Prague  - The Czech parliament's upper house on Monday passed an austerity package aimed at narrowing the Czech Republic's budget gap in 2010.

The package - already approved by the lower house in what was seen as an endorsement of Prime Minister Jan Fischer's caretaker government - allowed the cabinet to draft a belt-tightening budget for next year that takes account of the effects of the global economic crisis.

The government's draft budget aims to squeeze the deficit to 162.7 billion koruna (9.3 billion dollars), or 5.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). Without the cuts, the deficit would be 230 billion koruna, or 7.4 per cent of GDP.

Under European Union rules, member states that aim to adopt the euro must keep their budget gaps under 3 per cent of GDP.

The 81-seat Senate cleared the measures - a mixture of tax hikes and spending cuts - in a 61-4 vote. Thirteen senators were absent and three abstained from the vote. The package also requires presidential approval. dpa