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Jahnatek: No Further Anti-Crisis Measures Are Needed
Wednesday 10 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 10 (TASR) - There's no need for the Government to introduce any further anti-crisis measures, as the situation in Slovakia has already been stabilised, Economy Minister Lubomir Jahnatek said on Wednesday.
"GDP has even increased by 1.2 percent, and that's a positive thing," he said.
The Economy Ministry has met employers every two weeks to discuss the individual measures in place. Jahnatek spoke highly in particular about the so-called 'scrapyard contribution' programme, designed to help boost car sales. "The first round of the programme was used fully. Interest wasn't as intense during the second round, however, with certain opportunists trying to abuse the system." Unlike Finance Minister Jan Pociatek, Jahnatek completely rules out any prospect of a third round, saying that such a step would be pointless.
The Finance Ministry declared On February 25 that co-ordinated anti-crisis economic stimuli at the European level resembling the scrapyard contribution scheme might be adopted, but Slovakia won't take that route. "We're no longer considering adopting any similar measures. We've clearly stated that 2010 is a year of consolidation for Slovakia, our path is already set and clear," said Pociatek at the time.
Most EU-member states are still addressing the issue of how EU economies will develop. According to Pociatek, it still isn't clear whether 2010 will prove to be a year of definitive public-finance consolidation or whether individual states will introduce additional economic stimuli. "It's possible that European states will concur that their economies need to be stimulated, and then another set of measures can be expected," he said.
Pociatek views the scrapyard contribution as a positive anti-crisis measure, as it brought more than €19.06 million into state coffers.
The Economy Ministry originally allocated a total of €55.25 million for both rounds of the scrapyard contribution, which was designed for the purchase of 44,200 cars. Only €49.83 million actually went into the scheme, however. Meanwhile, the total state revenues from VAT amounted to €66.51 million, with an additional €2.6 million in ancillary fees.
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