Commission Proposes Opening Excessive Deficit Procedure Also for Slovakia

Brussels, July 9 (TASR-correspondent) - The European Commission (EC) said in a press release on Tuesday that it had notified the Council of the EU last Monday that the opening of the excessive deficit procedure was justified for seven selected member states, including Slovakia. The Commission pointed out that it had produced this report as part of the European Semester Spring Package of June 2024. The report found that the initiation of an excessive deficit procedure was warranted for seven selected member states - Belgium, France, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, and Slovakia. The next step is for the EU Council to decide on the existence of excessive deficits in these member states and, on a proposal from the Commission as part of the European Semester Autumn Package, to adopt its recommendation on the adjustment path and propose a deadline for bringing the excessive deficit situation to an end. The report on Slovakia states that, according to data confirmed by Eurostat (April 22), the general government deficit in Slovakia stood at 4.9 percent of GDP in 2023 and general government debt amounted to 56 percent of GDP. am/mcs