KYIV, Dec. 6 – Ukraine’s parliament failed Thursday to approve a draft budget for 2002 in the second reading for the second time in a week, and accused the government of ignoring lawmakers’ amendment proposals.
The head of the parliamentary budget committee, Oleksandr Turchynov, said the government «didn’t change any figure» as proposed by the parliament, according to the Interfax news agency.
But Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh said the government had agreed to an increase in spending based on larger tax collection projections, according to Interfax.
The lawmakers demanded increased budget revenues and more spending on education, health, and social subsidies.
The draft budget sets revenues at Hr 44.2 billion ($8.41 billion) and spending at Hr 48.5 billion ($9.23 billion), with a deficit of $820 million.
Parliament adopted the draft in the first reading on Nov. 15, but sent it back to the government for revision. It failed to approve the document in a second reading Nov. 29 and held an extra meeting Thursday. After the second failure, lawmakers agreed to continue the review next Thursday.
The delay means the budget may not be approved before the new year, threatening to hamper government activity in the start of the year.
The draft must win parliament’s approval in the second and third readings and be signed by the president.
Ukraine suffered severe economic decline since the Soviet collapse in 1991 and passed its first zero-deficit budget in 2000.
