The state budget draft law for 2008 has been approved by parliament.
No finance minister has had their budget draft approved as smoothly and quickly as Ján Počiatek, the Hospodárske Noviny daily wrote on December 5. Parliament did not approve any of the amending proposals and passed the budget in the form approved by cabinet.
Počiatek says next year's budget is the best that Slovakia ever had, because each ministry will get the most money they have ever received to carry out their programmes (except for the environment ministry).
However, the opposition says the budget disregards the future. It immediately spends temporarily high revenues, gives too much for farm subsidies, and sidetracks science and education, they said.
-SITA
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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