| Moscow, September 4, 2003. YABLOKO may not support the
draft federal budget in the first reading, if some of the demands of the
amendments of the faction are not considered. Rosbalt correspondent reports
that such a statement was made by Chairman of the YABLOKO faction in the
State Duma Grigory Yavlinsky
at a press conference on Thursday. According to Yavlinsky, the faction
considers the budget inertia-prone, based on the favourable foreign economic
situation. "The government is simply resting on the laurels of a balance
of payments surplus," stressed Yavlinsky. Yavlinsky also termed illegal
the distribution of budget resources between the federal centre and the
regions. Yavlinsky said that a distribution, where 62% of the funds remain
with the federal center, while the regions obtain only 38% of the funds
is unjust. YABLOKO's leader also announced the plans of the faction for
the fourth time to submit its alternative budget to the Duma. One of the
main ideas of the alternative budget is more active social policies by
the state. Deputies from the faction plan to submit a number of draft laws
against poverty, for example by introducing a single social allowance for
unprotected categories of citizens. Deputy Chairman of the faction Igor
Artemyev who also participated in the press conference informed the
press that five draft laws for social reforms should be submitted to the
Duma by the end of September. YABLOKO thinks that the reforms will cost
an estimated 230 billion roubles.
See also:
Federal
Budget for 2004
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Rosbalt, September 4, 2003
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