Today is an excellent opportunity to discuss not only what the Forum has delivered and how it has successfully combined security and efficiency, but also the challenges that lie ahead for the security of retail payments. I wish you a lively and interesting debate. Please use this opportunity to exchange your views with our experts.
The country's fiscal position was still better than the year before. In the first nine months of 2002, fiscal deficit in the general government consolidated budget was 19.8 million lats (2.2 times higher than the year before, when the deficit amounted to 43.6 million lats).