RRZ Still Expects General Government Deficit of 5.8 percent of GDP This Year

Bratislava, November 5 (TASR) - The Budgetary Responsibility Council (RRZ) in October estimated that the general government deficit will reach €7.617 billion, or 5.8 percent of GDP, at the end of this year. RRZ drew up its latest estimate based on current information, while assuming that the government won't take any additional measures. It slightly decreased its deficit estimate in absolute figures by €16 million when compared to the September prognosis. "The positive deviation in the forecast from the approved budget for this year is 0.2 percent of GDP. The risk of exceeding the projected deficit of 6.4 percent is low, therefore," stated the council. Despite the budgeted year-on-year (y-o-y) drop in the deficit, however, RRZ expects it to climb by 0.6 p.p. or by €1.2 billion from last year. When compared to the government's estimate published in October, the level of the deficit is almost the same. RRZ sees the most significant positive impact on the estimated general government deficit in expected lower current expenditures from the state budget. Based on current developments, the council doesn't expect an increase in expenditures up to the levels envisaged in the budget. "Meanwhile, RRZ can see a negative risk for the budget in the health-care sector, where we estimate more rapid growth in expenditures on health care and a worse performance among hospitals. Measures related to assistance with energy bills will have a negative impact on the budget as well," added RRZ. ko/df