Slovenia eyes budget surplus in 2018 after decade in red

Slovenia's public finances will be back in the black next year for the first time since the financial crisis, allowing the small eurozone member to roll back austerity and ramp up investment, the government said Thursday. According to the 2018 and 2019 draft budgets, presented to and approved by parliament on Thursday, government revenues will exceed public spending in the coming two years, Prime Minister Miro Cerar said.
The resulting surplus of 50 million euros ($59 million) in each of the years would "ensure more funding for our priorities," such as infrastructure, science, employment, health and security, Cerar said. Slovenia, with a population of two million, was severely hit by global crisis in 2008 and nearly had to seek an EU bailout in 2013, when the government was compelled to inject 3.3 billion euros to recapitalise state-owned banks. Since then, the country's export-orientated economy has been recovering and is currently one of the fastest growing economies in the EU. The EU Commission in pencilling in growth of 4.7 percent this year and 4.0 percent in 2018.