The Republic’s consumption in 2022 deviated much more from the plan both in terms of amount and structure, and such a large omission occurred because the Government did not foresee expenditures in the budget to cover the losses of Srbijagas and Energy company, is one of the criticisms of the Fiscal Council.
According to the report of the Fiscal Council on the budget for 2022, expenditures exceeded the initial budget framework by EUR 2 billion, i.e. by about 15 percent, mostly due to the fact that net budget loans were made in an amount that was 15 times higher than planned.
When the final execution of expenditures is compared with the original Budget Law, it can be seen that the republic’s consumption actually deviated much more from the plan both in terms of amount and structure.
The main reason for the large breakthrough in the execution of expenditures compared to the original plan is the poor planning of budget support for the failing energy sector.
As stated, the Council warned the Government in its assessment of the Bill on the Budget for 2022 that Srbijagas will certainly need state support due to the sudden jump in the price of gas on the international market, “but there was no reaction”.
The Council added that only a few weeks after the adoption of the budget, the Government began to transparently subsidize Srbijagas, recording these expenses “below the line”.
“If the problems in Srbijagas and EPS could be said to have been somewhat unknown at the time of drafting the original budget for 2022, it remains completely unclear why the revised plan for net budget borrowings, which only related to the last two month, exceeded practically by a third, i.e. by almost EUR 426 million”, stated the Council.
Sign up for business updates & specials.
