Finance Ministry seeking to slash zl.480 million from army's 2000 budget

It is possible that the Defense Ministry may not receive zl.480 million in state support due to cuts proposed by the Finance Ministry in this year's budget, according to Rzeczpospolita. Defence Ministry spokesman Eugeniusz Mleczak declined to comment on the information, saying he knew nothing of the Finance Ministry's plans. Elzbieta Firlej of the Defence Ministry's economy department made assurances that the military was still fighting to maintain its income at its current level, which should amount to zl.13.8 billion and is suppose to serve as the basis for calculations of the army' s 2001 budget. "Probable cuts would have a negative influence on existing [financial] problems, which are due to higher inflation," Firlej explained. The government proposed to spend about zl.15.5 billion on the military next year, amounting to around 1.9-2% of GDP. Two-thirds of this sum would be spent on salaries, pensions and other benefits of present and former military personnel. (Rzeczpospolita, p.A1, A2)