After the planned Budget adjustments, salaries and pensions will be further paid in full and on time, promised Finance Minister Natalia Gavrilița during a press conference where she spoke about how the Government plans to cope with the extra Budget expenses.

When Natalia Gavrilița took over the job, the 2019 Budget was already 4 billion lei into the red. “In addition to tax revenue, the 2019 Budget also counted on 1.2 billion lei in funding that was supposed to be granted by the EU but which got frozen eventually. Moreover, the Salary Law was adopted by the previous government already after the Budget planning process was completed, and this has generated an additional deficit of 1 billion lei.” 

The Budget correction planned by the Ministry of Finance will take into account the money promised by the European Union, and also reduce spending. Cutting capital investments, for example, is expected to save some 0.6 billion lei, said Gavrilița.

Additional revenue in the long run could come from increasing the capacity of absorbing funds offered by Moldova’s international partners under investment projects. At the same time, says

Natalia Gavrilița, steps are being taken to create a predictable, entrepreneur-oriented business environment that facilitates the collection of taxes.

Also as part of the adjustment process, over 1 billion lei will be redirected from the State Budget to local budgets.

On the First Home Program, Gavrilița said the Ministry of Finance will fulfill all of its obligations and the program will continue as long as it is carried out with due fiscal prudence.