Government and opposition clash over North Macedonia's 2027 draft budget

Government and opposition exchanged sharp arguments over the draft 2027 budget, with the opposition calling it insufficient for development and the ruling parties defending it as necessary to service obligations and repay debts left by the previous administration.

Key lines of dispute

Fatmir Bitiqi of SDSM criticised the draft as non‑developmental, saying the state is allocating large sums merely to keep the current economy afloat while reducing the development component. He cited the Fiscal Council's opinion as extra weight behind that assessment, arguing the Government is abandoning the so‑called golden rule of public finance.

Bitiqi also said funding has been cut for anti‑corruption efforts, scientific research and programmes against domestic violence. He warned the budget reduces resources for DKSK (the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption).

Bojan Stojanovski of VMRO‑DPMNE defended the proposal, calling it a budget that resolves problems and creates projects but one that must also be used to settle debts accumulated by the previous government. He stressed that funds are allocated for regular payment of pensions, salaries and other routine obligations.

Stojanovski urged the finance minister to publicly explain the scale of inherited debt and how it was spent: "Minister, you have spent too little time explaining to citizens what you inherited. My criticism of you is that you did not tell the people what the debts now being repaid were spent on, how you inherited a looted budget and over 9 billion euros, which had been taken and were the highest so far."

Ambulmenaf Bedžeti, chair of the Fiscal Council, recommended against slavish adherence to projections and urged attention to the golden fiscal rules. He said countries in the OECD and EU do not always fully observe fiscal rules and suggested greater focus on the size, quality and execution of capital investments and on repaying amounts owed to the economy, such as VAT and subsidies to export‑oriented companies.

The parliamentary session on the draft budget will continue on Monday at 11:30.

Photo: press material from the event