Finance Minister Andrian Havrilice told parliament that next year the country is expecting “the first horizon of economic growth, albeit a very small one”. According to him, the growth will be rather symbolic, but the authorities hope for more: “Today we are in a situation where we will not cut down saplings for firewood, but will continue tending them in order to get the fruits that everyone deserves”.
The budget is based on an economic growth forecast of 2.4 percent, with the government hoping for growth of up to 3 percent. A “conservative” growth of 3.6% is projected for 2027-2028.
Speaking about growth prospects, the minister said: “We have a demographic involution, and when we talk about growth of 2.4% against the demographic background we have, we actually have a slightly higher growth per capita. We only need to ensure that this growth is felt in households and is reflected in the well-being of citizens”.
The projected average annual inflation rate is 4.3%. The average salary should reach 17,400 lei, 11% higher than the current level. The budget revenues will amount to 79.67 billion lei, while the expenditures will amount to 100.57 billion lei. The deficit will amount to 20.9 billion lei, or 5.5 percent of GDP.
Out of all the expenditures, 35.8 per cent will be allocated to social protection, 14.9 per cent to education, 13.9 per cent to health care and 11.4 per cent to economic services.
PCRM MP Diana Caraman criticized the increase in spending in ministries. “Expenses in ministries are increasing from 5 to 32% – if we talk about the Defense Ministry. At the same time, the social budget grows by only 6%. How did you compare the need to invest: 32% somewhere, but only 6% in the social sector, where the most disadvantaged citizens are?”
The minister replied that a growth of 30% in a sector that accounts for less than 0.6% of all expenditures “can be considered a lack of growth” because the base is too small. To which MP Konstantin Starysh from the same party emphasized: “Nevertheless, it is a matter of priorities, this item will increase”. The minister responded by saying, “0.6% is the minimum that we at least do not want to lose. This is not the time to say that we do not need even that much”.
The share of agriculture in the budget amounts to 4.5 billion lei. Vasile Costiuc, a member of the Democrația Acasă faction, brought kefir and milk to the meeting as a sign of support for local producers. The footage quickly went viral, with PAS MP Radu Marian calling the gesture a “circus”.
The budget discussion was held in the absence of the prime minister. To this, Kostiuk ironically remarked, “Is he walking dogs?”
When asked about the prospects of irrigation, the Finance Minister said, “Until we have sufficient funds, we must seriously discuss what exactly we are growing, taking into account the current risks. Otherwise, we will end up in a situation where we will suffer losses instead of investing.”
After that, the speeches continued from the central rostrum. PSRM MP Igor Dodon said that “finally you have a finance minister”: “After Mr. Puscuta, we finally have a real minister. I hope you won’t fire him!”, he said about Andrian Gavrilica. Nevertheless, he criticized the project for increasing the deficit, dependence on foreign loans and insufficient social support: “Everything is as Maia Sandu promised: we live as we voted.
Larisa Novak from PAS said that the opposition is engaged in a “show and political spectacle”: “Kefir and show – that’s what we saw. Budget 2026 is about people, about families and about effective public services, it’s a budget for responsible investment.”
Another PAS deputy Veronica Briciag believes that the budget “for the first time offers solutions for the capital city too, and not only for the whole country”: “Without too much modesty, I can say: no previous government has undertaken such a bold and development-oriented program for the development of the whole country, including Chisinau”.
Olga Ursu, a deputy from the Alternative bloc and former deputy mayor of the capital, responded to her: “PAS promised to complete the Chisinau bypass in 2028. In 2026, we need to allocate at least 2 billion lei to meet the deadline. How much do we see in the budget? Only 10 million lei.
Regarding the deficit, Ursu stated: “This is a budget of managing the mistakes of the past because we spend more than we collect. When the state borrows not for investments but for current expenses, we citizens pay more for the past than for the future.”
Marina Morozova (PAS) emphasized that an important solution is the increase of the minimum wage from 5500 to 6300 lei. Since 2021, she recalled, it has increased by 114%. “We have a better situation than in post-Soviet countries that are not EU members, including Russia and other states in the region,” Morozova said.
Parliament Deputy Speaker Vlad Batrincea (PSRM) said about the IMF’s “hints” about the lack of fiscal and financial discipline. He noted that it is not the first year that the government violates the deadline for presenting the budget. “And the 2026 budget will not be implemented, just as the 2025 budget was not implemented. And where we are going next is unclear.”
Radu Marian, chairman of the commission for economy, budget and finance, explained why the government did not take into account many of the opposition’s proposals for the budget: “If we had taken into account all the opposition’s populist proposals, the expenses would have increased by 16.6 billion lei. Often, we do not even consider your initiatives because they are extremely populist”.
The chairman of the commission for agriculture and food industry, Serghei Ivanov (Our Party) criticized the absence of the agriculture minister at the budget discussion.
Former Prime Minister Ion Kiku (Bloc “Alternative”) emphasized that it is unacceptable to discuss the budget late at night: “It is unseemly to vote such important laws at night. Let’s start with this convocation and no longer make decisions ‘at night like thieves’.”
The draft budget was passed in the first reading by the votes of 54 deputies out of 97 present. The opposition voted either against or abstained. Discussions continued until almost ten o’clock in the evening. The draft will have to be adopted in the second reading. By then, the factions have promised to develop amendments and hope for their adoption.
