The Moldovan Parliament passed in the second reading amendments to the 2025 State Budget Law, increasing its deficit by 304.6 million lei (+1.7%) to 18 billion 211 million lei
At the same time, the revenue side of the state budget will be reduced by 135.7 million lei (-0.2%) – from 75 billion 932 million 486.3 thousand lei to 75 billion 796.8 million lei, and the expenditure side will be increased by 168.9 million lei (+0.2%) – from 93 billion 838 million 837.4 thousand lei to 94 billion 007.8 million lei. As a result, the budget deficit will increase by 304.6 million lei (+1.7%) – from 17 billion 906 million 351.1 thousand lei to 18 billion 211 million lei. During the second reading, the key parameters of the budget approved in the first reading remained unchanged, but some reallocation of funds on the expenditure side was approved. In particular, the government supported a number of amendments to the Law on the State Budget for 2025, including the reallocation of funds for local authorities. Specifically, the Cabinet supported the reallocation of 147.6 million lei to first-level local public administration bodies to cover expenses related to the payment of salaries. This amount will increase the amount of general-purpose transfers in order to increase the base salary of mayors, deputy mayors, and local council secretaries by 50%. This measure is aimed at strengthening the administrative capacity of local self-government bodies and encouraging effective management at the community level. The government also supported an increase in the state's share in the authorized capital of Moldova HiTech Park by 1.65 million lei and a reduction in the share of contributions to the Road Fund from 78.24% to 68.27%. In total, the government supported four of the eight amendments proposed by MPs. Among the rejected initiatives were the allocation of funds to pay salaries to employees of educational institutions in Chisinau, as well as compensation for street lighting and transport costs requested by the Chisinau mayor's office. The Ministry of Finance explained that the capital's mayor's office was allocated targeted transfers of 216.8 million lei to cover the costs of personnel in educational institutions and sports schools. The mayor's office also reallocated 43.9 million lei from the personnel expenses category, in accordance with previously approved amendments to the regulatory framework. As for compensation for street lighting costs, the Ministry of Finance noted that such allocations have no legal basis and violate the principles of financial, managerial, and organizational autonomy of local authorities. As previously reported, the amendments to the 2025 state budget are aimed at reallocating budget resources to cover the salaries of public sector employees, allocating the necessary funds to compensate for electricity bills, and other social measures. Compared to the state budget approved at the beginning of the year, its revenues will increase by a total of 4.3 billion lei – from 71.5 to 75.8 billion lei, and expenditures will be set at 94 billion lei. Thus, the budget deficit will amount to 18.2 billion lei (5.2% of GDP). The authorities note that expenditures will increase, as some increases in benefits are planned. For example, 824.9 million lei will be transferred to the social insurance budget, of which 463.5 million lei will go to compensate for energy costs in the form of cash payments. Another 232 million lei is earmarked for electricity compensation. An additional 15 million lei will be allocated to compensate for the transportation costs of people with disabilities. The document also provides for an increase in personnel expenses for state-funded institutions by more than 1 billion lei. Transfers of 909.7 million lei will be allocated to local budgets, mainly for personnel expenses. It is also proposed to increase the fund for voluntary amalgamation of settlements by another 4.7 million lei. An additional 58.7 million lei will be allocated to ensure compliance with the regulatory framework regarding the remuneration of employees of state educational institutions under local government. The authors also proposed reducing certain expenditures based on the level of budget expenditure execution. For example, appropriations for servicing the national debt were reduced by 416.2 million lei, and for mitigating budget risks – by 400 million lei. // 27.11.2025 — InfoMarket.
