1 / 10

On June 10 the National Assembly continued the work of the four-day sittings by passing in the second reading the bill “On Amending the RA Law on Referendum.”

The deputies resumed debating the annual report “On the RA State Budget Execution for 2014.”

The NA Speaker Galust Sahakyan delivered an extraordinary speech. According to the NA Speaker, the debate of the annual report of the state budget execution is a good opportunity for summing up the works done during the financial year and forming an objective assessment. Thus, it is not accidental that the debate of such reports goes on rather actively. According to the Speaker of the Parliament, it is much more important to record the tendencies and regularities, which have been formed in 2014 and can have their impact on the state budget execution of the current year. In Galust Sahakyan’s word, the financial year was rather special and essentially differed from a number of circumstances of the previous year. They are the preparation for the accession to the EEU, including the compliance with the legislative field, the tangible rise of the salaries and pensions of the employees of the state sector form the half of the year, the implementation of a number of social programmes, the increase of the tension in the international relations and the reduction of the private transfer flows to Armenia as a result of economic sanctions towards Russia, Armenia’s strategic and trade-economic partner country, the intensification of provocations being implemented by the Azerbaijani forces in the borderline regions of Armenia and Artsakh, the fall of the level of purchasing power of a major part of the population as a consequence of abrupt devaluation conditioned by the external factors of the national currency at the end of the year, etc. The Head of the Parliament has noted that in such conditions much more efforts have been required for the execution of the state budget, which has not only been executed, but considerable preconditions have been created for providing progress during the current year and mitigating the formed negative tendencies.

Summing up his speech Galust Sahakyan has underlined that they managed to withstand the challenges the country faces and provide sufficient guarantees for the solution of the existing problems. He urged his counterparts to approve the report “On the RA State Budget Execution for 2014” and support the government in the implementation of the programmes.

The RA Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms Vache Gabrielyan also took the floor.

Tevan Poghosyan presented the endorsement of the NA Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs on the report.

The parliamentary factions introduced their positions on the annual report “On the RA State Budget Execution for 2014.”

The Head of the Rule of Law Faction Heghine Bisharyan informed that the Faction would vote against the annual report due to several reasons.

Artsvik Minasyan informed that the ARF Faction would vote against the annual report “On the RA State Budget Execution for 2014.”

The Head of the ANC Faction Levon Zurabyan presented the negative position of the Faction on the annual report of the state budget.

The member of the PAP Faction Stepan Margaryan noted that the Faction would vote abstained.

The Head of RPA Faction Vahram Baghdasaryan stated that the RPA would vote for the draft of the state budget execution.

Summing up the report the RA Minister of Finance Gagik Khachatryan stated that all the negative tendencies of the economy for 2014 had been conditioned by external, as well as internal factors.

Afterwards the deputies in the second reading debated the draft package “On the Status of the Military Units and Military Institutions” and “On Amending the RA Law on Education,” the draft law “On Amending the RA Law on Approving the Statute of the Internal Service of the RA Armed Forces.”

The key speaker Edmon Marukyan submitted for the deputies’ consideration the draft law “On Making an Amendment to the RA Law on Social Security of Servicemen and Their Family Members” authored by him and Arpine Hovhannisyan.

The debate of the issue will continue at June 11 sitting.

At the last sitting, according to the NA Rules of Procedure, the members of the RA Government answered the deputies’ questions.