Odor: Slovakia Won't Be Able to Consolidate If It Doesn't Kick-start Growth

Bratislava, 4 September (TASR) - Slovakia will never be able to consolidate its public finances if it doesn't kick-start its economic growth, MEP Ludovit Odor together with MP Stefan Kiss (both PS) stated at a conference held by the opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party where they officially presented an economic plan called Bang. According to Kiss, Bang brings dozens of systemic measures in seven interrelated areas. "I'm sure that we'll never be able to consolidate public finances if we don't restart economic growth," stressed ex-caretaker premier Odor. According to Odor, Bang is an abbreviation for "the total restart of Slovakia's economy" [BANG in Slovak: TRESK standing for Total REstart of Slovakia (SK)' - ed. note]. "Every single word is very important - both total and restart. It indicates that we're standing still and we need to change a lot of things in order to move forward again," he said. "We're convinced that Slovakia can be among the top 15 EU countries in quality of life by 2040. But today we see huge gaps - in productivity, collapsing health care, (un)sustainability of public finances, but also disastrous drawing of EU money," pointed out Kiss. According to Kiss, the Bang brings dozens of systemic measures in seven areas that are interrelated, including Investing Slovakia - to move forward through wise investments, Enterprising Slovakia - to move forward in value creation, Well-managed Slovakia - to move forward through an efficient state, Responsible and Resilient Slovakia - to move forward even in difficult times, Talented Slovakia - to move forward thanks to people, Green Slovakia - to move forward thanks to green innovations, as well as Innovative Slovakia - to move forward towards the future. "We want to prepare a national investment plan for long-term projects, but we also want to focus on professional management of EU funds that aren't wasted but used for growth. Bang also means a favourable environment for small and medium-sized enterprises. Lower taxes and social levies as well as the ByroKAT measure, which will achieve a leaner and more efficient state, focused on the citizens and their needs, not on bureaucracy. We'll also separately focus on improving the automotive sector," added Kiss. am/mcs