President of the Slovak republic Ivan Gašparovič meets Angel Gurría, Secretary General of the OECD

In the Presidential Palace today, the Slovak President Ivan Gašparovič welcomed Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
When meeting the Slovak head of state, Angel Gurría expressed his view that, in the 16 years of its existence, the Slovak Republic had proved to become a viable democracy with a dynamic economy. However, the global economic crisis has not left Slovakia unscathed and for this reason its government is making an intensive effort to battle the negative impacts on the population. “The last time I visited Slovakia it seemed there were no limits your country would not overcome, but today the crisis is slowing down your growth. Nonetheless, your economic results will still be the best in Europe,” the OECD Secretary-General said. He recalled that Slovakia’s successful entry into the Eurozone was an advantage.
In connection to these views the Slovak President praised the attitude of trade unions, which have realized the seriousness of the situation and do not intend to demand an increase in wages. “The basic priority is to retain employment, economic growth and welfare plans,” Ivan Gašparovič said.
“We offer several recommendations as stated in our report. We recommend more flexibility in the challenges to be faced by Slovakia,” Angel Gurría said in connection with the OECD report. In his opinion, the disparities among individual regions in Slovakia should be taken into account. Retraining of employees could effectively protect the economy from unemployment and, in order to prevent a drop in the number of jobs, Gurría recommended that the minimum wage should not be increased. Slovakia could also make use of higher flexibility in the housing market. Housing, according to Angel Gurría, greatly affects workforce mobility. He confirmed that the government’s effort to monitor the deficit in general government expenditures was a wise move. In the future however, Slovakia’s pro-export policy will need incentive packages and PPP projects to increase general government expenditures. “Whatever measures you take, they will have to be well-timed and targeted, so that you know where you can find substitute resources,” Gurría warned.
Ivan Gašparovič expressed a belief that it was this very crisis which justified the inevitability of the state’s supervisory functions. “Today, liberal right-wing politics cannot do with disapproving of welfare plans just like left-wing politics cannot do with non acceptance of market rules,” the Slovak President said. The European Union, according to the Slovak President, cannot function only as a political alliance, but must also be an effective economic mechanism. Angel Gurría agreed with President’s opinion that “the time has come for the state to get more involved in market supervision”.