Report: Ten Ministers Mull Suspending Participation in Cabinet over Budget

Some cabinet ministers have threatened to suspend their participation in the cabinet meetings if Lebanon's state budget was not included on the agenda for discussion and approval “as soon as possible,” al-Mustaqbal daily reported on Friday.

“Ten ministers have formed a ministerial lobby and have met more than once and decided to suspend their participation in the cabinet meetings,” said the daily.

They threatened to boycott the meetings if efforts failed to include the state budget on the agenda, added the newspaper.

Due to conflicts between the rival political parties, Lebanon has not approved a state budget since 2005 and its public debt has amounted to around $70 billion.

On Monday, the cabinet convened in a special session and tackled the need to approve a state budget in light of a worsening financial and economic situation in the country, in light of reports doubting that an agreement among political parties might lead to that.

Unnamed sources have said that the political circumstances will not help finalize the state's financial plan and that it is linked to the controversial file of Lebanon's offshore oil and gas wealth which is anticipated to reduce the country's accumulating public debt.

The cabinet convened on Monday and tackled the need to stipulate a state budget in light of a worsening financial and economic situation in the country.