The Council of Ministers on Tuesday convened in session under the chairmanship of Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, at the Grand Serail.

In the wake of the session, Minister of Education and Acting Minister of Information, Judge Abbas Halabi, said that some ministers requested increasing allocations for their ministries and for the Lebanese University.

“For his part, the Prime Minister affirmed that this matter had been discussed with the Minister of Finance, and that any increase in allocations would create an additional budget deficit,” Halabi said, adding that the matter will be further discussed in a special session to be held at Baabda Palace on Thursday at 2:00 pm.

In today’s session, the council began studying the 76 items on its agenda and approved most of them.

Within this framework, the cabinet has disapproved a law proposal aimed at repealing Law No. 359 of August 16, 2001, on the amendment of the Criminal Procedure Code and its reinstatement a per Law No. 328 of August 2, 2001, with regard to the powers of the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation.

Moreover, the cabinet has approved a proposal to form a ministerial committee to assess the situation of Beirut Ports Wheat silos, which are currently under risk of collapsing. This committee is expected to submit its report within a deadline no later than the end of February.

As for the impending electricity dossier, Minister Halabi said: “After approving the state budget, the issue of electricity will be raised among other topics.”