ZAGREB, March 14 (Hina) - The Croatian National Parliament's House of Counties on Tuesday afternoon continued its morning's discussion about the Government's draft budget for the year 2000. The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party
bench who have the majority in the House, said they would not support the first reading of the draft. The draft government budget was not endorsed by the Parliament's Economy and Finance Committee either. MPs of parties of the ruling coalition announced they would support the budget. Explaining the HDZ party bench decision, its president Miroslav Prpic said the draft budget was in contrast to the electoral promises of the winning coalition's six parties. The budget is not developmental, social, nor economical, HDZ MPs claim. The six parties, Prpic said, had promised a decrease of expenditure for the state administration, and their Government has increased
ZAGREB, March 14 (Hina) - The Croatian National Parliament's House
of Counties on Tuesday afternoon continued its morning's
discussion about the Government's draft budget for the year 2000.
The Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party bench who have the
majority in the House, said they would not support the first reading
of the draft. The draft government budget was not endorsed by the
Parliament's Economy and Finance Committee either.
MPs of parties of the ruling coalition announced they would support
the budget.
Explaining the HDZ party bench decision, its president Miroslav
Prpic said the draft budget was in contrast to the electoral
promises of the winning coalition's six parties.
The budget is not developmental, social, nor economical, HDZ MPs
claim.
The six parties, Prpic said, had promised a decrease of expenditure
for the state administration, and their Government has increased
the number of ministries, they announced an increase in salaries,
and the budget envisages a five per cent decrease in salaries of
budget users. They promised an increase in pensions, and now are
requesting social peace, they announced the curbing of "luxury",
and it has not happened, he asserted.
The HDZ MPs criticised the Government for omitting stimulation for
the "motors of economy" -- export, investments, reconstruction,
ship-building.
They did applaud the decision not to enter new debts, and to
increase subsidies for agriculture, for example.
The Croatian Party of Rights/Christian Democrats of Medjimurje
coalition also criticised the budget.
In its character, the budget is like last year's, with short-term
effects, because the new Government also does not have a
development strategy, Miroslav Rozic said.
Accepting the assessment on the similarities of this year's and
previous HDZ's budgets, Zarko Katic (Croatian Social Liberal
Party, HSLS) justified this with the set legal and economic
frames.
A significant restriction in the budget is the outstanding debt,
Katic said.
Petar Novacki (Croatian Peasants' Party ) warned about the frames
and circumstances in which the new Government was moving,
uncovering new debts on a weekly basis.
The Liberal Party MPs criticised the fact that the debts the last
authorities had left behind had been presented in the budget as a
rise in resources for the Finance Ministry.
This ministry thus appears as the corrector of all the failures of
the former, HDZ government, Ankica Mamic said.
Ratko Marincic of the Social Democratic Party held that this year's
budget was founded on a different philosophy of spending tax-
payers' money than past budgets.
The Government's entire policy, including regarding the budget, is
to spur the development of economy, with the aim of improving the
standard.
We are fully aware that this Government and this policy will either
fail or remain firm, depending on whether it will realise its goal,
Marincic said.
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