CHISINAU -- Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat says his government will be forced to resign if the ruling coalition does not adopt new budgetary laws by the end of the month, RFE/RL's Moldovan Service reports.
The three parties of the pro-Western Alliance for European Integration led by Filat's Liberal Democrats have been arguing over greater powers requested by the government to disburse money, as well as a new fiscal regulation that would combat tax evasion.
The second-largest coalition partner, the Democratic Party of parliament speaker and acting President Marian Lupu, blocked the budget laws on March 23 in a key parliamentary committee.
The Democrats are opposed to the new fiscal regulations -- which were agreed to by the government with the International Monetary Fund in the winter.
Filat told RFE/RL on March 23 that any further delay in passage of the budgetary laws will block a new credit tranche of $77 million expected to be approved by the International Monetary Fund's board on April 8.
The vote for the new budget has already been delayed for months by the early parliamentary elections held in November.
Filat told RFE/RL that "if the budget is not backed by the parliament this means that my government does not have political support and has to resign."
But many analysts doubt that will occur.
Corneliu Gurin from the Association for Participatory Democracy, says similar debates took place among the coalition members during the drafting of the budget law.
"They will argue for a while in the parliament, but will eventually adopt the laws," he says.
The three parties of the pro-Western Alliance for European Integration led by Filat's Liberal Democrats have been arguing over greater powers requested by the government to disburse money, as well as a new fiscal regulation that would combat tax evasion.
The second-largest coalition partner, the Democratic Party of parliament speaker and acting President Marian Lupu, blocked the budget laws on March 23 in a key parliamentary committee.
The Democrats are opposed to the new fiscal regulations -- which were agreed to by the government with the International Monetary Fund in the winter.
Filat told RFE/RL on March 23 that any further delay in passage of the budgetary laws will block a new credit tranche of $77 million expected to be approved by the International Monetary Fund's board on April 8.
The vote for the new budget has already been delayed for months by the early parliamentary elections held in November.
Filat told RFE/RL that "if the budget is not backed by the parliament this means that my government does not have political support and has to resign."
But many analysts doubt that will occur.
Corneliu Gurin from the Association for Participatory Democracy, says similar debates took place among the coalition members during the drafting of the budget law.
"They will argue for a while in the parliament, but will eventually adopt the laws," he says.
