Budget Proposal for 2011 – Who Gains and Who Loses?

The Ministries of Defense, Justice, and Tourism, as well as the Office of the President, are some of the budget users who can expect more funds in the coming year, while less funding is anticipated for the Ministries of Health, Maritime Affairs, Finance, the Government, the Croatian Parliament, etc.

The Government today submitted the budget proposal for 2011 to the Parliament, forecasting revenues of 107.4 billion kuna, što je 0,8 posto manje nego ove godine, dok se proračunski rashodi u iznosu 122,3 milijarde kuna zadržavaju na ovogodišnjoj razini, odnosno 30-ak su milijuna kuna manji.

The largest budget user is the Ministry of Economy, Labor, and Entrepreneurship, which also includes pension expenditures, so a total of 38.8 billion kuna is allocated to this sector next year, representing a slight increase compared to this year, by 0.03 percent.

A significant budget user is also the Ministry of Health, which is projected to receive 25.6 billion kuna next year, or 2.7 percent less than this year.

The sector with the largest anticipated reduction in funding next year is the Ministry of Finance, with a total amount of 23.9 billion kuna, or 25.3 percent less than this year. This is primarily due to lower obligations for the repayment of domestic and foreign bonds and loans, which are expected to decrease from this year’s 19.1 billion kuna to 9.9 billion kuna next year.

The Ministry of Education can also expect less than this year, with a projected 11.7 billion kuna, or 0.4 percent less than this year, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport, and Infrastructure with 6.5 billion kuna, or 0.7 percent less, and the Ministry of the Interior with 4.7 billion kuna, or 1.6 percent less.

The budget for the Ministry of Family, Veterans, and Intergenerational Solidarity, with just over four billion kuna, is 2.8 percent lower than this year’s amount, and a reduction is also anticipated for the Ministry of Regional Development by almost five percent, to 1.9 billion kuna.

The cultural sectors will also have less funding (953.5 million kuna or 5.8 percent less), foreign affairs (558.4 million kuna, or 6.4 percent less), environmental protection (629.2 million kuna or 4.2 percent less), administration (396.1 million kuna or 2.2 percent less), etc.

The budget proposal anticipates an amount of 216.4 million kuna for Government items, which is about 8 percent less than this year, while a total of 332.5 million kuna is projected for the Croatian Parliament, which is nearly 20 percent less than this year, resulting from a reduction in the amount for the State Election Commission by more than 30 percent, to 182.4 million kuna.

The Office of the former President of the Republic, Stjepan Mesić, will also receive less next year, with a projected amount of 1.36 million kuna, which is 8.7 percent less than this year, while the Office of the President will have 9.7 percent more funds, totaling 55.4 million kuna.

Among the ministries for which the budget anticipates more funds than this year are the Ministry of Defense, which will see an increase of 4.6 percent, to 4.9 billion kuna, the Ministry of Justice with an increase of 5.7 percent, to 2.7 billion kuna, as well as the Ministry of Tourism with an increase of also 5.7 percent, to 239.5 million kuna. (H)