Budget27: President Signs Next Year's State Budget into Law

Bratislava, 28 October (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini signed the state budget for 2027 into law on Wednesday. In line with the law, the budget deficit should amount to €7.443 billion next year, equivalent to 4.94 percent of GDP. Over the following two years, the deficit should gradually decline to 4.5 percent and 4 percent of GDP (respectively). State budget revenues for 2027 are projected at €27.911 billion, with expenditures at €35.666 billion. The state budget deficit should reach €7.754 billion, therefore. General government revenues should reach €63.343 billion in 2027, while expenditures should amount to €70.786 billion, resulting in a deficit of €7.443 billion, or 4.94 percent of GDP. The deficit budgeted for next year is higher than this year's, which was initially planned at 4.1 percent and is currently expected to reach 4.37 percent of GDP. Over the following two years, the deficit should gradually decline to 4.5 percent and to 4 percent of GDP, but this will require additional consolidation measures. "Under the budget currently in place, this strategy will require measures worth 0.8 percent of GDP in 2028 and 1.4 percent of GDP in 2029," said the Finance Ministry. Without this, the deficit will continue to rise to 5.26 percent of GDP and then 5.41 percent of GDP. In the final vote, Parliament also approved an amending proposal by parliamentary committees, under which the salaries of employees in the state and public sectors will increase by 8.4 percent as of 1 July 2027. The budget counts on, among other things, continued measures to offset high energy prices in 2027, with €250 million allocated for this purpose. Meanwhile, an amount of €100 million has been allocated from the Agriculture Ministry's budget chapter to combat drought, retain water on the land and address the effects of climate change. The budget also counts on expenditures to cover planned legislative changes totalling €482 million. "This money is intended to cover the impact of measures in the social sector and pro-family policies, in particular allowances to help those in need and a reform of social services. Within this, the budget also covers one-off forms of aid, such as an increased allowance for first-graders and a childbirth contribution," said the Finance Ministry. Given the challenging economic conditions, halting growth in public debt will take several electoral terms, stated the Finance Ministry. Fiscal consolidation is curbing the growth of debt, but bringing it to a complete halt will require reducing the overall budget deficit to well below 3 percent of GDP, it added. ko