The state budget for 2017 should not be a budget for living but such a financial document, which will enable the development of national economy and facilitate to change the situation within the country. The Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groysman stressed during a meeting with regional media titled “Budget initiatives of the Government for 2017: first honest budget of independent Ukraine" on Monday.

"Giving that the Budget was submitted on time, and there is an opportunity for a few months, as is provided for by the procedure, to hold a discussion, these are factors enabling us to consolidate efforts on the adoption of the fair budget, not the populist budget, as it’s real, which will afford us to change the situation within the country. Moreover, this Budget should not be a budget for living but it should be a budget enabling to trigger development of the national economy. Hence, it is vital for us to form our resources or our expenses directly from what we can direct to the budget", emphasized Volodymyr Groysman.

The Prime Minister noted that the Government had submitted the draft Budget for 2017 to the Parliament, in line with the procedure, on September 15. The draft document is honest, expenditures are in balance with real revenues, he said.

"We want a substantive discussion, we want place for argument, we want everyone to clearly understand what are the priorities in 2017 Budget, what tasks we have set, what challenges we are facing, what we desire to change using such a tool as public finance, public budget," he stressed.

However, the Budget was immediately criticized, added Volodymyr Groysman and urged to engage in open discussion.