Skopje, 15 October 2025 (MIA) - SDSM leader Venko Filipche said Wednesday the state of the national budget is alarming, with statistics showing a shortfall of up to EUR 1.4 billion by the end of 2025.

"There are only 75 days left in 2025 and the budget framework defined by revenues and expenditures is worrying. Namely, as of today, revenues have been realized at 70.78 percent or Mden 256.5 billion, while expenditures stand at 72.82 percent or Mden 294 billion. With this pace, which is to be expected, there will be about EUR 1.4 billion missing in the budget to cover all expenditures by the time 2025 ends. This is an astonishing budget shortfall. This means that all these funds will have to be covered through indebtedness, new charges for businesses and citizens or cuts in vital public services. My question to the authorities is - how are you planning to cover these EUR 1.4 billion?" Filipche told a press conference.

According to him, the state of the economy is alarming, noting that he felt responsible to give citizens the truth, instead of the messages of economic successes that the authorities have been promoting at campaign rallies.

"In a time when PM Mickoski is speaking about one economic success after the other at campaign rallies, it is my duty to speak about the reality and inform citizens about the real state of the economy. We have said over the past 15 months that the economy and policies in the sector are wrong and the realization of projects is at a record low. Today, our words are confirmed by real economic indicators, facts and numbers. This data points to an alarming state of the budget, revenues, investments and realization of capital projects, which are the fundamental indicators of a state's economy," said Filipche.

He said the dramatically low degree of realization of capital investments is a cause for great concern.

"As of the end of September, only 43.78 percent of the projected funds have been realized, meaning this will be another lost year for capital projects. According to projections, realization will stand at about 55 percent, meaning that funds supposed to open jobs and bring development will remain unused. These numbers show that this Government has no capacity to realize the plans and projects they themselves promised to deliver," said Filipche.

The SDSM leader noted that international institutions have also given concerning signals.

"The World Bank is openly pointing to the poor collection of revenues, the increased costs for interest rates and the rising public debt. It clearly calls for fiscal consolidation, or in other words, stop with the unproductive spending and loans without cover. Nevertheless, the Government is moving along the same path. The public debt gives us the explanation. Over the past 14 months, the state's debt has increased by over EUR 1.86 billion, including the EUR 1 billion from Hungary and EUR 836 million through auctions of securities on the domestic market. There are announcements over a fresh external indebtedness in the amount of EUR 950 million and another EUR 70 million from domestic banks. The World Bank is already projecting that the public debt will reach 62.9 percent of the GDP, which makes us the most indebted country in the Western Balkans. We are also the only country where the current debt exceeds the pre-pandemic peak. Despite all of this, the Government is persistently saying that the debt stands at 61.7 percent," said Filipche.

He added that the Fiscal Council has warned of approximately EUR 700 million of matured but unpaid liabilities, adding this is hidden debt that directly destroys the liquidity of Macedonian companies.

"And while debt is piling up, foreign investments - the generator of every sound economy - are gone missing. In 2024, the then-government led by SDSM left more than EUR 1 million of foreign direct investments. And what is the case with 2025? EUR 135.8 million in the first quarter, only EUR 75.9 million in the second. The PM, who recently spoke of billions-worth of investments, is now silent. This is the biggest proof of the economic downfall," said Filipche.

Photo: SDSM