News about State budget
Maya Sandu, President of the Republic of Moldova, commented on the draft of a new law on a unified pay system for the public sector, noting that it provides for adjustments to the official salaries of high-ranking officials: the president, the speaker of parliament, and the prime minister.
President Maia Sandu has distanced herself from the scandal surrounding the state-owned enterprise MoldATSA. The head of state stated that she bears no responsibility for the fact that her relative received “money she did not deserve” from this company. At the same time, Sandu announced that, following this incident, large-scale audits will be conducted at all of the country’s more than 70 state-owned enterprises.
Teachers and other education sector employees who are transferring to other schools due to school reorganization will be able to commute to their new place of work free of charge. The government has approved an expansion of the school transportation program, which previously applied only to students.
Germany plans to further raise the retirement age to balance the system in light of its aging population. By the end of the century, the retirement age could rise to 70. These plans are currently under active discussion. The government plans to approve a bill, but it must pass through all stages of parliamentary approval, which has drawn harsh criticism from labor unions.
According to information from the Ministry of Finance, Moldova’s external public debt balance as of the end of April 2026 had increased by $151.7 million (+3.2%) since the beginning of the year, reaching approximately $5 billion. Of this amount, 93% consists of loans from the European Commission, to which Moldova’s debt has increased ninefold over the past five years.
The Moldovan Parliament will consider a bill to ratify the Convention Establishing an International Commission for the Settlement of Claims for Ukraine, signed in The Hague on December 16, 2025.
Natalie Plugaru, Minister of Labor and Social Protection, asserts that the proposed changes to the method for calculating annual paid leave will not result in a reduction in the number of days off or the amount of vacation pay.
In 2025, authorities recorded 1,190 false bomb threats and knowingly false emergency calls. This phenomenon puts pressure on the relevant agencies and results in significant costs to the state budget.
The National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova (CNSM) has submitted a comprehensive opinion to the Ministry of Finance and the State Chancellery regarding the draft law on simplifying tax and customs legislation. The unions disagree with a number of measures which, in their view, could affect the standard of living, social protection for workers, and the competitiveness of the national economy.
Following a wave of comments regarding changes to vacation time for public sector employees and the increase in the retirement age for employees with special status, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection presented official details of the proposed changes. Minister Natalia Plugaru emphasized that the initiatives, which will take effect on January 1, 2027, are aimed at bringing the system into line with European standards and eliminating inequalities, while guaranteeing rights already accrued.
EU governments will hold complex negotiations on the allocation of the 2 trillion euro budget for the next seven years. The discussions will take place today at a summit in Brussels.
An interview with Ion Dodon, CEO of the National Health Insurance Company (CNAM).
Former Prime Minister and Member of Parliament Ion Chicu commented on the proposed reform of the public sector pay system, describing it as a simple adjustment to existing legislation rather than a revolutionary reform, as the authorities had previously promised.
The current system for calculating vacation time in calendar days will be replaced by a system based on working days. This change is due to the fact that, under the current approach, the actual duration of vacation varies depending on whether weekends and holidays are included. This proposal was developed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.
The government has published a draft law on reforming the unified pay system in the public sector. According to the draft, the reform is based on four main objectives: ensuring comparable salaries for similar positions, increasing competitiveness relative to other sectors, incentivizing professional activity, and maintaining budgetary discipline.
The 2026 state budget allocates approximately 5 million lei for compensation to victims of political repression.
Significant exchange rate fluctuations and increased reliance on short-term borrowing exacerbate fiscal risks, as they require frequent refinancing. The Audit Office conducted an assessment of public debt management, state guarantees, and refinancing in 2025, identifying deviations from the external public debt ceilings and from the target ranges set out in the Medium-Term Debt Management Program.
The National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova (CNSM) sent letters to President Maia Sandu and Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, expressing deep concern over the lack of visible progress in reforming the public sector pay system and the failure to submit a draft law amending the regulatory framework in this area for public discussion.
The General Inspectorate of the Carabinieri has begun searching for suppliers of special equipment for personnel participating in the military parade marking the 35th anniversary of Moldova’s independence. The total estimated cost of the procurement is 183,750 lei.
It costs up to 11 million lei to install signal-jamming equipment in a single prison. That is a huge amount of money for the prison system, especially considering that its entire annual budget for technology is usually only about 3 million lei.
