Additional consolidation measures needed, says Slovak finmin

Slovakia can't afford to let its budget deficit reach 4.9 percent of GDP in 2013 as estimated by the European Commission as this would mean the fourth-highest deficit in the eurozone, Finance Minister Peter Kazimir said at a press briefing on Friday. While the budget deficit was estimated to reach 4.7 percent in 2012, the European Commission's prognosis speaks about a slight increase to 4.9 percent the following year. The finance minister pointed to the fact that additional consolidation measures will have to be adopted in order to stave off this negative scenario.