Kosovo risks being left without a budget for 2026
Express newspaper
03/10/2025 8:15
The political deadlock in the Assembly, in addition to plunging Kosovo into a political collapse, is also causing economic consequences. Without a legitimate government and without a constituted assembly, in addition to the economic troubles that Kosovo is continuously facing, it is at risk of entering 2026 without an approved budget. The Ministry of Finance told RTV21 that it is currently preparing the law for the 2026 budget and expects to approve it within the legal deadlines.
“The Ministry of Finance, Labor and Transfers is currently in the process of conducting budget hearings with budget organizations for the 2026 draft budget. The approval of the Budget Law is expected to take place within the deadlines set by law,” graphics from the Ministry of Finance.
The deadline for the approval of the budget for 2026 in the Kosovo government is October 31. After the approval of the budget law in the government, it is sent for a vote to the Kosovo Assembly. This law can be voted on by a simple parliamentary majority. But in the current situation when the Kosovo Assembly has not yet been constituted, it is unlikely that the budget will be approved soon!
Former Minister of Finance, Haki Shatri, says that if the budget law is not approved and if it is not sent to the Assembly for a vote, Kosovo will not be able to use a single cent from the state budget from January 1st.
“As you know, we have neither a government nor an assembly, and if this law is not approved in time after January 1, the state of Kosovo will not be able to use any payments from its budget…”, said Shatri.
IKL researcher Naim Jakaj emphasizes that the budget law must be approved by a legitimate government. He has raised the dilemma of whether a government in office has the legal right to prepare and approve the budget for 2026.
“We are at risk of not having a budget for the next fiscal year. According to the Law on Public Finance Management, such a law must be voted on by a legitimate and legal government before October 31st to be sent to the Kosovo Assembly for approval by December,” said Jakaj.
Failure to approve the budget would plunge Kosovo into its deepest financial crisis since the war, experts in economic issues estimate. According to them, Kosovo can only function with a limited budget, as it was said, “just enough to pay employees’ salaries.” But, to do so, former Finance Minister Haki Shatri says that there must be a constituted assembly in order to make legal changes, changes which, according to him, have a deadline of only the first two months of 2026.
“It will be possible, until March, to pay the workers’ salaries and nothing else, if this happens it is the destruction of the state in the name of patriotism,” said Shatri.
Due to the political blockade, the year 2025 for Kosovo is considered a wasted year in terms of its development. As a result of the blockade in the Assembly, hundreds of millions of euros from the European Union’s growth plan, intended for Kosovo, have not yet been implemented, while other countries in the region have already benefited from the first funds from this plan.