State budget

Chief Analyst of DNB Bank, Indrė Genytė-Pikčienė, says there is a probability that the Lithuanian government will have to revise this year's state budget revenue and expenditure targets.

Even though the Lithuanian central bank last week cut its GDP growth forecast for this year, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says that the government is not planning to revise the national budget, at least for now, adding that EU support should help cushion the impact of slower growth.

Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaitė has signed the country's budget for the next year, her press service said on Tuesday.

The Lithuanian parliament passed the state's budget for 2015 for the second time on Thursday, with 79 votes in favour, 14 votes against and 34 abstentions.

Lithuanian Seimas opposition leader, conservative Andrius Kubilius, has asked President Dalia Grybauskaitė to veto the draft budget for 2015 of the State Social Insurance Fund Board under the Ministry of Social Security and Labour (Sodra) which was adopted by the Seimas.

The Lithuanian parliament on Tuesday adopted the 2015 budget for the state social insurance fund, Sodra, that provides for bringing sickness and unemployment benefits back to the pre-crisis level from January and raising pensions from July.

On Thursday, the Lithuanian Seimas (parliament) will repeat its vote on the 2015 budget bill, Seimas Speaker Loreta Graužinienė said on Tuesday.

Lithuanian teachers have called off their strike after three days, saying it became pointless once parliament adopted national budget for next year.

The Lithuanian parliament Thursday passed the law on national budget for 2015, the first year of the country's eurozone membership, by a vote of 79 to 33, with 23 abstentions.

The Lithuanian parliament sent next year’s draft budget bill back to the government for improvement after the first reading on Tuesday.

Lithuania’s 2015 budget bill does not contravene the Law on Fiscal Discipline, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius insists.

The growth of expenses projected in Lithuania’s 2015 budget bill contravenes the Law on Fiscal Discipline and the expected growth of tax revenue is overly optimistic, the National Audit Office said in conclusions published on Monday.

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius hopes that Lithuania will have a balanced budget already in 2017.

The parliamentary groups of the Order and Justice party, the Social Democrats and the Labour Party have agreed that the minimum monthly salary should be raised to EUR 325 (LTL 1,122) in 2015.

Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius says the Government is looking for LTL 102 million (EUR 29.5 million) in next year's budget in order to raise salaries for government employees working under employment contracts.

The Lithuanian parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee has suggested earmarking additional 34.3 million litas (EUR 9.9m) for defence next year.

Lithuania’s 2015 budget bill will be adjusted if there is reason to believe that the growth of the country’s economy is slightly lower than the currently forecasts, the finance minister has said.

Based on preliminary assessment by the Ministry of Finance, revenue collections over the first nine months of 2014 surpassed expectations by 0.8 percent.

With Lithuania's authorities planning to increase spending on national defence and to compensate for pension cuts, the economy might not grow fast enough to support increases in public spending and the government next year may have to broaden the revenue base and cut back on some expenses, the Inter...

The President's Office commends the objective of the state budget to reduce social exclusion, ensure fiscal discipline and defence funding. However, it feels that the fight against underground economy has been inadequate.