Economy Minister Kresnik Bektesi acknowledged that less than half of the funds that were planned to go toward corona stimulus and relief were actually delivered to consumers and the businesses hit by the epidemic.

In June, Bektesi claimed that over 550 million EUR were distributed in corona relief. But during a TV interview on Wednesday he revised the claim down to just 250 million EUR, wiith a promise of 20 million more to come.  Bektesi acknowledged that the Government failed in implementing its three planned stimulus programs, that were supposed to help companies keep their employees and survive the crisis, while boosting consumer spending. Macedonia lost 40,000 jobs during the epidemic and faced a double digit GDP decline.