State budget spending jumps by 3.8bn RON for pensions and unemployment

Unemployment and pensions are drawing in the biggest supplementary spending (3 billion RON) following the budgetary adjustment prepared by the Finance Ministry.
The initial structure of the 2010 budget is proving to be a big failure: instead of a deficit originally set at 5.9% of GDP, now estimates point to 6.8% of GDP, the 1.3% economic growth originally estimated has turned into a decline put at 1.7-1.9% of GDP.
The general consolidated budget therefore reveals a 3.4 billion-RON revenue decline, and a mere 714 million-RON spending decline. As far as the state budget is concerned, the adjusted budget translates into a revenue increase of only 1.9 billion RON and over 3.8 billion RON in additional spending.
Cutting the amounts allocated for investments remains the main solution for the Government to keep the budget deficit under control, with capital spending to be cut by 0.2% of GDP following the budget adjustment, as announced by premier Emil Boc.