Budget, Financial Services, Lithuania

In order to avoid fiasco in the elections, the Social Democrats undertook measures unheard of before by hiding the results of the state budget in September, the project for the budget for 2009 and macroeconomic forecasts relevant to business, the daily Verslo Zinios writes.

Finance Minister Rimantas Sadzius and Prime Minister Gediminas Kirkilas state in unison that the data are not reported to retain a calmer situation before the parliamentary elections. They justify this decision by saying that the project of the budget for next year might become an instrument in political debates. However, it only raises suspicions that the data are concealed because they might evoke a lot of criticism if announced.

"The budget was not submitted to the Government," indicated Sadzius.

"I understand that the fact that the budget is not announced causes a lot of indignation. In my opinion, if the data are already known (and I am not sure whether there are final data, because the Presidential Office has also not received information about the budget officially), these data should be made public despite the scheduled elections," said Ramunas Vilpisauskas, advisor to the president, head of the Economic and Social Policy Group.

Meanwhile, Sadzius explains that the Finance Ministry and the Government conceal nothing. The main reason for postponing the formation of the budget for the last minute is that the budget must reflect economic situation. There is allegedly a unique possibility to form such a budget, which would not be revised by the new Government in the middle of 2009.

The reaction of one of few people, who saw the project of the budget for the next year, confirms the fact that the budget for 2009 might include economically dangerous decisions. President Valdas Adamkus criticized the project severely on Thursday, though there was the only approximate figure from the financial plans for next year – a fiscal deficit of about 3% of GDP – mentioned after the meeting with the prime minister and finance minister.

While the Lithuanian Government is demonstrating its fear, the Governments of Latvia and Estonia has already confirmed their budgets.