The budget deficit, which is expected to exceed 23 billion lei in 2026, is “manageable,” Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu said. According to him, the authorities plan to take a different approach when drafting the 2027 state budget, while the prime minister already has ideas on how to reduce the gap between revenues and expenditures.
“Yes, there is this deficit, but it is manageable. We will take a different approach to the 2027 budget proposal and will have more time to discuss it. The prime minister has ideas on how to reduce this imbalance, and we will discuss them for 2027,” Igor Grosu said.
The statement comes after the government approved a revision of the 2026 state budget at its meeting on Wednesday. Under the amendments, expenditures will increase by nearly 2.8 billion lei, while revenues will rise by only 600.5 million lei.
The difference will be covered by increasing the budget deficit by 2.17 billion lei, bringing it to 23.07 billion lei, or 5.95% of GDP. For the national public budget as a whole, the deficit is expected to reach 23.26 billion lei, equivalent to 5.99% of GDP.
The budget revision also involves a significant reallocation of public funds. Spending on projects financed from external sources will be reduced by nearly 960 million lei, while additional resources will be directed toward social spending, salaries, local infrastructure and the Road Fund.
Among the projects facing funding cuts are the emergency response program for Moldova’s railway system, construction of the new Chisinau penitentiary, the forest development program, agricultural machinery modernization, as well as several energy and irrigation projects.
At the same time, transfers to the social insurance budget will increase by 1.61 billion lei, including 550 million lei for energy compensation. The National Fund for Regional and Local Development will receive an additional 1 billion lei, while the Road Fund will get another 300 million lei.
Personnel expenditures will increase by 651.7 million lei, reaching nearly 15 billion lei. Another 560 million lei has been earmarked for one-off payments to public sector employees.
Meanwhile, the government has cut its forecast for grant funding by 837 million lei and expects higher costs for servicing the public debt. Debt servicing is projected to reach 6.51 billion lei, 342.8 million lei more than initially planned.
By the end of the year, Moldova’s government debt is expected to reach a maximum of 162.89 billion lei, while total public debt is projected to rise to 42% of GDP.
The budget revision is also based on a weaker economic forecast than initially expected. GDP growth for 2026 has been revised down from 2.4% to 1.8%, while average inflation is now projected at 7.3%, up from the previous estimate of 4.3%.