2008 State Budget adopted without significant changes

Parliament on Friday, November 23, passed with the vote of the Communist majority the 2008 State Budget Bill in final reading, without making significant changes to the version passed in the first two readings. Nicolae Bondarciuc, the chairman of the commission on economic policy, budget and finance, stated that when examining the draft, the commission debated more than 300 proposals and objections form the standing commissions, parliamentary groups and deputies. These were, in particular, proposals to increase the planned revenues and expenditures, and to redistribute governmental expenses. According to Bondarciuc, the budget would have been by 1.8 billion lei larger in terms of incomes and by 2.6 billion lei in terms of expenses, had the commission consented to all the proposals submitted. Nicolae Bondarciuc noted that when examining the opportunity of increasing incomes or expenses, the commission took into account the budget limits adopted in first and second reading, that is why the proposals, even the ones made by the Communist group, were not accepted. At the same time, Bondarciuc pointed out that none of the proposals made by the Opposition was properly reasoned or accompanied by calculation backup. Bondarciuc dismissed as unfounded the Opposition’s allegations that the local territorial administrative units run by non-communists would enjoy less transfers from the budget than the ones governed by the representatives of the ruling party. The Opposition criticised the State Budget Bill. While a great part of the Opposition MPs left the meeting, the other blocked the rostrum of the Parliament in an attempt to prevent the passage of the bill. The 2008 Budget Law projects total revenues of 23.5 billion lei. Revenues next year are expected to beat this year’s budget by 4.1 billion lei, or 21.2 percent. The share of the budget revenues in the GDP will make up 41.4 percent. Total expenditures of the National Public Budget for 2008 will reach an estimated 23.792 billion lei, by 4.163 billion lei (21.2 pct) more than expenditures forecast for 2007.