ABSTRACT
The budget is the most important part in the economy of a country, where through the process of preparation of budget proposal, budget control, budget approval and budget execution, the public can have clear overview of how the state budget is approved in line with the requirements and priority needs of the society. As the budget of any country worldwide was burdened with specific expenditures during the COVID-19 pandemic period, the aim of this paper is to address the budget process in North Macedonia, during the period of COVID-19 pandemic, capturing the years of 2019, 2020, 2021, making comparisons between years, and see how the budget has progressed during the observed crisis period. In this regard, the purpose of this paper is to understand more clearly the budgeting process in North Macedonia through research, analysis and comparison. The topic of the research is treated from the theoretical aspect by using the normative method and analytical method, graphic images and comparisons between budgeting data between years of 2019, 2020, 2021. The study concludes that budgeting as a tool of state responsibility, a management tool and an instrument of economic policy, throughout fiscal policy framework, has three main functions: shows the direction of the economy and expresses the intention for the use of economic resources, serves as a tool for reducing inequalities and as a tool for achieving and maintaining the sustainability of macroeconomic stability.