Boc said on B1 TV that the reserve fund had RON85 million until Wednesday, but RON75 million was taken out to pay farming subsidies.
The acting prime minister also said the government checks the budgets of ministries every week to see what institutions haven’t spent the money they were allotted.
„This unspent money can go back into the reserve fund,” Boc said.
The reserve fund is the instrument the government uses to transfer money throughout the year to cover unforeseen expenses that were not included in the state budget.
In the Cabinet meeting Wednesday, the government decided to allot an installment of RON15 per animal of the RON44 subsidy owed to sheep breeders and will pay the money starting November 2. Also as of November 2, the government starts paying RON200 per animal to cattle breeders out of a RON571 subsidy.
Government spokeswoman Ioana Muntean said Wednesday the government assigned RON75 million from the reserve fund and RON25 million from the Agriculture Ministry’s budget to pay subsidies to farmers.
Hundreds of farmers staged ample protests Wednesday outside the Finance Ministry, Agriculture Ministry and the president’s office and demanded that they receive their subsidies, otherwise the animal breeding sector faces bankruptcy.