“The previous government, let’s say, hid certain things, that is why the budget deficit has increased as compared to the initial draft,” he said at a news conference.
He emphasized, however, that it was natural for public expenditure to exceed revenue during a crisis.
“We have to implement proactive fiscal policy, which implies that public expenditure cannot be financed by respective revenue during such periods, which is natural,” Nauseda said.
The president also pointed out that it was already time to think about the return to a balanced budget following the recovery of the economy.
The draft budget adjusted by the government led by Ingrida Simonyte anticipates a general government deficit of 7 percent of GDP next year. Meanwhile, the government led by Saulius Skvernelis planned a deficit of no more than 5 percent.
According to the new government, the expected deficit increased due to budgeted financing for measures to combat the coronavirus pandemic, which was missing in the initial budget bill.