UPDATE 1-Slovak 2007 draft budget sees 2.94 pct/GDP gap

(Adds background, more details)

BRATISLAVA, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Slovakia's 2007 draft budget sees a central government deficit of 32.2 billion crowns ($1.09 billion), or 2.94 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the Hospodarske Noviny daily reported on Tuesday.

The paper said it had a leaked copy of the budget draft, which the government is due to approve at a meeting on Wednesday. Finance ministry officials were not immediately available for comment.

According to the draft, the central government deficit puts the overall 2007 public sector deficit at 52.6 billion crowns next year -- also 2.94 percent of GDP, keeping the country under the 3.0 percent limit set by the Maastricht Criteria for euro zone entry.

Slovakia is currently in the euro zone waiting room -- ERM-2 -- and plans to adopt the single currency in 2009.

The public sector deficit figure includes the impact of pension reforms, which should shrink to 1.1 percent of GDP next year from 1.3 percent this year.

Analysts have been worried that Prime Minister Robert Fico's leftist cabinet would not be able to balance the euro-entry pledge with its pre-election promises to boost welfare spending.

Fico, who won a June election on promises to alter the business-friendly reforms introduced by the previous cabinet of Mikulas Dzurinda, promised an array of social programmes for poorer Slovaks, higher pensions and a tax cut on selected goods. ((Reporting by Martin Santa, editing by Gerrard Raven; martin.santa@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: martin.santa.reuters.com@reuters.net; +421-2 5341 8402))

($1=29.46 Slovak Crown)

Keywords: ECONOMY SLOVAKIA BUDGET