Budget makes it through first round and moves on to Sejm Commissions

Despite the fact that Solidarity Election Action (AWS) is its sole supporter, next year's budget passed the first reading in the Sejm and has been forwarded to commissions for further debate. During his presentation in the Sejm, Foreign Minister Jaroslaw Bauc tried to convince deputies that the budget would ensure macroeconomic stability next year. According to the opposition Left Democratic Alliance (SLD), a quick review in specialized Parliamentary commissions is still necessary to eliminate other weaknesses in the legislation. Bauc argued that the rapid expansion of the economy in 1995-97 was the result not only of reforms but also fiscal policy that among other things involved an increase in the circulation of money. The introduction of fiscal belt-tightening to arrest the adverse effects of that policy would involve cutting government spending dramatically, an idea that angers SLD, since it claims such cuts could affect the country's ability to fight unemployment. (Prawo i Gospodarka, pp.1,2)