Prague, June 19 (CTK) – The Czech government is not threatened with any crisis in relation to the state budget for 2017, and the three coalition parties will reach agreement on it, Finance Minister Andrej Babis (ANO) said in a discussion programme on public Czech Television (CT) yesterday.
Earlier this week, Babis indicated that his party would not support a budget with a higher deficit than 60 billion crowns and it might terminate the coalition agreement if the coalition failed to agree on the budget.
Yesterday, he said this is not an option.
“We have agreed on the budget. The deficit is 60 billions,” Babis said.
Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (Social Democrats, CSSD) said the creation of the budget for the next two years is a priority and there will be no need for a stopgap budget.
The general election is scheduled for the autumn of 2017.
Babis said the state budget will be influenced by the drawing of EU subsidies.
The Social Democrats do not challenge the basic parameters of the 2017 budget, Sobotka told CT in a phone call from China where he is on an official visit.
The CSSD, ANO and the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) agreed that salaries of doctors, nurses and teachers would be raised.
The government has to submit the next year’s budget bill to the lower house of parliament by October.
The right-wing opposition Civic Democrats (ODS) criticised the deficit of 60 billion crowns. ODS leader Petr Fiala said Babis had promised a balanced budget for 2017.
“We have four years of economic growth. An average accountant in every firm is able to lower the deficit,” Fiala said.
He said the ODS will not support such a budget deficit.
($1=24.052 crowns)
kva/dr
