Moody's, one of the three main international credit rating agencies, considers Slovakia's plan to squeeze its deficit below three percent this year to represent a challenge for the government. The Hospodárske Noviny daily reported on January 10 that the agency expects the Slovak public sector to achieve a worse result than the original projection of the Fico government.
According to Moody's, however, this is not a reason for downgrading Slovakia's A2 rating, the Bloomberg newswire reported. Finance Minister Peter Kažimír said, as quoted by the Sme daily, that the commitment to narrow the gap below three percent cannot be questioned. Economists say it will not be possible without additional measures.
Sources: Hospodárske Noviny, Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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