Gap in public finances to be reduced at slower pace

The government has said the gap in public finances will be reduced at a slower pace than earlier envisaged. In a document put to the cabinet on Thursday the Finance Ministry reviewed its estimate for this year’s deficit from 3 to 3.2 percent of GDP. The slide has changed the deficit target for the coming years with the revised figures being 2.9 percent of GDP for 2013, 2.5 for 2014 and 1.6 for 2015. At a press conference following Thursday’s cabinet session Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek said the cabinet had had to make a choice between further austerity measures and cutting the gap in public finances at a slower pace. He said ministers had concluded that further austerity measures could prove counter-productive since they were likely to undercut growth.