Prague, Dec 15 (CTK) – The members of the lower house of Czech parliament proposed financial transfers of nearly 100 billion crowns to be made in the 2018 state budget bill in the bill’s second reading on Friday, wanting to increase spending on social services, schools and road repairs.
The lower house will take the final third vote on the budget on Tuesday.
The budget revenues are 1,314.5 billion crowns and the expenditures are 1,364.5 billion crowns. These figures cannot be changed anymore.
The proposals for changes made concern about 7 percent of the budget’s total expenditures.
The right-wing Civic Democrats proposed to take 28.2 billion crowns from nine budget chapters in order to use this money for the state debt servicing.
On the contrary, a number of MPs proposed to lower the sum for the debt servicing and use the money for various other purposes. New Finance Minister Alena Schillerova told the lower house that she would resolutely oppose any proposal that meant cutting the expenditures of the servicing of the state debt.
Several proposals want to increase the financial support for regional schools. MP Vera Kovarova (Mayors and Independents, STAN) recommended that additional 15.6 billion crowns go to the salaries of teachers.
Many MPs also proposed higher spending on social services. MP Jan Volny (ANO) proposes to move further 1.5 billion crowns to social services, while MP Vit Kankovsky (Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) considers a two times higher sum to be the necessary minimum.
ODS MP Jana Cernochova promoted a four-billion-crown increase in the defence spending.
Other MPs proposed transfers of up to a few billions in order to have more money for road reconstruction, renewal of architectonic heritage, universities or science and research.
MP Mikulas Ferjencik (Pirates) proposed that the expenditures of the Presidential Office be lowered by one million crowns, which is approximately the cost of the security measures adopted at the presidential seat. The Pirates criticised these measures.
“This is just a showy demonstration of power. The checks are not dignified and they create an easy target in form of long queues of tourists and do not protect the Prague Castle,” Ferjencik said.
