
The Economy and Finance Commission approved in principle the draft budget of 2024, with 10 votes in favor, and one vote against, which was that of Edmond Spahos, who was the only one from the opposition who participated in the commission.
MP Antoneta Dhima said that "the Economy Committee has discussed in the relevant meetings in principle and in its entirety the 2024 draft budget for revenues, expenses and public debt, as well as reviewed the fiscal package that will be implemented next year.
According to her, the commission held a hearing with the ministers of the departments of Economy, Agriculture, Infrastructure and Energy, as well as with the Governor of the Bank of Albania, where it got to know in more detail the support that the draft budget 2024 addresses for the reform of salary and pension increases, the increase of income, social support, continuation of fiscal consolidation and decentralization of governance.
The draft budget 2024 projects an increase in funding in all the main sectors, such as education, defense, justice where the budget has been doubled, while for defense, for the first time, the budget has increased to 2% of GDP, thus fulfilling an obligation as a country member of NATO. As for education, the 2024 budget has a significant increase in salaries and an increase in total expenditures for local education that reaches 78.8 billion ALL with an increase of 9.8 million ALL or nearly 100 million ALL.
As for the local budget, the expenses for this level of governance for the year 2024 are estimated at 71.1 billion ALL, with an increase of 10.4% compared to the 2023 budget.