Next year's budget deficit target, of 3% of GDP, seems to bechallenging and ambitious and may require additional measures oftightening budget spending and an improvement in tax collection,although economic activity is projected to accelerate in 2012,according to Ionuţ Dumitru, president of the Fiscal Council.
Under the circumstances, the wages fund could increase by a mere 5%next year, while pensions could be raised by at least 7%.
"There are personnel spending caps that have been set for 2012, tokeep within 7.1% of GDP, according to the targets already committedto. Based on the latest version of the fiscal-budgetary strategyand of the law regulating spending caps, we can say there is apotential for the wage fund to grow by 5% in order to keep within7.1% of GDP next year. Of course, if the GDP is higher, we canoperate higher increases," said Dumitru at a conference where hepresented the annual report of the Fiscal Council.
The wage fund includes the number of employees and the averagewage, which means wages can increase by more than 5% next year ifthe personnel is cut, explained Dumitru.
This year's economic growth forecast is 1.5%, with the GDP to rise3.9% next year. In 2011 the budget deficit is set to be cut to 4.4%of GDP, a target considered manageable.
The Fiscal Council is an independent authority with five memberswho provide assistance to the Government and Parliament in devisingand implementing fiscal-budgetary policies.
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