Kamenicky: External Influences Mainly behind Slower Growth of Slovak Economy

Brussels, February 18 (TASR) - The main reason for the slower growth of the Slovak economy this year and next year compared to previous expectations are external influences, especially the problems of the German economy, Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) pointed out on Tuesday, adding that they are also being passed on to weaker domestic consumption and company profitability. The Slovak finance minister pointed out that the forecasts for the development of the German economy are gradually decreasing significantly. "Germany is staggering in the stagnation zone. Of course, we are one of the most open economies and this has a huge impact on Slovakia as well," he stressed after Tuesday's meeting of European Union (EU) finance ministers in Brussels. According to Kamenicky, the external uncertainties are subsequently transferred to the population and are reflected in lower domestic consumption. "Then, if you look, the profitability of businesses, for example, is also falling. But I have to say that in the past, the profitability, even though we had a crisis for example during the COVID, was extreme. I consider it to be a return of profitability to normal, but it is lower than it was in the past," he added. The new macro-economic forecast was published by the Finance Ministry last week. According to it, the Slovak economy will grow at 1.9 percent this year. The previous estimate for 2025 assumed growth of 2.2 percent. am/mcs