The 2023 budget is being drafted

The state budget will for the first time be based on programmes, says prime minister Nicolae Ciucă.

Roxana Vasile, 05.12.2022, 14:45

The government in Bucharest is planning to put to public consultation and then adopt the budget for next year towards mid-December. The budget is based on an estimated economic growth rate of 3% and a budget deficit target of 4.4%. Including as a result of the war on Romanias borders, defence spending will see the biggest rise since 1989, by 2.5%. The budgets for education, transports, agriculture and healthcare will also see some increases.

The 2023 budget is the first to be based on economic and social programmes, which will allow for better monitoring of expenses, their implementation and the real impact on the economy, said the government. More precisely, it will allow for further investments, including as part of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the management of the budget deficit and inflation, while also identifying the financial sources for the announced rises in salaries and pensions. Prime minister Nicolae Ciucă explains:

“I can assure you that by mid December, under the timetable discussed, we will have the budget approved by Parliament. The measures under the Support for Romania programme will continue next year. We will also look at other measures we could take to help vulnerable citizens.”

In a televised interview, finance minister Adrian Câciu said the budget based on programmes is a change of both paradigm and approach:

“If this year were creating a budget for next year based on programmes, sometime next September we will be able to follow the progress made. If the effects of a given programme are goods, then fine. If they are negative it must be adjusted. Its a matter of normality, because the money does not belong to the finance minister or the Romanian government, but to the citizens.”

For the budget bill to be adopted, the government must first issue some norms, including an order regulating the freezing or increase in pensions and salaries for next year. The order in question provides for an increase in public sector salaries by 10% compared with December 2022, without exceeding the salary scheme. Dignitaries salaries will remain at the level they are now. Pensions will see a 12.5% increase; pensioners earning less than 600 euros a month will benefit from additional assistance in the form of two payments, in January and October, while those earning up to 400 euros a month will receive help with energy bills, also in two payments. The minimum salary will go up to 3,000 lei. (CM)