The presidency said in a statement that the ruling majority did not use all the opportunities to better reflect the needs of the state and the people. However, it also claimed that the Government “took into consideration some of the criticism” and improved the draft budget.
Nausėda welcomed intentions to increase defence funding and appropriations for road infrastructure.
Nonetheless, he also said that the issue of road repair and maintenance would remain unresolved despite funding being raised to EUR 873 million.
The president, who had proposed introducing an additional tax-exempt amount of income for families raising children, claimed that too little attention was shown for families with children. He also pointed to an insignificant increase of funding for children’s non-formal education.
The president believes that any extra budget revenue should be used for defence spending to reach at least 3% of GDP, at the same time adhering to Maastricht criteria.
According to Nausėda, after Q1 2024, he will urge the Government to make new estimates so that teachers’ salaries would reach 130% of the average wage in Lithuania sooner than planned.
Speaking about pension growth, the president said it was sustainable and based on consistent economic resources.
As reported, budgetary revenue is planned to amount to EUR 16.98 billion in 2024, while budgetary expenditure will be EUR 20.61 billion. The general government deficit is forecast to stand at 3% of GDP and general government debt at 39.9% of GDP. In 2025, the deficit is forecast at 2.5% of GDP and the debt at 43.1% of GDP.
