Moldovan parliament adopts state budget draft in first reading; over 215,000 employees to benefit from salary increases

Chisinau, 5 December /MOLDPRES/ - The parliament adopted the draft law on the state budget for the 2025 year in the first reading today. The document sees salary increases for more categories of public sector employees, providing of compensations for energy, as well as the growth of social benefits.     
Finance Minister Victoria Belous unveiled the draft in the parliament’s plenum. The official stressed that the budget for the 2025 was a budget of social support.  
„The budget shows a clear-cut vision of the government of increasing the revenues for the citizens, as well as more investments in the infrastructure, education, health and social services. The solidarity with our people is what defines this budget best of all. Even if the resources are limited because of the war in Ukraine, nevertheless, the government manages to provide an economic growth and reduce the budget deficit and our estimation is that it will be up to 4 per cent,’’ Victoria Belous said.    
Thus, the document stipulates a 15-per cent increase in the salary of the medical system employees and a 9-per cent growth of the salary for teachers. The policemen, border policemen, rescuers, firemen, employees of the National Inspectorate of Probation and Administration of Penitentiaries will take higher salaries too. Thus, about 170,000 public sector employees and 50,000 medical system employees will benefit from salary increases. The minimum salary in the public sector will reach 5,500 lei.    
Also, the minimal old age pension is planned to be increased up to 3,300 lei for the people with a full length of service of 40 years, starting from 1 May 2025. As of 1 April 2025, the pensions and other social benefits will be indexed by 6.1 per cent.   
For the next year, the state budget revenues are scheduled to amount to 71.55 billion lei, which is by 6.8 per cent more against the revenues specified in 2024. According to the authorities, the budget is one of solidarity and social support and the increase in revenues is due to the economic reestablishment and the impact of measures of the fiscal, customs policy and better management of the revenues.  
At the same time, expenses worth 85.44 billion lei are planned for the next year. The figure is by 4.1 per cent higher, as compared with the sum specified for the 2024 year. The capital investments will increase by 18 per cent, as 12 new projects will be initiated.  
As much as 20.7 billion lei is scheduled to be allocated for the residents’ social protection, which accounts for 24.3 per cent of the state budget’s expenses. The quantum of the one-off childbirth allowance will increase as well, reaching 21,350 lei. Also, the government will increase the monthly allocation received by the rehabilitated victims of the political repressions from the period 1917-1990. To increase the social benefits of the war veterans, 120 million lei will be earmarked. The draft state budget for 2025 also envisages compensations for energy on the winter period for the vulnerable consumers.     
The share of the state budget expenses meant for the education sector is of 23 per cent, which is almost 20 billion lei. Financial means worth over 205 million lei will be allocated for the free of charge nourishment of the pupils from the V-IX forms of the education institutions starting from 1 September 2025. As much as 147 million lei is planned for buses, computers, furniture in model schools from all over Moldova. Also, technical projects for the full renovation of another 15 schools will be carried out.   
As for the economy sector, in 2025, over 9.1 billion lei is envisaged to be earmarked, which accounts for 10.7 per cent of all state budget expenses. As much as 88 per cent of this sum is meant for programmes of development of the economy branch. For instance, over 4.1 billion lei is scheduled for the transport sector, meant for the repair and maintenance of local and national roads. At the same time, seven projects financed from external sources will be carried out next year. A sum of 3.1 billion lei is meant for agriculture and 176 million lei – for the support of small- and medium-sized enterprises.    
According to the estimations, the state budget for 2025 will have a deficit of 13.89 billion lei, which accounts for 4.1 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product.