Finance Ministry: Gov't Achieves Much Better 2025 Deficit Result Than Planned

Bratislava, 21 April (TASR) - Slovakia managed its finances significantly better last year than originally projected in the approved state budget and while the planned deficit stood at 4.72 percent of GDP, 2025 ultimately ended with a shortfall of 4.45 percent of GDP, according to the latest data confirmed on Tuesday by the Statistics Office. The improvement is primarily due to the government's approach and effective management of public finances, the Ministry of Finance declared in response. "The government manages public finances efficiently and responsibly. The latest figure for the 2025 deficit, confirmed today by the Statistics Office and approved by Eurostat, is evidence of this. I am pleased that we managed to reduce the 2025 deficit by 0.27 percentage points of GDP compared with the approved budget, and by more than 0.5 percentage points compared with estimates by many institutions at the end of 2025," Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) said. According to the ministry, the latest statistics confirm that government measures aimed at gradually consolidating public finances have delivered results. It pointed out that the deficit was reduced from the originally planned 6.51 percent of GDP for 2024, set during the caretaker government period, to 4.45 percent of GDP last year. "In total, this represents a reduction of 2.06 percentage points of GDP over two years," the ministry said. The significantly better-than-planned fiscal outcome for 2025 came despite external pressures weighing on the Slovak economy and negative developments among key trading partners such as Germany and Austria, the ministry added. "Trade wars, tariffs imposed by the United States, and flawed ambitions in EU environmental policy also had a negative impact. At the same time, Slovakia continues to struggle with the negative legacy of governments from 2020 to 2023, which handed over the worst public finances in the entire European Union to the current administration," Kamenicky added. The Finance Ministry also underlined that, as in 2024, Slovakia complied with all EU fiscal rules last year, including the public expenditure limit. mf