Adrian Caciu: 2023 budget is built on nominal GDP prognosis of 1,552.1 billion lei, with real 2.8% growth

Finance minister Adrian Caciu declared, on Thursday at a government meeting when next year's budget was approved, that the 2023 budget was built on a nominal GDP prognosis of 1,552.1 billion lei, with a real growth of 2.8%, and on a deficit increase – the current account deficit drops to 8.5% from 8.8% and public deficit drops to 4.4% of GDP from 5.7%.   “2023 budget starts and is built on what was presented by the National Commission of Strategy and Prognosis, referring to the prognosis of macroeconomic indicators, in the autumn 2022 prognosis. For 2023 we have a nominal GDP prognosis of 1,552.1 billion lei, with a real increase of 2.8%, slowing down from what means economic growth foreseen for 2022, which was 4.6%. A deficit drop, the current account deficit drops to 8.5% from 8.8% and public deficit drops to 4.4% of GDP from 5.7%,” said Caciu, at the Executive meeting.   He added that next year's budget has in view a decrease, at inflation level to the annual average of 9.6 with the intention to reach a 2023 inflation of 8% at the end of 2023.   “The draft budget has in view an increase of the average monthly gross salary of 6,789 lei from 6,120 and of the average net salary to 4,235 lei from 3,801 lei, and an increase of the average number of employees to 5,252,000, compared to 5,175,000 in 2022 and a drop of the unemployment rate recorded at 2.7% to 2.9% as estimated for 2022,”Caciu added.   The finance minister pointed out that “fiscal-budget policy objectives which were had in view continue to be represented by the continuation of measures for a robust economic recovery, maintaining and supporting a new frame of durable, just and inclusive development, which should ensure an ecological, economically efficient, socially bearable transition based on competitiveness, innovation and decarbonization, leading to the elimination of vulnerabilities in economies and to ensure a decent living standard.”   He pointed out that the gradual achievement of fiscal consolidation should be continued, allowing to reach the deficit target foreseen in European regulations until the end of 2024.   The PSD minister added that the budget is built “prudently and focussed mainly on investments.” “We have a 7.2% GDP allocation in 2023 for investments, a nominal volume of 112 billion lei, but at the same time, we balance stimuli for economy, we support the population, in order to fight the erosion of the purchase power which was produced by inflation,” Caciu concluded.