GOVERNMENT URGES PARLIAMENT TO DEBATE AMENDMENTS TO BUDGET

ZAGREB, Aug 26 (Hina) - At Tuesday's extraordinary and closed session, the Croatian government forwarded a request to parliament to hold a special session from September 3 to 12 to debate amendments to the government budget, the government's chief PR officer, Sanja Kos, told reporters. #L# Finance Minister Mato Crkvenac said that draft amendments to the government budget proposed internal reallocation of budgetary funds totalling 2.433 billion kuna (EUR326.6 million). The amendments would neither change the total budgetary revenues nor expenditure, which amount to 78 billion kuna, but budgetary deficit is expected to be less than planned, he said. According to the proposed amendments, funds for the defence, interior and labour and welfare ministries would increase. On the other hand, the biggest cuts will be in funds allocated to the finance ministry. Budgetary funds will also be curbed for the ministries of reconstruction, veterans' affairs, agriculture and maritime affairs. Salaries, benefits, pensions, legal and contractual obligations, key projects and reforms will not be brought into question by the amendments, Crkvenac said. The government will also forward to parliament draft amendments to the budget execution law, a macroeconomic and fiscal projection for 2004, fiscal projections for the period from 2004 to 2007, a draft decision on provisional financing in next year's first quarter and amendments to the law on financing local and regional self- government. The government will also suggest that parliament discuss the state's debt, foreign debt and balance of payments, and that it include in its agenda a debate on a set of ten bills which have already been forwarded to parliament and which relate to the adjustment of Croatian legislation to that of the EU. Said issues will be debated by the government on September 1, prior to the parliament session. (hina) lml