Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said on Friday that Slovenia's economic growth was based on healthy foundations and was not a consequence of artificially created demand. According to him, the record 7.2% Q1 growth can be attributed to increased exports and foreign investment.
Bajuk, who is the leader of the junior coalition New Slovenia (NSi), said the growth of 5.2% for 2006 was preliminary and that the final figure would likely be somewhat higher. There is no sign that the growth is slowing down this year nor that the economy is overheating, he said.
According to Bajuk, the Q1 growth figure is likely to be downgraded somewhat after the 2006 figure is amended.
Responding to the latest warning from the European Commission about Slovenia's public finances, Bajuk said the government deficit was by no means tragic. The budget deficit was not cut last year because of a drop in some taxes, but the total government debt did fall somewhat to stand at 27.8% of GDP at the end of 2006, he added.
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