At the same time, the revenue part of the state budget will be reduced by 135.7 million lei (-0.2%) – from 75 billion 932 million 486.3 thousand lei to 75 billion 796.8 million lei. The expenditure part will be increased by 168.9 million lei (+0.2%) – from 93 billion 838 million 837.4 thousand lei to 94 billion 007.8 million lei. As a result, the budget deficit will grow from 17 billion 906 million 351.1 thousand lei to 18 billion 211 million lei.
Within the second reading, the key parameters of the budget, approved in the first reading, were not changed, but some reallocation of funds in the expenditure part was approved.
In particular, the government supported a string of amendments to the law on the state budget for 2025, including the redistribution of funds for the local public authorities. For instance, the cabinet backed the redistribution of 147.6 million lei for the first-level local public administration authorities, in order to cover the expenses related to the payment of salaries. This will increase the amount of general-purpose transfers, in order to raise the basic salaries of mayors, their deputies and secretaries of local councils by 50 per cent. This measure is aimed at strengthening the management capacity of local self-governments and incentivizing effective community-based management.
Also, the government backed an increase in the state’s share in the authorized capital of Moldova HiTech Park – by 1.65 million lei and a decrease in the share of contributions to the Road Fund from 78.24 per cent to 68.27 per cent.
The government supported 4 out of 8 amendments proposed by the MPs. Among the rejected initiatives are the allocation of funds for the payment of salaries to the employees of educational institutions from Chisinau mun. Chisinau, as well as the compensation of expenses for street lighting and transportation, requested by the Chisinau mayor’s office.
The Finance Ministry explained that the capital’s mayor’s office was allocated targeted transfers of 216.8 million lei to cover the expenses for the staff of educational institutions and sports schools. Also, the mayor’s office reallocated 43.9 million lei from the personnel expenses category, in line with the previously approved amendments to the normative framework. As for the reimbursement of expenses for street lighting, the Finance Ministry said that such allocations have no legal basis and violate the principles of financial, managerial and organizational autonomy of local authorities.
As previously reported, in general, the amendments to the state budget for 2025 are aimed at redistributing budgetary resources to cover the costs of salaries of public sector employees, allocating the necessary funds to compensate electricity bills, as well as other social measures. Compared to the state budget approved at the beginning of the year, its revenues will increase by 4.3 billion lei – from 71.5 to 75.8 billion lei, while the expenditures will be set at 94 billion lei. Thus, the budget deficit will amount to 18.2 billion lei (5.2 percent of GDP).
The authorities note that the expenses will increase, as some increase in allowances is envisaged. For instance, 824.9 million lei will be transferred to the social insurance budget, of which 463.5 million lei will be used to compensate energy expenses in the form of a cash payment. Another 232 million lei are meant for energy compensations. Also, another 15 million lei will be used to compensate transportation expenses of people with disabilities.
The document also envisages an increase in the personnel expenses of the institutions financed from the state budget by more than 1 billion lei. Local budgets will benefit from transfers of 909.7 million lei, mainly for personnel expenses.
It is also proposed to increase the fund for the voluntary association of localities by another 4.7 million lei. An additional 58.7 million lei will be allocated to ensure the provisions of the legal framework on the remuneration of employees of public educational institutions under local government.
The authors also proposed to cut some expenses, based on the level of budgetary expenditures’ fulfillment. For instance, the allocations for servicing the state debt were reduced by 416.2 million lei, while those for mitigating budgetary risks – by 400 million lei.
