"We are now targeting a budget deficit of up to a billion litas," Kubilius told reporters after meeting with his partners in the four-party conservative-led coalition on Wednesday.
A billion litas makes up about 1 percent of the gross domestic product.
The government's program, which is yet to be approved by the parliament, does not include an exact deficit estimate for next year, he added.
The outgoing government of Gediminas Kirkilas has drawn up a draft 2009 budget with a fiscal deficit of almost 3 percent of GDP. However, experts have said that, in real terms, the deficit would be 4 to 5 percent of GDP.
Meanwhile, leading Lithuanian-language daily Lietuvos Rytas reported that the country was ready to ask the International Monetary Fund for a 5.8 billion lita lifeline.
"This requires political will: we would have to take on obligations and fulfill those obligations. Until now, the IMF's recommendations could be dismissed out of hand, but that will be impossible once a credit line is obtained," Lithuanian Bank Association President Stasys Kropas said.
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