Govt Working on 2014 Supplementary Budget, 2015 Budget

19. 07. 2013

Govt Working on 2014 Supplementary Budget, 2015 Budget


The government met on Thursday afternoon to discuss the 2014 supplementary budget and 2015 budget.

 

 

The meeting is still ongoing but no concrete solutions are expected for today. The 2014 supplementary budget is needed because the original document was drafted in 2012 in a package with this year's budget, which was overhauled only last week.

"Everything must be done to prevent deficit from increasing," Foreign Minister Karl Erjavec told the press earlier in the day. He said that the government was not discussing another 2013 supplementary budget.

 

He believes a new revision will not be needed and hopes that Slovenia will "get through" this year. The FM did however underline that Slovenia will have to issue a new batch of bonds by the end of this year.

 

Slovenia's budget shortfall increased by a further EUR 135.3m in June to almost EUR 1.3bn, nearing the goal of EUR 1.5bn for the year under the recently passed supplementary budget.

 

Interior Minister Gregor Virant said the situation was very complicated - Slovenia must reduce its deficit to under 3% of GDP in the coming year. Therefore, "serious measures will be needed on the revenue and on the expenditure side".

 

He said Slovenia was still in the position to resolve the situation with 3-4% cuts. He believes this will not be as painful as the situation in Greece and in some other countries.

 

Agriculture Minister Dejan Židan also pointed out that the deficit must be lowered and that the 2014 supplementary budget must focus on development.

He believes the situation will be similar to this year's and pointed out that the government will only be able to choose among unfavourable measures.

 

Židan as well believes that an additional supplementary budget will not be needed this year, given that budget revenue is starting to increase.

 

When asked what will the government show Brussels in autumn - Brussels called on Slovenia to start tackling effectively its excessive deficit by October - Židan's response was optimistic.

 

He said the Commission was aware that most of the measures adopted by Slovenia took effect on 1 July.

 

The minister also pointed to the advice that quality is more important than speed when it comes to banks.

 

Culture Minister Uroš Grilc meanwhile said that the government team must remain realistic and face the fact that budget has already been cut in all fields. He believes that the meeting today will not only focus in cuts but also on priorities.

 

Source: The Slovenia Times

 

Govt Working on 2014 Supplementary Budget, 2015 Budget