Prague  - The Czech Republic's budget gap is likely to exceed 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2009, a Finance Ministry official said Sunday.

"I do not believe that the deficit of public finances would ... be lower than 4 per cent," Deputy Finance Minister Eduard Janota said in a television debate.

Such a deficit would mar prospects for a speedy adoption of the euro, as the European Union requires candidates to keep their fiscal gaps under 3 per cent of GDP.

Janota said that country's deficit could rise to 130 billion koruny (5.7 billion dollars) if the economy declines by 2 per cent this year.

Some of the debt could be financed through bonds, worth 100 billion koruny, that would be sold directly to citizens in the next three to four years, he said.

The Central European country of 10.3 million has been spared a direct blow by the global financial crisis but its export-reliant economy has been slowing down owing to a drop in demand in Western Europe, its main market.

In a sign of a changing stance amid the economic downturn, the centre-right government of Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, which has long been reluctant to adopt the euro, plans to set a date for the switch in November.

The Czech Republic originally aimed for a pro-euro budget this year with a gap of 38.1 billion koruny or 1.6 per cent. dpa