Slovenia sees cutting deficit as a priority: finance minister

LJUBLJANA, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Reducing the budget deficit in the coming years is a key priority for Slovenia's government, Finance Minister Klemen Bostjancic said in parliament on Monday, though the deficit is projected to rise slightly in 2026 compared to this year.

"Reducing the deficit is a key task, but not at the expense of development, social cohesion and security," Bostjancic said.

He noted that Slovenia's budget deficit is expected to reach 2.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025, and increase to 2.9 percent in 2026 before being reduced to 2.8 percent in 2027. A significant portion of budget spending will go toward education, science and development.

The minister added that Slovenia plans to increase its defense spending in the coming years in line with the European Union's general defense policy.

He also said Slovenia will need to borrow 5.3 billion euros in 2026 and 6.5 billion euros in 2027 to finance the budget and repay existing debt.

Export-oriented Slovenia is currently experiencing relatively slow economic growth due to the economic downturn in some of its major European trading partners. The government expects the economy to grow by 0.8 percent this year, compared with 1.7 percent in 2024. (1 Euro = 1.17 U.S. dollar) Enditem