Slovakia to see balanced budget in 2018

The public finances deficit is estimated to equal 1.93 percent of GDP in 2016 and 0.42 percent of GDP in 2017, reads the 2016 Budgetary Plan Proposal drafted by the Finance Ministry and passed by the Government on Wednesday. In 2018, Slovakia is expected to have a balanced budget and the gross national debt is also likely to go down gradually. "The decrease has been driven mostly by planned improvement in the primary balance and robust GDP growth," reads the proposal. Incomes and expenditures of public administration with respect to the GDP are significantly lower in Slovakia than is the EU average, according to the Finance Ministry. Also incomes have been boosted particularly by the ongoing fight against tax evasion. "Among the greatest challenges of the Slovak economy are the labour market, health care and primary education," says the Finance ministry.