Supreme Audit Office: country’s finances ill-prepared for crisis

The Supreme Audit Office warns that the economic impacts of the coronavirus crisis could threaten the sustainability of public finances.

Expenditures have skyrocketed and, due to the pandemic, state revenues in the first quarter are lower than expected, the office says, adding that  the pandemic has confirmed fears that state finances are ill-prepared for a time of crisis, significantly more so than they were in 2008.

The Finance Ministry has rejected the criticism, arguing that no one was prepared for a crisis of such proportions and that the country’s economic and financial results are among the best in the EU.