Slovakia and Czech Republic report rising budget deficits

Slovakia and the Czech Republic have reported significant increases in their respective state budget deficits.

In Slovakia, the Ministry of Finance reported that the cash deficit reached 4.087 billion euros by the end of September. While state revenues grew by 8 percent to 19.388 billion euros—driven by increases in VAT, corporate income tax, and consumption taxes—expenditures also rose by 8 percent to 23.475 billion euros. Notably, debt servicing costs saw a substantial year-on-year increase of 36.6 percent, amounting to 404 million euros.

In the Czech Republic, the government recorded a deficit of 194.5 billion koruna for the first three quarters of the year, representing a year-on-year worsening of approximately 41 billion koruna. This decline is attributed to expenditures growing at 4.8 percent compared to a revenue growth of only 2.7 percent. Rising costs are primarily driven by social benefits, particularly pensions, and debt servicing, which increased by over 9 percent to 74 billion koruna. Capital expenditures are also rising, fueled by investments in defense and transport infrastructure.