Finance Minister Believes Budget Deficit Should Not Exceed 0.8 Percent of GDP

Ljubljana, 22 July - Finance Minister Zvonko Ivanusic told the daily Delo on Saturday that he received assurances from Prime Minister Bajuk that he will support Ivanusic in the attempt to cut the budget deficit for the year 2000. Minister Ivanusic stressed that the economisation of public finances is similar to EU integration and should not be a political theme, instead consensus should be reached firstly in the expert field and then later in the political field. Ivanusic once again stressed that the budget deficit should not be higher than 0.8 percent of the total gross domestic product, something that the government will attempt to obtain through the reduction of budgetary rights.