UPDATE 1-Slovak govt ties budget vote to confidence motion

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The Slovak government decided on Friday to combine a parliamentary vote on the 2008 state budget with a confidence motion in the cabinet to make sure its fiscal plan is approved.

The motion, initiated by Prime Minister Robert Fico, marked the end of a row with one of his junior coalition partners that threatened to destabilise the government at a crucial time in Slovakia's drive to join the euro currency zone in 2009.

A government statement issued after a special cabinet meeting did not comment further on the confidence motion.

Leftist leader Fico had clashed with the centrist Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) over the past week, after sacking Farm Minister Miroslav Jurena of HZDS because of a row over land transfers in an agency Jurena had supervised.

The ruling coalition appeared on the brink of collapse on Wednesday when HZDS leader Vladimir Meciar said Fico had told him he did not want to continue governing with him.

Tensions have since eased and the confidence motion was seen as a formality after Meciar said on Thursday that the coalition would stick together to approve the budget and ensure Slovakia adopted the euro as planned.

MPs were initially expected to finish debate on the budget, which cuts the public finance deficit to 2.3 percent of GDP from the 2007 ceiling of 2.9 percent, later on Friday.

But lengthy interventions and procedures linked to the confidence motion delayed the budget vote until next week.

"I expect the vote on the state budget draft could take place at 5 p.m. on Tuesday," said parliament speaker Pavol Paska after adjourning the session. (Reporting by Peter Laca; Editing by Tim Pearce)

Keywords: SLOVAKIA BUDGET/GOVERNMENT

[BRATISLAVA/Reuters/Finance.cz]