Slovak govt ties budget vote to confidence motion

...its fiscal plan is approved.

The motion, initiated by Prime Minister Robert Fico, follows a row with one of his junior ruling coalition partners that had threatened to destabilise the government at a crucial time of Slovakia's drive to join the euro currency zone in 2009.

A government statement issued after a special cabinet meeting did not comment further on the confidence motion.

Leftist leader Fico had clashed with centrist Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) over the past week after he sacked Farm Minister Miroslav Jurena of HZDS due to disputed land transfers in an agency Jurena had supervised.

The ruling coalition appeared on the brink of collapse on Wednesday when HZDS leader Vladimir Meciar said Fico had told him he did not want to continue governing with him.

Tensions have since eased and the confidence motion was seen as a formality after Meciar said on Thursday the coalition would stick together to approve the budget and ensure Slovakia adopts the euro as planned.

MPs were expected to finish the debate on the budget, which cuts the public finance deficit to 2.3 percent of gross domestic product from the 2007 ceiling of 2.9 percent, on Friday.

Parliament officials, however, said procedures linked to the confidence motion could delay the budget vote until next week. (Reporting by Peter Laca; Editing by Dominic Evans)

Keywords: SLOVAKIA BUDGET/GOVERNMENT

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]