Victor Maziarchuk, Head of the Fiscal Policy Research Center, took part in the meeting of Minister of Finance Sergiy Marchenko with leading Ukrainian economic and financial organizations, during which the government’s draft laws on amendments to the state budget and the Tax Code were discussed. The amendments to the state budget for 2024 envisage an increase in spending on the security and defense sector by over UAH 500 billion.

Victor Maziarchuk expressed his opinion on the proposed changes, emphasizing the need for a thorough analysis and optimization of funding. “Amendments to the budget will help resolve the critical situation related to the need to finance the security and defense sector, as a significant part of the funds was redistributed during the first half of the year due to insufficient financial and military support from our international partners,” he emphasized.

The expert noted that the adoption of amendments to the budget will cover the need to finance the defense sector, including military salaries.

“We also suggest that MPs pay attention to the existence of minor opportunities to optimize the use of available resources. For example, the Prosecutor General’s Office did not use more than a billion hryvnias for salaries for six months. These funds could be allocated to the security and defense sector. However, this is a difficult and unpopular decision that the government cannot make on its own. MPs should review in detail the effectiveness of the use of funds and the availability of resources for individual budget programs and direct them to the security and defense sector,” the expert said.

Mr. Maziarchuk also noted that the Center has developed a dashboard for monitoring expenditures on salaries.

“We monitor the use of funds, have developed a dashboard on salaries and constantly update it. MPs can use this information to ask government officials about the reasons for not using the funds and submit their proposals based on the latest information,” he summarized.