On November 27 RA National Assembly continued the work of the extraordinary sitting convened on the initiative of the Government and passed by voting all the draft laws debated on the previous day in the procedure of the first reading, and among them the package of RA bills debated On Making Amendment to RA Law On Post Rate of Head Workers of RA Legislative, Executive and Judicial Power Bodies and On Making Amendment to RA Law On Prosecutor’s Office. Before voting NA President Mr Hovik Abrahamyan informed the MPs that there was a debate over the package with RA Prime Minister, the MPs’ inquiries and proposals have been taken into account, amendments have been made. As the NA President clarified, the rise of the judges’ salaries is substantiated by the implementation of the judicial reforms, and the fulfilled amendments and addenda will enter into force from January 2009 and will function till December 31, 2009. According to an agreement, RA Government promised to submit a concept to the National Assembly in March-April, envisaging in complex the rates of the salaries of the civil servicemen and high-ranking officials.

Afterwards the parliament debated in the second reading the RA draft law on Making Amendment and Addenda to RA law on State Allowances submitted by the Government, which presented RA Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mr Arsen Hambardzumyan.

Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Social Affairs Mr Hakob Hakobyan said that the committee endorsed the bill. On the same day the bill was also debated in the procedure of second reading.

The parliament also debated in the procedure of the third reading the RA draft law On Defining Privileges in Ecological Payments to ArmWaterSewerage, Lori-WaterSewerage, Shirak-WaterSewerage, and Nor Akunk Closed Joint Stock Companies with enclosed package, on which the NA Standing Committee on Social Affairs also endorsed.

The MPs also debated in the second reading the RA draft law on Making Amendment to RA Law on the Post Rates of the Head Workers of RA Legislative, Executive and Judicial Power.

On behalf of Heritage faction Mr Stepan Safaryan noted that the faction would vote against the bill. According to him, it’s not fair when the pensions and allowances are not raised and the salaries of the head workers of the judicial system are separately raised.

Mr Artsvik Minasyan presented the endorsement of the ARF faction. Touching upon the views of the opposition Mr Minasyan proposed the partners to act jointly and demand from the Government to keep the promise.

Mr Vardan Ayvazyan presented the view of RPA and also touched upon the speeches of the opposition partners and noted that the rise of the judges’ salaries is being implemented with one year, and it is necessary to carry out consecutively the started reforms in the judicial system. It was noted that the RPA faction will vote for the presented bill.

In his concluding speech the main speaker RA Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Mr Arsen Hambardzumyan said that the view of the government also coincides the expressed opinions that separate approach should not be shown towards certain bodies.

In the extraordinary sitting the parliament touched upon the RA draft law on RA 2009 State Budget, the debate of which was interrupted according to NA Rules of Procedure. RA Minister of Finance Mr Tigran Davtyan introduced the final version of 2009 state budget and noted that the main indices were kept.

Head of Country of Law Party Mrs Heghine Bisharyan presented the view of the faction on the bill On 2009 State Budget. She noted that the Country of Law Party will vote for the adoption of the draft law.

Member of ARF faction Mr Artsvik Minasyan presented the view on the actions of anticipating the threatening risks to Armenia under the targeting and construction indices and global financial and economic crisis conditions and said that the ARF will also vote for the draft law.

Secretary of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP) faction Mr Aram Safaryan presented the view of the faction and expressed satisfaction for the quality of the debates on 2009 state budget draft law and parliament-government effective cooperation. Mr Safaryan noted that the PAP will also vote for the draft law and will continue to work in the direction of raising the living standards of the society.

NA Speaker Mr Hovik Abrahamyan gave a speech on the draft law On RA 2009 State Budget: “First of all, let me welcome the 2009 state budget draft law submitted by RA Government and positively assess the debates over the budget. I would like to stress that 2009 state budget draft law is beneficially differed from the budgets of the previous years by a few features. We should record that compared with the previous years the deficit of the state budget is reached to minimum, and besides, the share of the foreign sources in deficit financing has been noticeably reduced and respectively the portion of the inner sources of deficit financing. For comparison, we should note that only seven years ago the state budget deficit was completely (100%) financed at the expenses of foreign sources, concretely at the expenses of the support of constructional reforms of the World Bank, SAC.

For the first time it is planned to reach the collection of the incomes to a very high point, 905,4bn drams, which means that already the qualified stable development budget has distinct guarantees of execution.

There are also positive results and achievements, to which my colleagues referred to in their debates of the last days in the standing committees and plenary sitting, and I don’t find it necessary to repeat them.

Now, however, I’ll mention several considerations and concerns. We believe that we would greatly help our colleagues of RA Government not only traditionally with the words of praise, but also pointing out the drawbacks and proposing on our behalf more effective solutions.

I’ll remind that after 2008 RA presidential elections the presented budget is the draft law of the first budget presented under the new leadership of RA new Government and RA National Assembly. And as the state budget presents itself a distinct mechanism of the improvement of the economic programme of the government and coalition for one year. It’s important that it would be one of the phases of the perspective programme of economic development and directly stem from the RA President’s pre-election programme, superior directions of the economic policy and main targets proclaimed by the government. In particular, in relevant sections of state budget the most important goals of turning Armenia into financial, educational, health center proclaimed by the government could be reflected more adequately.

At the same time, RA Government proclaimed to begin in 2009 the implementation of such most important programmes, as the establishment of the All-Armenian Bank, construction of Iran-Armenia railway and creation of free economic zones in Zvartnots and Gyumri airports, which was expected to see in 2009 state budget draft law. At last, it is desirable that RA Government would reflect the list of the events in the very budget draft law, which it was going to carry out in order to neutralize the negative consequences of global financial crisis on the economy of the Republic of Armenia, as well as to boost the local production, on which also during the last period serious debates were going on. I think in this respect taking into account the mentioned factors in the presented state budget draft law it was necessary to make again comparatively new estimation of incomes and expenditures.

Together with all this voluminous and serious work is done. In 2009 the execution of the state budget can play an essential role for the implementation of the government programme established by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, by which the state assumed for each member of the society guarantee of secure, dignified life and opportunity of self-expression, provision of inner and external security stipulated by law, satisfaction of minimum necessary needs of the members of the society needing social security. Moreover, it will promote the priorities proclaimed to fulfill in life: provision of stable development through national security and active economic policy, in the direction of providing formation of the management system of effective state, local self-government and private sector, establishment of corporative management culture, development of education and science, regional adequate development and social protection of Armenia’s citizens.

I consider the result of effective work of the RA National Assembly with RA government the rise of the minimum salaries and pensions. I am sure that with joint work a real estimation of minimum consumer’s basket will be made very soon, which will be taken into account while defining the minimum threshold of the salary and pensions. This, in its turn will allow implementing with practical steps The Poverty Reduction Strategic Paper.

As a result of the improvement of legislative bases and effective economic policy and competitive growth of the economy of the country we can also reach provision of prior growth of export compared with import in the foreign trade, which in its turn will result in gradual growth of the share of the direct taxes in the income part of the state budget and its superiority compared with indirect taxes. It will also provide the noticeable increase of the general volume of the tax incomes towards the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

All this will also allow  to add the volumes of financing in the spheres of health care, social security, as well as science, which is of superior importance for us.

I am sure that all the wings of the power and the political forces represented there have one goal and serve to one common thing: strengthening of country’s security and development of economy. In this aspect as President of RA National Assembly I highlight the draft law presented of RA law on 2009 State Budget, and I am sure that it will promote effective solution of the problems laid down before us, so I call on to vote for 2009 state budget draft law, approve it and continue the close cooperation of legislative and executive bodies, the positive results of which I am sure will not wait for long.”

In his concluding speech RA Prime Minister Mr Tigran Sargsyan expressed gratitude for concerned debates and ensured that the executive body had debated the MPs’ all proposals and tried to respond them. Mr Sargsyan touched upon the MPs’ concerning queries and the main provisions of the draft budget.

NA deputies adopted by voting the bills debated during the day. The parliament adopted the draft law on 2009 RA State Budget: 81 for, 5 against and 2 abstained.

Exhausting the agenda the NA extraordinary sitting completed the works.