VOL. XLVI

No 8

24-February-2003

LEBANON

Lebanese Parliament Approves Austerity Budget

The Lebanese Parliament on 28 January approved the countrys budget law for 2003 with a deficit of LL2,125bn ($1.410bn), 45.2% less than the 2002 budget deficit of LL3,875bn ($2.571bn). The 2003 deficit represents 24.7% of total expenditure, down from 41.3% in the budget law for 2002. The actual budget deficit for 2002 at 42.3% - down from 47.7% in 2001 - came very close to the projected deficit in the 2002...