CROATIAN PARLIAMENT UPPER HOUSE BEGINS DISCUSSION ON 1997 BUDGET

ZAGREB, Nov 26 (Hina) - The Croatian Parliament's House of Counties began a discussion on a draft 1997 state budget on Tuesday. Representatives of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) party supported the draft while some opposition deputies proposed its rejection. In explanation of the draft, Deputy Finance Minister Mijo Jukic said that the proposed budget was oriented towards social and economic development, noting that for the first time it would not be revised. Overall budget revenues were planned at 32.7 billion kuna (DM 9.3 billion), which was a five percent increase on 1996. Expenditures were planned at 35.5 billion kuna (DM 10 billion) which would result in a deficit of 2.8 billion kuna (DM 800 million), Jukic said. He explained that the deficit would be covered by a surplus of 2.8 billion kuna from the financing account, adding that next year 6.8 billion kuna (DM 1.94 billion) would be received in loans and almost 4 billion (DM 1.14 billion) would be repaid. It was estimated that the gross domestic product would reach 108 billion kuna (DM 30.8 billion), Jukic said. Overall budget debts were expected to reach 2.6 percent of GDP and extrabudgetary debts 0.17 percent, which would be better than the Maastricht criterion of three percent, he stressed. Jukic said that 4.2 billion kuna (DM 1.2 billion), or about 4 percent of GDP, would earmarked for economic development and more than 7.5 billion (DM 2.14 billion) for social welfare. (hina) vm mm 261538 MET nov 96