Ukraine not to start new year without budget for 2012, says speaker

Ukrainian Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn has said that the Ukrainian parliament will adopt the national budget for 2012 by the end of 2011.

“We would not start the new year without the budget, as you understand that it is favorable for the government not to have the budget for next year – then their expenditure are equal to one twelfth of the previous year budget,” he told reporters in Novohrad-Volynsky, Zhytomyr region, on Saturday.

He said that in this case the financing will be considerably lower than it is needed, and expenses on the development and fundamental issues are not foreseen.

“We cannot afford this. The government understands this, and everyone understands this,” Lytvyn said.

He added that he supports an uncompleted-budget-is-better-than-no-budget-at-all principle.

Lytvyn said that the adoption of the budget is delayed due to gas talks with Russia, although he said that they are being finished. He said that the new price of Russian gas should be acceptable.

The speaker also said that the parliament will have many issues to settle by the end of the year.

As reported, the bill on the national budget for 2012 was passed at first reading on October 20, 2011.

Regions Party faction leader Oleksandr Yefremov in November said he hopes that the Cabinet of Ministers will submit Ukraine’s draft state budget for 2012 to parliament four days after Ukraine and Russia agree on the gas price.

Yefremov noted that parliamentary elections would soon be held in Russia "and this cannot leave an imprint on the endorsement of this decision."