Jovana Trenchevska, an MP for the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (SDSM), described the second revision of the 2026 budget as more than a technical or cosmetic change. Speaking at a meeting of the Finance and Budget Committee, she said the document was an official admission of the government’s inability, panic in the state treasury and unrealistic economic planning.
According to Trenchevska, the fact that the budget is being revised for the second time in just a few months shows that the government is steering without a compass and that fiscal planning has significant systemic instability.
Të lidhura
None found
She explained that total revenue has fallen by 5.3 billion denars compared with the first revision, from 379.5 billion to 374.1 billion denars. The decline, she said, is linked to tax revenue, which has dropped from 213.2 billion to 209.7 billion denars. To prevent the deficit, which already stands at 46.2 billion denars, from increasing, spending has been cut by 5.3 billion denars, from 425.7 billion to 420.4 billion denars.
Trenchevska called this a clear fiscal failure and rejected the government’s explanation that the changes were related to ongoing global disruptions in energy markets, revenue optimization and downward revisions to spending. She stressed that unrealistically planned revenues are also part of the problem: excise revenues alone are 3.7 billion denars short, or 11% below the initial forecast, while nontax revenue and grants have fallen by a further 1.9 billion denars.
She said the impact of this budget planning is particularly evident in capital investment, healthcare, education and environmental protection.
The MP said that in the initial budget, the government deliberately cut funding for social benefits and the pension system to show a smaller deficit on paper. In July, she continued, an additional 1.5 billion denars was needed for social protection to prevent payments of legally guaranteed child and social protection benefits from being suspended. However, she said, payments were—and continue to be—seriously delayed.
“To cover the gaps in the core budget now, pay public administration salaries and ensure temporary social stability before winter, you are taking up to 94 million euros from capital investment. You have turned a development budget into a social budget,” Trenchevska said.
She added that the revision also includes cuts to healthcare, education, gasification and environmental protection.
In the healthcare sector, Trenchevska said, funding for the main regional hospitals in Shtip and Kichevo has been suspended or reduced, while funding for modern medical and diagnostic equipment has been cut in half. She also said that, as reported publicly, funding for insulin purchases and the rare diseases program is being reduced.
Trenchevska also raised the issue of student meals, saying there is no funding to increase the allowance, despite students’ demands for it to rise from 140 to 200 denars—a price she described as unrealistically low. She said funding has also been reduced for air quality, waste management, nature conservation, and water management and protection.
