The draft budget for 2010 does not stipulate sufficient measures which would guarantee environmental sustainability, a statement by the environmental ombudsman released on Tuesday said.
Sandor Fulop had already urged the government to design next year’s budget with environmental, social and economic sustainability in mind, the statement said.
The ombudsman finds it crucial that the government, whatever its political colours, should take into consideration sustainability while drafting a next year’s budget because the budget sets the framework for all state and economic activities that have an impact on the environment, the document said.
Fulop has already put forward a number of proposals which have been disregarded, the statement said. These included cutting central funding for environmentally hazardous economic operations and lowering taxes on environmentally friendly products while increasing funding for environmentally focused R and D.
Fulop asked parliament to discuss his statement to the budget before he submits his annual report to the house.