Post by MiG on Feb 27, 2008 22:36:54 GMT -5
SDP Head:Where Is Croatia Sailing With this Budget
SDP’s leader Zoran Milanovic voiced his opinion of the draft government budget for 2008, claiming it was leading nowhere.
ZAGREB, CROATIA - The parliamentary discussion on the government budget has been going on since the morning hours and as parliament speaker Luka Bebic said, it could continue for 15 hours.
After the first personal insults slews between Croatian people’s Party’s (HNS) Goran Beus and Finance Minister Ivan Suker, Social Democrats’ (SDP) Zoran Milanovic voiced his view of the government budget for 2008. According to him, the government’s claims that the main goals would be education, that is, the society of knowledge, do not have backing in the budget.
- If education was the government’s goal, money earmarked for it would be visible in the budget and there is none – Milanovic said, adding that only 10 percent are being set aside for that segment of the budget, which is less than had been announced. Milanovic cited countries in which education is at the highest level, such as Ireland and Finland, who achieved their goals by increasing budgetary funds for education.
Milanovic wondered ‘where is Croatia sailing with this budget’ and reiterated that the ship was one for all, but there is no other crew.
- You say that this budget is development-oriented, but you have yet to prove it – Milanovic stressed. Regarding the social part of the budget, Milanovic claims that most money, over 80 percent, was earmarked for pensions and salaries, which is necessary because of the situation Croatia is in.
Cehok: The budget is a warning that we are not kings
- Pensions are dropping in relation to salaries, while the average salary grew by some 4.7 percent and inflation increased by 5.7 percent – the SDP head said.
On the other hand, the Croatian Social Liberal Party’s (HSLS) Ivan Cehok called the budget ‘Lenten’ because it was being drawn up during Lent, as opposed to the usual practice of the budget being discussed at the end of the year, that is, during Christmas time.
- At that time we are more generous, we take less precautions regarding expenditures and now, before Lent, the budget is trying to save money wherever it can be saved – Cehok said. He stressed that the draft budget was a warning that “we cannot live like kings, we cannot spend money in all areas like drunken billionaires”.
SDP’s leader Zoran Milanovic voiced his opinion of the draft government budget for 2008, claiming it was leading nowhere.
ZAGREB, CROATIA - The parliamentary discussion on the government budget has been going on since the morning hours and as parliament speaker Luka Bebic said, it could continue for 15 hours.
After the first personal insults slews between Croatian people’s Party’s (HNS) Goran Beus and Finance Minister Ivan Suker, Social Democrats’ (SDP) Zoran Milanovic voiced his view of the government budget for 2008. According to him, the government’s claims that the main goals would be education, that is, the society of knowledge, do not have backing in the budget.
- If education was the government’s goal, money earmarked for it would be visible in the budget and there is none – Milanovic said, adding that only 10 percent are being set aside for that segment of the budget, which is less than had been announced. Milanovic cited countries in which education is at the highest level, such as Ireland and Finland, who achieved their goals by increasing budgetary funds for education.
Milanovic wondered ‘where is Croatia sailing with this budget’ and reiterated that the ship was one for all, but there is no other crew.
- You say that this budget is development-oriented, but you have yet to prove it – Milanovic stressed. Regarding the social part of the budget, Milanovic claims that most money, over 80 percent, was earmarked for pensions and salaries, which is necessary because of the situation Croatia is in.
Cehok: The budget is a warning that we are not kings
- Pensions are dropping in relation to salaries, while the average salary grew by some 4.7 percent and inflation increased by 5.7 percent – the SDP head said.
On the other hand, the Croatian Social Liberal Party’s (HSLS) Ivan Cehok called the budget ‘Lenten’ because it was being drawn up during Lent, as opposed to the usual practice of the budget being discussed at the end of the year, that is, during Christmas time.
- At that time we are more generous, we take less precautions regarding expenditures and now, before Lent, the budget is trying to save money wherever it can be saved – Cehok said. He stressed that the draft budget was a warning that “we cannot live like kings, we cannot spend money in all areas like drunken billionaires”.
Source: www.javno.com/en/croatia/clanak.php?id=127334