BRATISLAVA, August 12, (WEBNOVINY) — The Cabinet will have the draft budget bill for 2011 on its table on the last day of September instead of the middle of August. The Finance Ministry has asked the Cabinet for rescheduling of the deadline for submission of the draft general government budget from August 15, which is the date stipulated by the law to September 30. The Cabinet greenlighted the change on Wednesday. Finance Minister Ivan Miklos blames the delay also on inactivity of the ministry led by his predecessor Jan Pociatek. “Under the previous government, no work was done on preparation of the budget,” Miklos told a news conference on Thursday. He specified that the ministry under the previous management even failed to prepare an outline for next year’s general government budget, although it was required by law to do so.
Last year, the previous Cabinet of Robert Fico discussed the budget for this year in late September. Pociatek said that he needs to have the most recent data on the economic development in Slovakia at disposal when shaping the budget draft. His ministry had asked the Cabinet for a postponement given the persisting uncertainty on the future development and permanently changing data.
According to the law on budgetary rules of general government, the Finance Ministry should submit a draft budget by August 15 to the Cabinet unless this does not set a later deadline. The Cabinet should decide on the submitted draft by September 30 and send it to Parliament by October 15. If lawmakers fail to give the green light to the budget bill by December 31, the government would run on a provisional mode, according to rules and limits approved in the budget for the previous year.
SITA