VIENNA, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Austrian Minister of Finance Josef Proll Thursday increased the budget deficit forecast for 2009 to 3.9 percent and said it would rise further in 2010.

    The Austrian government had previously estimated the fiscal deficit in 2009 could reach 3.5 percent, according to Austrian Press Agency (APA).

    "It is obviously necessary to get out from the heavy debt burden, but in 2010, the possibility is this crisis will still exist," Proll told an informal meeting of EU finance ministers in Gothenburg, Sweden.

    He expected the country's budget deficit would reach 4.7 percent next year.

    However, the fiscal deficit of Austria in 2009 was still below the European average of 6 percent, he said.

    In this sense, Austria had achieved "considerable results" in reducing the deficit, he added.

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