| Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko vetoed the 2007 state budget law. He demanded that parliament and the government “finalize the document taking into account the interests of the poorest segments of the population”, increasing the cost of living and the minimum wage. The President called for making the budget more transparent, canceling some tax breaks and the provision that allows gas traders to pay VAT not in real money, but in bills of exchange. The leader of the Socialist Party faction, Ivan Bokiy, said that the presidential veto “is a stab in the back of the state.” “The budget crisis will be resolved by compromise. The anti-crisis coalition, as a result of consultations with the president, will take into account his amendments,” Ukrainian political scientist Andrei Ermolaev noted to Vremya Novostei. Even if Yushchenko does not sign the budget law, this will not lead to either the dissolution of parliament or the resignation of the government. “The budget will simply be managed manually, while the president and the government will remain in a state of cold war,” the expert believes. The anti-crisis coalition asked Yushchenko for a meeting to discuss the budget and relations between the government, parliament and the president. Svetlana STEPANENKO, Kyiv
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