Gov't approves 2021 state budget bill

The government adopted at its Friday's meeting the bill on the 2021 state budget, which remains "within the initial parameters", Prime Minister Florin Citu said. "We approved the Law on the 2021 state budget. We also approved the Law on ceilings, on specific indicators set out in the fiscal-budgetary framework for 2021, and the Law on the 2021 social security budget. Of course, they are accompanied by the 2021 - 2023 Fiscal-budgetary strategy and the Report on the 2021 macroeconomic situation and its projection for 2022 - 2024. They will all be made public, they were in the decision-making transparency process. The approved version will be released when the budget is referred to Parliament for debate and approval," PM Florin Citu said on Friday at the end of the government meeting. The PM specified that the bill underwent no important changes during the government debate. "The deficit stays the same. Total expenditure under the general consolidated budget is 397,515 million lei and personnel expenditures stand at 109,511 million lei. The state budget provides for total expenditures of 223,702 million lei, and personnel expenditures are 55,834.9 million lei," Citu said. He added that the deficit of the general consolidated budget is 80,000 million lei. "Also today we approved the evolution of the deficit, the annual structural balance of the public administration, the annual deficit. As per structural estimates it is 7.42 in 2021, in 2022 - 6.07 and in 2023 - 4.83. This is the structural balance that is calculated in relation to the potential GDP. There have been some changes, transfers from certain chapters, for example some transfers were made from the reserve fund to finance some investment projects that were included in certain annexes. Otherwise, the budget remains within the initial parameters and goes to Parliament for debate," Citu said. AGERPRES (RO - author: Daniel Florea, editor: Andreea Rotaru; EN - editor: Simona Klodnischi)