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Albania's state budget for 2017 approved

Xinhua, December 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

After a marathon plenary session here, Albanian parliament approved, in principle, the draft budget for 2017 early on Friday.

The draft budget spurred very heated debates between lawmakers of the two main political camps who argued for some 16 hours.

While the prime minister and the majority of Members of Parliament (MPs) considered the budget one that would support reforms, cut debts, increase wages and pensions, the opposition considered it a budget of failures and tax increases.

Government representatives stressed that the 2017 budget would be the engine of Albania's economic growth, but opposition MPs said it would further impoverish Albanian citizens.

Therefore, the draft budget for 2017 was approved only by 82 votes of the majority lawmakers as opposition members left the hall before the voting process. Endit