Macedonia's parliament adopted a revision of the 2014 budget, which envisages a deficit of MKD 19.6bn (EUR 319mn), equal to 3.9% of GDP, up from an original MKD 18.3bn, or 3.7% of GDP, according to Utrinski vesnik daily and documents published on the assembly’s website. Both percentages are caclulated using the latest 2014 GDP estimate published by the finance ministry.
Under the revision, total 2014 budget revenues were reduced by 1.7% to MKD 155.6bn and total budget expenditures were cut by 0.8% to MKD 175.2bn. We remind that in the first seven months of 2014, total revenues, expenditures and deficit were MKD 81.4bn, MKD 96.9bn and MKD 15.4bn, respectively.
Meanwhile, deputy PM and finance minister Zoran Stavreski informed that the biggest single change on the expenditure side is the addition of MKD 1.42bn for the construction of the Demir Kapija-Smokvica motorway section, which is part of transport Corridor X. The section is planned to be completed by August 2016.
Macedonia’s official 2014 economic growth projection was recently raised to 3.5% from an original 3.2%.
The revision was adopted with the support of 71 lawmakers in the country’s 123-seat parliament, with no votes against or abstentions. The voting took place in the absence of the opposition.
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