Ljubljana, 10 April (STA) - The government has adopted a decree on the framework for the drafting of the general government sector budgets for the next three-year period, in which the general government deficit is planned to remain below the reference value of 3% of GDP, and be reduced to 1.9% of GDP by 2027.
Announcing the adoption of the decree at Tuesday's correspondence session, the Finance Ministry noted that public spending would be maintained at a high level, including for post-flood reconstruction effort.
According to the Statistics Office, a deficit of EUR 1.59 billion was generated in 2023, which is 2.5% of Slovenia's gross domestic product (GDP). For this year, the current decree on the budget framework allows it to increase to 3.8% of GDP.
The new decree for the 2025-2027 period meanwhile envisages that the general government for next year should amount to 2.7% of GDP. It is set at 2.5% for 2026, and at 1.9% for 2027.
For the state budget alone, the new decree, which needs to be approved by the National Assembly, envisages a deficit of 2.7% of GDP for next year, 2.1% of GDP for 2026 and 1.6% of GDP for 2027.
The Finance Ministry said that after several years of various anti-crisis measures, the fiscal policy in the 2025-2027 period will pursue gradual consolidation, but the level of public spending will remain high.
In addition to gradual consolidation, it will be possible to ensure major investments for post-flood reconstruction and measures for the green and digital transitions supported by the Recovery and Resilience Plan.
The government also plans to reform the public sector wage system, while at the same time addressing many challenges of longevity society, which require high expenditure on healthcare, pensions and long-term care, the ministry added.
The decree sets the maximum expenditure for the general government sector at EUR 33.85 billion for 2025, EUR 35.10 billion for 2026 and EUR 35.65 billion for 2027. This year this figure is expected to stand at EUR 32.16 billion.
