Lithuania’s Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius said in his interview to Ziniu radijas station that in 2009 the deficit is projected to reach 9 percent of GDP and in 2010 it should widen to some 9.5 percent.  Nevertheless, the PM expressed his hopes that Lithuania’s fiscal deficit will decline to 3 percent of GDP in 2011 hence, bringing the country closer to the accession to the euro zone.

Kubilius said in his interview which was conducted on 15 October ‘Next year the deficit will be similar to the one we will have this year. Of course it is a huge challenge to reduce the budget so fast so as to get closer to the Maastricht criteria of 3 percent deficit already in 2011.’

In his interview he admitted that this deficit largely constitutes from a marked increase in pensions and other social benefits, teachers’ salaries and financing of the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund and the social insurance fund SoDra, from 2006.

The Cabinet has endorsed a draft budget of the central government and the social insurance fund and SoDra on 14 October.

According to the draft, the deficit of Sodra’s budget will reach 2.363 billion LTL, which is equivalent to 2.8 percent of GDP, BNS informed.