RRZ: Gov't Won't Meet Spending Limits, FinMin Expects Them to be Met Next Year

Bratislava, November 16 (TASR) - The government will meet the public spending limit, calculated in line with the new EU rules, neither this, nor the following years, states the Budgetary Responsibility Council (RRZ) in its latest evaluation of the 2025-2027 budget. Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry expects the spending limit to be met next year, while later it will be necessary to take additional consolidation measures. "We estimate that the government will fail to meet the nominal spending limits this year by some €300 million, while it should be by a relatively smaller amount of €114 million next year," said RRZ chair Jan Toth. In 2026 and 2027, however, the RRZ expects spending limits to be exceeded by more than €2 billion if additional measures aren't taken. In line with the new EU rules, spending limits should be a key tool to ensure an improvement in the condition of public finances in the EU. This year they are calculated for the first time. The RRZ sees their disadvantage in the fact that the calculation is the same for all the countries, it is thus simplified and disrespects specifics of individual states. As a result of this, the proposed limits for Slovakia are too generous and don't guarantee the stabilisation of the debt below 60 percent and the deficit below 3 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in the longer term. ko