The second budget rebalancing for 2026 is a document that not only represents a cosmetic or technical adjustment, but an official admission of inadequacy, panic in the state treasury and unrealistic economic planning by this government, LSDM MP Jovana Trenchevska stressed at the session of the Finance and Budget Commission.
She said doing a second rebalancing within just a few months is an alarm showing that the state ship is sailing without a compass and is a classic acceptance of systemic instability in fiscal planning.
This is a clean fiscal defeat on paper. The government claims declarative that rebalancing is being done due to continuing global disorders in energy markets and the need for maximum income-side optimism and a review of budget expenditures. Total revenues drop by 5.3 billion denars compared with the first rebalancing, falling from 379.5 billion to 374.1 billion denars. And this is due to the loss of tax revenues from 213.2 billion to 209.7 billion denars. To avoid the already high deficit rate of 46.2 billion denars, 5.3 billion denars are being cut from spending, lowering them from 425.7 billion to 420.4 billion denars, Trencevska stressed.
She stressed that falling revenues cannot only be justified with global economic challenges, stressing that unrealistic budget revenues planning is also a serious problem. At the excises alone, there is a lack of 3.7 billion denars, or 11% under the original plan. An additional 1.9 billion denaris were registered in non-tatial incomes and donations.
Trencevska stressed that the consequences of such budget planning are seen more directly in cuts in capital investments, health care, education and the environment.
With the initial budget, you knowingly lower funding for social benefits and pension systems in order to falsely present a smaller deficit on paper. The reality hit you in the head in July, so you had to add 1.5 billion denars for social protection, just so that the payment of legally guaranteed benefits for children and social protection does not collapse. It did not collapse, but there were and there are still serious delays in payments. And today, to cover these gaps in the basic budget, pay administration salaries and buy temporary social peace before winter, you are cutting up 94m euros from capital investments and turning the development budget into a social budget, Trencevska said.
She stressed that with the second rebalancing, cuts are being made in health care, education, gasification and environmental protection.
In healthcare, you have fully banned and reduced funds for major regional hospitals in Stip and Krchu. You have halved money for the purchase of modern medical equipment and diagnostic devices. As the public has warned, rebalancing is reducing the funds destined for the purchase of insulin and the program for rare diseases.
You don’t have money to raise student food, and students are asking you to. They demand that the price, which is unrealistic and low, be increased from 140 to 200 denars. You have reduced the funds for air quality, waste management, nature protection, management and water protection, Trenchevska said.
