The state budget for 2017 will be drafted by the new government that will be appointed after the parliamentary elections, said finance minister Anca Dragu.

“We don’t have a draft budget for 2017. It is too early, but in the election years, the laws demand that the budget is drafted by the future government,” she explained at local TV station Realitatea TV.

Dragu made this statement after being asked about the wage increases suggested by politicians lately. The National Liberal Party announced that it would increase by 22% the salaries of public employees in local administration and will double the doctors’ wages.

Dragu said that the new measures demand additional budget funds of over RON 3 billion (EUR 673 million), according to her calculations. The wage bill has increased by over 10% this year, after a series of salary increases had been granted to doctors and teachers last fall.

editor@romania-insider.com