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SMK: Government Not Doing Enough to Stop Growth of National Debt
Friday 26 March 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, March 26 (TASR) - The Government on Friday came under fire from opposition SMK, which indicated that the Government continues to hold back on reining in public spending.
"Government is using the economic crisis as a crutch to splurge ... everyone was saving except for the Government and state sector," SMK Deputy Chairman and Republic Council Chairman Ivan Farkas told reporters after the Republic Council.
Slovakia's foreign debt has soared in the past four years, rising from $27.5 billion in 2006 to $68.6 billion at the end of February 2010 meaning 2.5 times over a single term, according to Farkas.
The public debt went up five-fold – from 6.8 billion in February 2006 to $35.5 billion last month. "Slovakia faces a major problem unless Government changes its ways," said Farkas.
The Finance Ministry rejected Farkas's allegations since the public debt, according to spokesperson Miroslav Smal, was falling until 2008. "It only rose in 2009 as a result of the financial crisis, but the ministry is planning a consolidation of public finances and renewed reduction in public debt," Smal told TASR.
Farkas also lambasted the drawing of EU funds under the current Government. "Slovakia has turned into a new contributor to the European Union from a net recipient (due to its inability to draw available funds from Brussels)," he said.
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