TIRANA, Oct  10 /ATA/ The Ministry of Finance and Economy on Monday submitted the 2023 draft budget to the Council of Ministers.

At a media briefing, the Minister of Finance and Economy, Delina Ibrahimaj, stated that the highlight of this draft budget is the follow-through of incentives to  freeze the price of electricity for consumers and small businesses, as well as the social policies for categories in need to shield the  family budgets.

“During 2023, we anticipate that the Albanian economy will grow by 2.6%. We anticipate that inflation will begin to slow down, reaching an average level of 3.6%. This budget includes allocations to offset the soaring price of energy and shield the household consumers and small businesses. We will continue with the social policies for the categories in need to shield the budgets of Albanian families and businesses,” said the minister.

The minister pointed out that fiscal consolidation will continue during the next year, reducing the expected level of public debt and deficit, while a positive primary balance is forecast.

The draft budget, she said, both in terms of income and expenditures, reflects these macroeconomic parameters.

“We have several scenarios. The parameters indicate the technical recession of the EU countries and this is the reason why we have slashed the forecast for the year 2023 from over 3% to 2.6%. However, the risks related to the forecasts for the next year are on the downward side and the draft budget creates the right spaces for the economy to withstand the risks in a steady way,” the minister said.

After discussions and approval in the Government, the draft budget of 2023 will go to the Assembly for review in the parliamentary committees in principle and article by article. It will then be approved in a plenary session to start implementation on January 1, 2023.

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