Albanian parliament on Monday passed in principle the 2024 state budget, which projects a 3.8% economic growth.
The main objective of the budget, approved in a 73 vote, is to support the country’s stable growth, distribution of the welfare for the citizens, advance structural reforms to boost economic growth and employment, assist people in need, increase productivity, strengthen the rule of law, digitalise the economy and continue important infrastructure investments, maintaining in the meantime further fiscal consolidation.
The planned public spending under the 2024 state budget is projected to amount to EUR 7 billion.
The public debt to GDP ratio is expected to narrow to 60% in 2024 without imposing significant fiscal measures, but by focusing on the fiscal well-administration instead.
According to the base scenario, Albanian economy is expected to expand by 3.8% and an annual average growth by around 4% in the following medium-term period.
The budget revenues are estimated to grow by 27.8% during period 2024-2026, up from 27% during the period 2019-2022.
The draft budget will continue to support a significant wage hike in order to deliver on the pledge to increase the average salary of Albanians to around EUR 900 within 2024.
The budget also plans public investments in the amount of 5.3% of GDP to 128.5 billion lek, or 4.6 billion lek more than in 2023, supporting the continued economic growth, tourism, agriculture and connectivity, and encouraging quality employment. The investment package is devised to support national and local infrastructure to best meet the growing demand of the tourism industry.
The 2024 state budget is accompanied by a fiscal package designed to ensure stability of the legislation and the fiscal policies, focusing on well-administration rather than levying significant fiscal measures.
This year’s most important financial bill was adopted without debates due to the chaos caused by the opposition lawmakers, who have been disrupting parliament deliberations for several weeks now.
With the 2024 budget bill passed in principle, the document will be forwarded to the parliamentary committees to discuss it article by article and will be then approved in a parliament plenary session.
