stance of the vast majority of premiers in the EU.
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