PM Fiala: cabinet may still rein-in ballooning deficit

The growing gap in public finances in the first five months of the year is reason for concern, but the cabinet may still be able to keep the deficit within the projected 295 billion crowns in 2023, Prime Minister Petr Fiala said in a debate on CNN Prima News. The prime minister said the months of June and July would bring revenues from windfall tax, dividends from the state-owned power utility ČEZ and money from European funds, which would make a difference to the state of the budget. He said the canbinet was also planning further cuts in spending this year. According to the Finance Ministry, the deficit reached 271 billion crowns at the end of May.

According to ANO leader Andrej Babiš, the Fiala government is responsible for the fact that Czechia has the third highest inflation in the EU, has failed to draw the EU funds to which the country has access and is trying to curb the deficit by taking money from the weakest groups in the society such as pensioners and families with children.