Antti Pentikäinen of FinnChurchAid was quoted as saying by Conservative party organ Verkkouutiset on Saturday that the finance ministry was quietly drafting considerable cuts in aid spending.

"The scale of the cuts is much greater than anything that has been spoken about in public in any other field," Pentikäinen was quoted as saying.

Pentikäinen added that the ministry had kept quiet about the matter because politicians did not want to see a public debate about aid in the run-up to next year's election.

STT