The Ukrainian parliament has failed to approve the draft budget for next year.

The Communists and their allies voted against the proposed deficit of one percent of the gross domestic product, saying that it differed from the proposals they approved on first reading.

But the finance minister, Ihor Mitiukov, said Ukraine could not count on revenues and expenditures as high as the parliament wanted, as the economy was expected to continue slowing down and debt obligations were mounting.

The budget will be debated again next week.

Correspondents say that Ukraine has consistently failed to implement reforms, bringing on continuous economic decline.