RRZ: General Government Deficit Should Reach 5.8 percent of GDP

Bratislava, April 29 (TASR) - Unless the government takes additional measures to consolidate public finances, the general government deficit could reach €7.587 billion, or 5.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, according to the April fiscal prognosis released by the Budgetary Responsibility Council on Monday. The deficit should thus be €104 million higher than the sum foreseen in the March prognosis. "This month-on-month deterioration can mainly be ascribed to higher-than-expected health-care expenditures," stated RRZ. The general government deficit has been approved at almost 6 percent of GDP. Contrary to a budgeted year-on-year decrease in the deficit, the RRZ estimates that it will grow by 0.9 percentage points of GDP when compared to 2023, with the increase amounting to €1.6 billion. The Statistics Office last week revised the deficit for last year to 4.89 percent of GDP, while the original estimate was some 6.5 percent of GDP. The divergence from the approved budget is 0.2 percent of GDP, meaning that the risk of not achieving the budget target is low. The RRZ sees the biggest negative risk for the budget in measures for energy-related aid, as the reserve in the budget isn't high enough to cover the total cost of compensation schemes. Meanwhile, the most significant positive impact on the general government balance when compared to the approved budget is an estimated better performance by other public administration entities. ko/df