The Czech budget gap swelled to 195 billion koruny (10.6 billion dollars) in 2009 according to preliminary figures, dpa quoted Prime Minister Jan Fischer as saying. That meant the 2009 deficit was more than five times bigger than the gap of 38.1 billion koruny initially approved for 2009 by the Czech parliament. Given the economic crisis, Fischer"s cabinet had to give up hopes for a more balanced budget. Finance Minister Eduard Janota recently said on Czech Television that he could not rule out the 2009 deficit reaching as much as 200 billion koruny. For 2010, the Czech Republic faces a budget with a planned deficit of 163 billion koruny, or 5.3 per cent of gross domestic product, above the 3-per-cent threshold required by the European Union for switching to the euro.
