IMF in town to talk budgets

An International Monetary Fund mission staying in Estonia on Aug. 5-9 will focus on the drafting of a second supplementary budget for this year and the 2003 state budget, as well as on the latest economic policy developments.

Spokespeople for the Finance Ministry said the IMF mission is in Estonia for yearly consultations in the course of which mostly issues related to the next year's state budget and a planned second supplementary budget will be discussed.

The group includes the head of the IMF delegation to Estonia, Richard Haas, and economic analysts Alfred Schipke and Robert Burgess.

A representative of the central bank said the mission was to meet with the vice presidents of the bank to talk about the latest developments in Estonian economic policies. The IMF mission is also scheduled to meet with Finance Minister Harri Ounapuu and several top officials of his ministry.

IMF officials were to meet with private sector leaders and Prime Minister Siim Kallas.

Earlier this year, senior IMF executive John Odling-Smee said Estonia should avoid a second supplementary budget.

The government looks nevertheless set to draw up a second supplementary budget for the current year and several proposals on how to use the bigger than anticipated revenues have been made.