PODGORICA, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Montenegro's parliament passed the 2009 budget of 1.62 billion euros on Saturday, assuming the economy would grow by 5 percent -- double the IMF forecast.
Backed by 42 deputies in the 81-seat parliament, the balanced budget includes 230 million euros worth of investment in infrastructure to bolster economic activity and avoid job losses.
Opposition parties have slammed the government for boosting spending by 15 percent, with some warning that the budget relies on uncertain revenues for the year when the global financial crisis is expected to tip the developed world into recession.
Public spending will account for 49 percent of GDP.
The cabinet of Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic based the budget on an expected 5 percent GDP growth. A best-case scenario sees growth at 7 percent and at 2.5 percent in the worst-case scenario, Finance Minister Igor Luksic told parliament this week.
The IMF said this month it expected Montenegro's economy to grow only 2 percent in 2009 and 2010 -- far below the rate of recent years.
Luksic told parliament on Friday that such a scenario would force Montenegro to seek IMF assistance to overcome the crisis, while lower growth rates could result in a fiscal gap, estimated at 1.84 percent of GDP in 2008.
The former Yugoslav republic of 650,000 people, which ended its loose union with Serbia in 2006 and has since enjoyed strong growth, mainly driven by tourism, has grown heavily reliant on external financing and its economy could suffer from the global financial crisis. (Reporting by Dusko Mihailovic, Editing by Gordana Filipovic and Alison Williams)