The Government on Thursday adopted the second and
final budget adjustment for this year. The budget will cover mandatory
expenses, such as operational costs of all state institutions until the end of
the year, social welfare benefits as well as salaries. Additional funds were
redistributed to programs conducted by budget administrators with an impact on
the economy and with a view to supporting the population and businesses. At the
same time, the budget adjustment provides funding for state aid given to
farmers whose crops were affected by draught in 2021. The budget ensures the
necessary funds for ongoing European projects. Most funds will go to the
Finance, Labor, Agriculture and Economy ministries, while the Energy, Interior,
Health and Transport ministries will get less funding. According to the autumn
forecast underlying the adjustment, budget revenues increased by some 100
million EUR, although so did expenses. The budget deficit stands at some 16
billion EUR, a slight drop accounting for 5.74% of the GDP, compared to the
previous estimate of 5.84%. Finance Minister Adrian Câciu
explained:
We restructured expenses
wherever we found it necessary to supplement the budget, where budget
administrators did not honor their committments in their financial plans.
On
the other hand, Prime Minister Nicolae Ciucă
argues that European financial agencies claim Romania reported economic growth
in the third quarter of 2022, and there are no clear signs our country might
face a recession.
Obviously, to be honest, we very much depend on the
economic context and on our partners. Some of these problems are bound to
affect Romanian economy too. Therefore, we need to continue to come up with
measures and decisions that should allow us to continue to support investments.
Caution and balance are advised.
The budget also addresses vulnerable categories of the
population. Prime Minister Ciucă announced the government
will earmark 800-900 million EUR worth of European funds to vulnerable categories to help them get safely through
the winter, both this year and the next. The funds will be disbursed as state
subsidies for the payment of energy, heat and firewood. (VP)