Berri Says Parliamentary Session to be Held in 1st Week of July
Speaker Nabih Berri said Saturday that Prime Minister Najib Miqati’s travel to Brazil and preparations for the next round of all-party talks prevented him from calling for a parliamentary session end of June.
In remarks to An Nahar newspaper, Berri said the session would be held instead in the first week of July.
Miqati travelled to Rio de Janeiro on Friday and a large ministerial delegation will meet him there next week to represent Lebanon at the U.N. sustainable development summit.
President Michel Suleiman and Lebanese leaders have also set June 25 for the next session of the national dialogue that resumed at Baabda Palace last week following a 19-month standstill.
The cabinet approved on Thursday the extra-budgetary spending bill worth $6.8 billion and referred it to parliament in the form of an urgent bill which should be studied by the parliamentary committees before being sent to the assembly.
While Berri did not reveal to An Nahar as to why he wanted to invite for a legislative session, his decision could be aimed at securing the adoption of the spending draft-law.
Meanwhile, the speaker held talks with Social Affairs Minister Wael Abou Faour in Ain el-Tineh on Friday. The meeting was aimed at reaching an agreement with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat to guarantee the success of the next national dialogue session.
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