FinMin Vosganian: 2008 budget expresses Romanian economic growth

The 2008 state budget is an expression of the Romanian economic growth over the last years, Economy and Finance Minister Varujan Vosganian told a news conference on Thursday.

'It is a generous budget, with a major jump. We are satisfied that the Government's options have largely been accepted', he stressed.

The budget passed by Parliament on Thursday is within the general macroeconomic lines viewed by the Executive. 'Parliament voted at a proportion of more than 98 percent for the version put forward by the Government, with the changes called for by various parliamentary groups standing at less than one percent', the minister explained.

'The budget, under the adopted form, is within the general macroeconomic lines, it keeps the budget deficit at below 3 percent and the Economy and Finance Ministry will make all efforts to maintain these limits in an election year', he said.

Vosganian added he was 'glad' that the opposition Social Democratic Party (PSD) believes the 2008 budget is a 'right-wing' budget, although he admits that, from his viewpoint, 'a budget should be neither right- nor left-wing, but it should have resources coming from a certain vision'.

This vision is Liberal, he said, underscoring it has enabled the Government to find sufficient resources so as to build an adequate budget structure.

'The budget should be two-pronged - on the one hand there should be the development, leading to investments and jobs, and social security on the other. This budget fulfils both components,' he said.

The Romanian Parliament passed on Thursday the 2008 state budget and welfare budget.

The state budget was passed in a 249 to 93 vote, while the welfare budget was voted by 342 MPs with two abstentions.

Next year's state budget targets a deficit at 2.7 percent of GDP.

The general consolidated budget has revenues accounting for 39.6 percent of GDP and expenditure at 42.3 percent of GDP.

The Government estimates the Romanian economy will grow at 6.5 percent next year, pushing the gross domestic product up to 438.6 billion lei (some 138 billion euros); the inflation rate is put at 3.8 percent and the current account gap at 13.3 percent.

ROMPRES