Belarusian senators pass 2014 budget bill

        The Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of Belarus passed the bill on the central state budget for 2014. Presenting the bill, Finance Minister Andrei Kharkovets noted that the budget was optimized with regard to expenses, the most important priorities in distributing budget resources were observed.
The budget is part of the general system for the state macroeconomic regulation. It is tied to the monetary management policy and will encourage economic growth and the development of the regions. It will also ensure debt stability. The planning of the budget took into account the next year’s targeted GDP growth rate of 103.%. The budget has been formed without any deficit. The main task of the state budget policy for 2014 is to ensure macro-financial balance and take care of the state financial security parameters, including via additional measures to reduce government spending. Chairman of the Economy, Budget, and Finance Commission of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly Vladimir Pantyukohov underlined that in 2014 the state budget will also preserve its social direction.