The 2021 budget is expected to be 2.4 billion euros

The budget for 2021 is expected to be 2.4 billion euros, or 200m euros lower, compared to this current year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Deputy Finance Minister Agim Krasniqi in an interview for Kosovo Press said they are in the final phase of 2021 budget preparation, as they are obliged by the end of this month to hand over the draft budget to the Assembly for approval.

Krasniqi has said how the result of the failure to adopt the draft economic recovery bill is not ruled out by the possibility of reducing salaries in the public sector, as well as reducing investment spending.

For 2021, given our internal and external resources, we are still in the final phase of the discussions, but the budget will be somewhere around 2.4 billion euros, which is down by this year (2020), which is 2 billion and 600 million. And so does this share of debt growth and a 6.5 deficit where we have to go back within three years to two percent... It's going to be smaller budgets also because of pandemic, but really if we compare the 2020 budget to 2021 inflows, we're going to go back to economic growth, but not that way to reach the 2020 limit, because we've used the balance of banking, the fiscal order to increase the budget deficit. So these are the instruments that also dictate the size of budget expenditures”, Krasniqi says.

Deputy Prime Minister Krasniqi has also asked the Parliament to approve the Bill on Economic Recovery, and the moment first reading is adopted then there is the possibility of changes made before being submitted for a second reading vote.

However to save the private sector, Krasniqi has another idea, which does not rule out the possibility of reducing salaries in the public sector.

We must now decide whether to reduce spending in investments, reduce subsidies, which are not all legal obligations. Should we reduce subsidies and grants in agriculture, reduce public investment, or reduce wages? Therefore, there is no exception in these reports, I am also saying wages, for reasons that if we reduce investment, we will reduce the likelihood of economic growth, which affects the private sector altogether. I understand from once on the private sector when they say you are not affected by pandemic, because they're right. Therefore, it is better to intervene” quickly, Krasniqi says.

For the Government's recent decision to allocate 87m euros for economic recovery, the deputy minister has said that next week the execution of means for private businesses starts in the amount of 60m euros and 12m euros for agriculture.

“87m euros that have been split with the last decision and all means that have been available so far for economic recovery that are not affected by the draft law sent to the Assembly... What's important is that if you don't pass the Economic Recovery Bill will lack 100m euros in AKP tools, these tools to help mainly the private sector... They can be executed immediately next week”, he said.

Krasniqi has also commented on the PDK's proposal for compensation of 10 per cent of the Trust. He says it would be inequalities for citizens, since this government had proposed from the start of the projecting of the economic recovery plan.