Skopje, 26 July 2024 (MIA) - The debate on the Budget revision is set to continue Friday in the Parliamentary Finances and Budget Committee, following an address by the Minister of Finance, Gordana Dimitrieska-Kochoska, on the first day of the debate on Thursday.

In her speech, the Minister of Finance pointed out that the budget revision is tailored according to the existing conditions in the Budget and that funds are provided for everything that needs to be paid according to the law.

"With the Budget revision, we are securing funds for all those and everything that was stipulated by law but had no planned funds, namely funds for employees, pensioners, students, companies, as well as for paying obligations such as interest, loans, and the like. We have tried and made maximum savings from everything that lacked execution dynamics and from funds that remained unused. From all non-essential expenses, we managed to find savings of 20 billion denars and allocate them where they were needed," Dimitrieska-Kochoska said.

According to the MPs from the parliamentary majority, the budget revision is necessary to save the state since the funds in the Budget were only planned for the first six months of the year, and there is a lack of money for obligations that the state needs to fulfil. On the other hand, the opposition believes that the revision is designed to satisfy coalition agreements and that there are no real savings because the Budget will have to cover the salaries of at least 12 new officials from the four new ministries.

Remarks on the budget revision have also been made by the Judicial Budget Council and the State Public Prosecutor's Office, whose representatives pointed out on Thursday that there should be no cuts to the funds allocated for the judiciary and the prosecution, as this would affect their autonomy, quality, and efficiency of justice.

The Budget revision does not include funds for salary increases in the healthcare and education sectors, as confirmed by the Ministers of Health and Education and Science.

The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia (SSM) had requested an increase in the minimum wage to €450 from the new government even before the elections. In a press release on Thursday, they pointed out that they do not see the justification for employers receiving half a billion euros in state support while the minimum wage cannot be increased.

The general debate on the Budget revision can last up to three days, whereas the amendment debate, with 58 submitted amendments, can last six days.

Total revenues in the budget revision are planned at 318.2 billion denars, while expenditures are set at 362.8 billion denars. GDP growth is projected at 2.1 percent, inflation at 3.5 percent, and the budget deficit at 4.9 percent.

When adopting the Budget revision, the government also approved several conclusions proposed by the Ministry of Finance. Among these is the requirement that, when concluding collective agreements, budget users should take into account the approved budget funds and not undertake obligations for which there are no allocated funds in the budget for the current year. Additionally, public enterprises and state-owned joint-stock companies will need to seek an opinion from the Ministry of Finance. The Union of workers in administration, judiciary and civic associations (UPOZ) reacted to this, asking whether the suspension of collective agreements is on the horizon.

Photo: MIA archive