PRESS: Russia may merge Finance, Economic Development ministries

MOSCOW, Aug 31 (PRIME) – The Russian government is discussing a merger between the Finance and the Economic Development ministries so that the Finance Ministry is less “dogmatic” when planning budget investments, business daily Vedomosti reported Monday, citing several government officials.

The disputes between the two ministries are an imitation of a dialogue because protection of budget is of a higher priority than economic growth, two participants of meetings between the government and the president said.

On the other hand, a new finance minister should also bear in mind gross domestic product growth and offer strategic solutions, a source told Vedomosti.

Another Economic Development Ministry’s function is to compile macroeconomic forecasts but according to a former official of the ministry, forecast making has become less complex recently, it no longer includes data of other ministries and authorities that monitor the development of the industry, and “this function has become weaker”.

The Finance Ministry could as well order any expert center to make such forecasts, and in fact, it no longer relies on the economic ministry’s figures in budget plans, a government official told Vedomosti.

End