Macedonia Turns to Jan-Oct Budget Deficit of 8.869 Bln Denars (145 Mln Euro) - Table

Budget revenue amounted to 105.2 billion denars in the first ten months of 2009, while spending totaled 114.1 billion denars, the ministry said in a statement on its website.

Details follows (in millions of denars): 

Last month the Macedonian government adopted the draft budget for next year, setting a deficit equivalent to 2.5% of the projected gross domestic product (GDP), slightly lower than the 2.8% gap planned for this year. The budget gap for next year is projected at 10.460 billion denars. The government targets real economic growth of 2.0% next year, compared to a revised forecast for a 0.6% GDP contraction in 2009.

Macedonia is pursuing a tight fiscal policy, attaching priority importance to macroeconomic stability and coping with the consequences of the global economic turmoil this year. The country has a status as an official EU candidate since December 2005. Earlier this month, the European Union has postponed until next year its decision for launching entry talks with Macedonia due to the Greece’s opposition to the name of the county.

(1 euro = 61.2321 Macedonian denars)