Finance Ministry Regrets S&P Rating Cut

Ljubljana, 14 January (STA) - The Finance Ministry responded on Saturday

to S&P's decision to cut Slovenia's main credit rating from AA- to A+

by expressing regret that the rating agency did not consider all the

efforts of the leaders of the eurozone and the European Central Bank for

preventing the continuation of the crisis.

$Slovenia is implementing all the measures needed to stabilise its

public finances, despite being in the process of forming a new

government,$ the ministry said in a press release.

The new

National Assembly has already adopted an austerity act and the outgoing

government sent a set of bills aimed at dealing with the crisis to

parliament on Thursday, the ministry noted.

Last year, the budget

deficit stood stood at 4.3% of GDP, which is 0.4 percentage points of GDP

below the goal set in the stability programme for the year, the ministry

stressed, adding that $the Finance Ministry is implementing measures

which prevent taking up further obligations for the budget also in

2012$.

The ministry moreover expects that the new government

will continue or even boost the consolidation of public finances in 2012

and 2013, when Slovenia is to bring its deficit under 3% and introduce all

the needed structural reforms in line with the stability

programme.

Slovenia moreover backed European Economic and Monetary

Commissioner Olli Rehn's statement on Friday, as $we consider that the

ratings cut is...exaggerated and does not take into consideration all the

implemented measures at the level of the EU and Slovenia$.