KIEV, August 21 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's parliament rejected on Friday the president's veto on plans to allocate $1.25 billion from the state budget to build facilities for the Euro-2012 soccer championship.
President Viktor Yushchenko earlier refused to approve the funds, expressing concern that they could be misused, and contribute to inflation.
Ukraine's readiness for the 2012 tournament, which it is to share with Poland, has been a constant source of concern for UEFA, which has only confirmed that games will be played in the capital, Kiev. Poland's preparations have been approved by European football's governing body.
In Friday's vote, 384 of 409 lawmakers present voted to reject the president's veto. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, engaged in a long-running power struggle with the president, had pledged to ensure the funds, to be paid by the National Bank of Ukraine, would be approved.
Yushchenko earlier said that if parliament were to reject his veto, he would challenge the decision in the Constitutional Court.
Ukraine and Poland were named as joint hosts for the tournament in April 2007. All four Polish cities put forward for the tournament - Warsaw, Poznan, Wroclaw and Gdansk - have been confirmed by UEFA as venues.
