Draft budget for 2004 on the table.

(From The Slovak Spectator)

Byline: LukaS Fila Spectator staff

Government pledges to reduce the state budget deficit ON AUGUST 27, Finance Minister Ivan MikloS presented to the government a draft state budget for next year; in many aspects, it was different from all previous budget drafts. A number of the proposed changes have to do with the country's EU accession, planned for May 2004. The right-wing government, which came to power after the parliamentary elections in September 2002, has pledged to reduce the state deficit, and this year the very approach to putting the budget together marks a clear shift toward making that promise come true. "This year's talks about the state budget are different from what they had been in previous years," said MikloS at a press conference. "The government is now debating the possible increase of the deficit by funding from [state] reserves intended for priority programmes and the lack of spending cuts. Before, the draft budget was being submitted to the government with a higher deficit than was necessary and only then cuts were being made," said MikloS. Now, the basic needs of the state bodies were given priority, and the government is only debating how to best allocate the Sk5.1 billion ([euro]122 million) that makes up the reserves that can still be distributed. Total revenues for the year are estimated at Sk249.2 billion ([euro]5.9 billion), with total expenditures reaching Sk310.7 billion ([euro]7.4 billion). Other members of the cabinet had previously demanded additional funding amounting to as much as Sk29 billion ([euro]691 million). "We have managed to bring that figure down to around Sk13 billion ([euro]310 million). But that's still too much," said MikloS. Under the current situation, there is still a Sk8 billion ([euro]191 million) difference between the amount asked by the ministries and the sum that is up for grabs. Among those most keen on getting more finances was Agriculture Minister Zsolt Simon. He said he wants the sum of direct payments given by the EU and the finances provided from the state budget to Slovak farmers to reach 55 percent of the average amount paid to farmers in the current EU member countries. That can only be achieved through increased budgetary spending. According to the Finance Ministry's initial proposal, the total sum received by farmers was to equal only 40 percent of the EU average. "Every additional five percent means an additional Sk760 million ([euro]18.1 million)," said MikloS. He went on to say that as much as Sk2 billion ([euro]48 million) would therefore be needed to meet Simon's demands. "It's ...