ZAGREB, 27 Oct 2021 - Parliament is expected to debate the draft 2021 budget revision next Wednesday and the draft 2022 budget early in December, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić said on Wednesday.
The idea is to debate and vote on the revised budget as soon as possible so that all reallocations and payments can be made by the end of the year, he told reporters.
Asked to comment on the fact that the health sector's debt to drug wholesalers was growing again, Marić said it was growing even though HRK 9 billion was set aside for it in the budget and that one should add to that the HRK 23 billion budget of the Croatian Health Insurance Fund.
That, he said, points to the need to reform health expenditures by spending taxpayers' money better and more effectively, while keeping the quality of healthcare.
Asked if there was money for a new round of payments to businesses affected by the pandemic, Marić said the draft 2022 budget did not envisage this year's level of job-keeping measures. He added, however, that the draft 2020 budget did not envisage them either, yet they were adopted to protect people's health and keep jobs.
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