FinMin: Slovakia Best Performer in Terms of Compliance with EU's Fiscal Rules

Bratislava, 4 June (TASR) - Slovakia has performed best among all member states in the current assessment of compliance with the European Union's (EU) fiscal rules, the Finance Ministry stated in response to Wednesday's (June 3) report by the European Commission (EC). "The European Commission assessed all EU countries in terms of net expenditure growth, with Slovakia ranking the best. This proves that the Slovak government is financially and fiscally responsible and that we're fulfilling our tasks," said Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD). According to the ministry, when it comes to this assessment, the EC doesn't directly take the levels of countries' deficits into account, as they also consist of factors beyond the control of national governments, such as the impact of the external environment or interest on debt payments. "Slovakia is also paying dearly for the poor economic situation in the EU, trade wars, the energy crisis and high energy prices in the EU, all of which are external factors. The Commission is therefore looking at expenditures directly under the control of governments," explained the ministry. Kamenicky also pointed to the most recent forecast by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which, while lowering its estimate for Slovak economic growth, expects many other countries to grow at even slower rates. "Economic growth in Germany for 2027 was reduced from 1.5 percent to 1.1 percent, in France from 1.1 to 0.8 percent, and in the eurozone from 1.4 to 1.2 percent. Slovakia's forecast was reduced by 0.2 percent, but our [estimated] economic growth of 1.6 percent next year is more rapid than those of Germany, France and the eurozone," said the minister. jrg/df