Budget Bill passed in two readings

Parliament on Saturday approved the 2011 Budget Bill in two readings with the vote of 51 deputies of the governing Alliance for European Integration as the opposition Communist Party voted against, Info-Prim Neo reports. The Bill was remitted to the parliamentary commission responsible for budget matters to be fine-tuned before its hearing in the third, final reading. The Bill was approved after more than three hours of heated debates, during which the Communist faction slashed a good part of its provisions, announcing in advance that they would not endorse it. The opposition deputies criticized the Bill, in particular, for being anti-social, contrary to the law, and satisfying the commitments assumed by the government under foreign assistance arrangements rather than the interests of the Moldovan citizens. Some of the deputies from the majority coalition also had objections to certain articles and voted only on condition of some amendments. The 2011 Budget Bill provides for revenues of 19.08 billion lei and spending of 20.3 billion lei. It is expected that the third reading and the subsequent adoption of the Bill will take place at the next sitting of the legislature on Tuesday, March 29. Under a memorandum signed with the IMF, the Budget Law is to be enacted until 1 April 2011.