Budget disapproval could lead state to financial collapse

A March is the deadline when the budget should be approved for 2020. On the contrary, economic experts say Kosovo could collapse financially. They consider that the current Assembly should allow the government in its resignation to use 1st of the 2019 budget after 1 March and see legal opportunities if this government has the right to propose a draft budget for 2020.

Acting Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj has stressed that without the 2020 budget approval, the state can bankroll, since the use of the preliminary year budget can only take place until March. Economic experts say the same. According to them, unless the budget is approved or institutions are formed by March 1st of this year, Kosovo risks financially collapse. Experts, however, give ideas to get out of this situation. Naim Gashi, economics expert, told Radio Kosovo there are two possibilities for adopting the country's 2020 budget.

The first “is the possibility of the current Parliament adopting a decision that allows the government in resignation to use 1st of the 2019 budget, even after March 1st. The second possibility is to see legal opportunities if the government in the resignation has the right to propose a draft budget for 2020 and adopt that draft”, Gashi said.

Meanwhile, the other economy expert, Skender Krasniqi, told Kosovo Radio that the country risks going to extraordinary elections, and that, according to him, would make budget approval difficult this year because parliamentary commissions have not yet been formed.

The Parliamentary Commissions must be established very soon and then the government will send a budget plan to Parliament. Afterwards, Parliament will vote on that plan so that we can go to new elections. The other variables do not and it is difficult”, Krasniqi said.

On the other hand, Finance Ministry spokesman Muharrem Sahini, in a written response, said that in line with last year's Public Finance Management and Responsibilities Act, in case it does not approve of the Budget Law -- only the Kosovo Parliament by a decision -- could authorise the extension of last year's Law on Business Relations and not more than 3 months. However, if general parliamentary elections have been held in the period of less than four months before the start of the current fiscal year, the budgetary divisions of the previous year are extended to cover only the first two months of the following fiscal year, which are equal to 16.67% of budgetary division provided for budgetary organisations from the Law of Budgetary Divisions.

If the extension of the first two months or according to a decision by the Parliament for three months has expired, and the new Law on Business Divisions has not been adopted, then no budgetary organisation or other public authority can authorize any spending or payment until the new Law on Business Divisions is adopted, except to pay for public debt laundering, when those payments are matured.

Under Kosovo laws,1/12 of the preliminary budget is activated with automatism for the month and February, meanwhile, for March, if the 2020 budget is not voted, then the Kosovo Parliament may be required to continue its preliminary budget for the third month. In April the blockade follows unless the 2020 budget is voted in.