Kosovo will enter the new year with budget constraints, with only 1/12 available

Kosovo will enter the new year with budget constraints, with only 1/12th available

The dissolution of the ninth legislature of the Assembly after the failure to form a new Government will create limitations in relation to the use of the budget from this year to the new year.

The Law on Public Finance Management sets limits on budget allocations when the country enters the new year without approving the new budget.

Article 24 specifies that in cases where there have been no parliamentary elections in the last four months, the law on budget appropriations, which was in force the previous year, will be considered. “almost” is extended to cover the first month of such fiscal year; and substantially provides an appropriation for each budget organization that is equal to 8.33% of the appropriation provided for such budget organization by the appropriations law.”

Under these circumstances, to avoid a blockade in the state’s coffers, the tenth legislature of the Assembly must approve the new budget before the end of February 2026.

Calling decision-makers irresponsible, Professor Shkumbin Misini listed a series of consequences, ranging from making the lives of citizens more difficult to the impact on investments.

“There are deadlines that contracting companies have and if payment is not made automatically, penalties will be imposed… We will have another problem after the elections, another such crisis, it will take months to reach an agreement, because we are not sure, to reach the constitution of the Assembly. Because we are used to our politicians, they are irresponsible”, said Shkumbin Misini, Professor of Economics.

Economics professor Mustafa Kadrijaj spoke about the budgetary constraints with which the new year begins.

“Here the law is not to blame, nor are the institutions that protect those principles, but this is only a political problem, that political parties have brought the situation to what it is, a situation that is not at all enviable,” said Mustafa Kadriaj, Professor of Economics.

On Thursday afternoon, President Vjosa Osmani announced that she had proposed to political parties that, before the dissolution of the Assembly, they hold a session where the issue of the budget and its extension for at least three months would be addressed.