The National Cathedral of Salvation will receive, following the budget rectification, the amount of RON 115.5 million, i.e. four times more than funding this year for the bridge over the Danube in Braila of RON 23.8 million, VAT included.
The Ministry of Finance received the largest amount following the first budget rectification this year, RON 1.28 billion, mainly for Romania’s contribution to the European Union budget, and the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG) received more than RON 150 million, out of which RON 115.5 million will be for the National Cathedral of Salvation, according to the figures published on the website of the Ministry of Finance, digi24.ro informs.
Finance Minister, Eugen Teodorovici, argues “it is normal, logical and of common sense and legal” that the money goes to the cathedral, as the first service is scheduled in November.
Minister Teodorovici claimed in July 2017 that the Church should be taxed and requested the Romanian Orthodox Church to reach the 21st century.
The cathedral is built mostly on public money. Recently, the Bucharest City Hall allotted RON 10 million from its budget for the cathedral, a bonus to the formerly RON 15 million already granted, digi24.ro reports.
“I believe it is normal, logical and of common sense and legal to allot the money for an ongoing contract which needs payments, an important objective for our country, so that in November the first service takes place, as the Patriarchy said, according to the celebration of the centenarian. It’s a fair logical approach. In 2015, I was also Finance Minister, and at the summer budget rectification we allotted the amount of RON 25 million for the National Cathedral,” minister Teodorovici said.
Since 2011, when the construction works began, the state budget allotted money on yearly basis, with the exception of 2016, but in that year the project received consistent amounts of money from the Bucharest City Hall and from the District city halls.