Budget cuts to affect most ministries in 2015

A draft state budget for 2015 as proposed by the Czech Finance Ministry expects that most government ministries will be affected by budget cuts next year. The Ministry of Agriculture is expected to lose around 6.8 billion crowns, the Interior Ministry around 3.5 billion while the Ministry of Transport is to lose some 2.5 billion. The draft budget however also proposes to up funds for several ministries; the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs should see its budget increase by 18 billion. The Foreign Affairs Ministry’s budget is to shrink by around 53 million which should mostly affect consular services and economic diplomacy, the news agency ČTK reported citing ministry sources. Overall, the budget’s expenses should rise by 15 billion to around 1.126 trillion crowns, with a deficit of around 100 billion. The draft budget is yet to be discussed by the government.