The cabinet is not likely to approve a draft-law on extra-budgetary spending in 2006-2010 this week after a ministerial committee tasked with studying the issue failed to agree on the plan proposed by Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi.

The committee met under Premier Najib Miqati at the Grand Serail on Monday. But its members were incapable of overcoming their differences on the details of the spending made by the governments of ex-Premiers Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri renewed on Wednesday the March 14 camp’s commitment to the state, saying that adhering to it will resolve the country’s disputes.

He said on the seventh anniversary of the March 14 independence movement: “The supporters of this movement will not accept that the Lebanese republic fall victim to a new form of hegemony, whether it is direct or indirect.”

Premier Najib Miqati is making progress in the drafting of the plan aimed at finding a final solution to the extra-budgetary spending made by the governments of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri in 2006-2010, Economy Minister Nicolas Nahhas said.

In remarks to An Nahar daily published Tuesday, Nahhas said: “We are making progress and seeking to come up with a draft acceptable by everyone.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri noted on Monday that the latest “massacre committed by the Syrian regime” in Homs coincided with the Israeli assault on Gaza over the weekend.

He said in a statement: “The latest massacre committed by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad against innocent people not only condemns the regime, but the international community for its lack of humanity.”

Premier Najib Miqati and Change and Reform bloc MP Ibrahim Kanaan will on Monday put the final touches on a draft-law aimed at resolving the controversy on the extra-budgetary spending made in 2006-2010, the lawmaker said.

In remarks to Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5), Kanaan said there is consensus on the approval of the draft-law formulated to resolve the $11 billion spending made by the governments of ex-PMs Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri between 2006 and 2009 and the $5 billion spent by the national unity cabinet of Hariri in 2010.

Phalange party leader Amin Gemayel said Lebanon’s Christians have concerns over their existence in the region following a sharp drop in their numbers in Iraq and Syria and attacks on Copts in Egypt.

In an interview published in An Nahar daily on Sunday, Gemayel said that Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi’s concerns over the Christians in the East are not new.

Prime Minister Najib Miqati has been involved in intense discussions with his team to prepare a draft-law that will seek to legalize the 2006-2010 extra-budgetary spending that has stirred controversy and retorts between the March 8 and 14 forces.

The cabinet tasked Miqati with referring the draft-law to the government during its next session at Baabda palace next Wednesday although it wasn’t mentioned in the agenda which was distributed to ministers on Saturday.

The cabinet tasked Premier Najib Miqati on Friday with preparing a draft-law on the details of the extra-budgetary spending made by previous governments between 2006 and 2010.

Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said following the cabinet session held at Baabda palace that Miqati will refer the draft-law to the government during its next session on Wednesday.

The head of the parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee MP Ibrahim Kanaan stated on Thursday that the government and the Lebanese people will not accept a settlement over the government spending dispute.

He said after holding talks with Prime Minister Najib Miqati: “Our position is clear on any draft-law that does not respect the constitution.”

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri noted on Wednesday that the Arab Spring allows the Lebanese to “update” their democratic experience and eliminate the remnants of the sectarian wars.

He said: “Democracy protects us all and we must resort to dialogue to face intolerance.”