Has the Premier Done What He Said He Would?

In any country, the budget is a result of a complicated trade-off between the executive and legislative branches. In the case of Ukraine, you should add also add IMF requirements, lobbying by individual industrial and financial entities, and the upcoming presidential elections. Multiply this by the economic crisis and you will get not just a complicated, but a labyrinthine situation.

The basic budget figures were set at Hr 23,089,442,600 in revenues and Hr 23,769,442,600 in expenditures, with the resulting budget deficit coming in at Hr 680 million (or 0.6% of GDP, expected to be Hr 117.5 billion).

The calculation of the budget figures was based on an average exchange rate of Hr 3.82 per US dollar.

It is expected that the issues stirring up the most heated discussion in Parliament will be the size of the budget deficit (Deputies believe it should be not less than 4-5%), subsidies to local budgets (the bill provides for their substantial reduction), and social benefits.

However, the budget parameters can hardly be taken seriously, taking into account the urgency in submitting the bill. However, even these less than serious figures are likely to provoke a serious battle. Currently, it may be predicted that the budget will, sooner or later, be adopted (otherwise the President and Premier will accuse Parliament of blocking the executive's overcoming the crisis), and the Cabinet's program will not be adopted, because if adopted, it would not make it possible to dismiss the government within a year. And nobody will give the executive such handsome gift on the eve of presidential elections.