Finance Minister Schillerová says Czech deficit can only shrink by a few billion

Alena Schillerová, the Czech finance minister, said the upcoming 2027 state budget deficit can only be narrowed by a modest amount, contrary to coalition expectations of larger cuts. She indicated that the most viable savings would stem from decreasing the levy on state-insured individuals, with a possible reduction of around six billion crowns. The ministry’s August forecast reported an eight-billion-crown increase in health-insurance income, which altered earlier estimates of the levy rise.

Health Minister Adam Vojtěch had initially projected a higher increase, later adjusted downwards. Opposition leader Vladimír Pikora of Motoristé sobě warned that the deficit will still rise compared with one outlet year, and the party’s earlier pledge to balance the budget remains unfulfilled. Economist Aleš Bělohradský warned that the proposed deficit exceeds the Maastricht limit and that future pressures from debt servicing and other mandatory expenditures will grow.