Boost for Slovakia's economic rating

The improvement of Slovakia's rating by Standard & Poor's (S&P) from A to A+ on Friday is a welcomed reward for Slovakia having put its public finances in order in a sustainable manner, Finance Minister Peter Kažimír stated on Sunday. S&P on Friday increased Slovakia's rating to A+ with a stable outlook. The return of Slovakia's rating to the pre-crisis level is a clear expression of trust in the Slovak Government's economic and budgetary policies, said Kažimír. Meanwhile, S&P expects that Slovakia's economy will grow by slightly more than 3 percent in the period 2015-18, a development that will contribute towards a reduction of both public deficit and debt. The rating agency believes that the Government's ambition to have a balanced budget in 2017 is realistic. If this indeed takes place, S&P stated that it may even further improve Slovakia's rating. Kažimír noted that Slovakia has now the ninth best rating from among 19 Eurozone members.