Verkhovna Rada adopts state budget for 2016

The Verkhovna Rada has adopted the state budget for 2016 with a deficit of 3.7% of GDP, which meets the requirements of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

263 parliamentarians voted in favor of the budget. The parliament needed 226 votes to pass the bill in the first reading. The document still has to be signed by the President Poroshenko.

The adoption of the budget was one of the main conditions for the release of a $1.7-billion loan from the IMF to Ukraine.