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The budget proposed for the Culture Ministry in 2023 is "reasonable," "the best under the given conditions," Minister Lucian Romascanu stated before the joint Culture Committees of Parliament.
"It is the best [budget] under the given conditions. (...) In the context in which the next year is not a very simple one, taking into account all the challenges we have, especially related to energy costs and the need for solidarity that we have to show to other ministries, we somehow managed a budget of budget credits worth 1.3 billion lei, with commitment appropriations of approximately 1.4 billion lei, which is enough to allow us to carry out our cultural projects further, to continue to finance the Timisoara European Capital of Culture with the remaining rest, in the context in which, this year, we funded what was asked and could have been spent by authorities, so it was not a funding deficit due to the fault of the ministry, but we worked together with those from Timisoara," Minister Romascanu stated.
He added that 48 million lei will be allocated for the Timisoara European Capital of Culture project, approximately 60 million lei for the "George Enescu" International Festival, 20 - 21 million lei to be dedicated to priority programmes.
"We managed to sign the 216 million lei contract with the Development Bank of the Council of Europe for the financing of restoration projects, the most important objective being the National History Museum of Romania, for the National Restoration Programme, which was largely widowed due to the lack of of performance of those who led the National Heritage Institute, this year we had 10 million budget credits and 40 million commitment appropriations, next year we will have 20 million budget credits and 50 million commitment appropriations," the Minister mentioned.
Lucian Romascanu showed that the institution's budget provides for capital expenditures of 9 million lei, less than last year, in the context in which the installation of the Union Monument in Arad is being attempted and no one came to the tender.
Parliament's Joint Culture Committees approved favorably on Monday, with one abstention, the 2023 draft state budget for the Ministry of Culture.
The Government draft proposes 1.297 billion lei in budget credits, an increase of 14.13pct compared to the current year, and 1.443 billion lei in commitment appropriations, increasing by 4.42pct. AGERPRES
