Macedonia Parliament Likely to Pass 2010 Budget

Revenue next year is foreseen at 2,34 billion euros and expenditure at 2.51 billion. The 170-million-euro deficit is projected at 2.5 per cent of GDP.

Increases in the revenue and expenditure sides amount to 3.4 and 2.8 per cent respectively.

The government foresees GDP growth of 2 per cent, with an annual inflation rate of 2 per cent.

Faced with the impact of the world financial crisis, which cut Macedonia’s economic growth from almost 6 per cent to –1 per cent, the government has pledged to tighten employment discipline in the public sector and freeze salaries in the public sector next year.

As the centre-right coalition of Nikola Gruevski has a large majority in parliament, the draft budget is expected to pass without major problems.
 
The opposition is expected to condemn the government for dedicating too much money to non-productive projects such as building monuments, sports stadiums and museums instead of investing in the economy.