Turkish Parliament approves war budget for 2018
Discussions for Turkey’s 2018 budget have ended in the Parliament after 12 days.
Discussions for Turkey’s 2018 budget in the Parliament that started on 11 December have ended on Friday after talks on the entire budget.
The budget for war and profiteering, prepared by the Turkish government and discussed in the Planning and Budget Commission, has been approved with 305 votes following the sessions in the Parliament’s General Assembly.
In Turkey’s 2017 budget, expenditure was foreseen as 645,1 billion Liras while this number has been increased to 762,8 billion Liras. The revenue in 2017 was 598,3 billion Liras, and has been increased to 696,8 billion Liras. The deficit in 2017 was 46,9 billion Liras and is foreseen as 66 billion Liras for 2018.
The starting budget of defense and security institutions is set at 92.718.151.000 Liras. This starting budget was 64.306.050.000 Liras in 2017.
In just one year, 9 security and defense institutions saw an increase of 41% in their budgets and will receive 28 billion 412 million 101 thousand Liras more in their total budget. These are starting budgets and it is possible to allocate more funds throughout the year. Apart from these, there are the grants transferred into Defense Industry funds that are not listed in the budget and are not subject to Supreme Court of Accounts control.
The budget the Turkish government prepared and sent to the Parliament’s General Assembly clearly shows that Turkey is preparing for new wars in 2018 and there will be an increase in conflicts. The Budget Act points out that the weapons and investment the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Command requires will be considered together with the Defense Industry Support Fund resources and the Defense Industry Executive Committee will be determining the amounts.
The 2018 budget saw a 41% increase in the defense budget, and the Youth and Sports Ministry will receive a 22% increase, while the Ministry of Health and all relevant institutions will receive an increase of 12%. The Ministry of Education’s budget is increasing by 9%, while the Religious Affairs Directorate’s budget is increasing by 12%.
