New government still in the phase of 2020 draft preparation

Free Europe Radio has attempted to contact Kosovo's new government officials, but has failed to get any progress on the issue.

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in the interview given to Radio Free Europe, had said that during this week the focus will be focused on the 2020 budget bill, along with other issues, such as the government's work plan, the government programme and the selection of ministries under the ruling coalition agreement, which reduces the number of ministries, from 21 to 15.

Kurti, during the presentation of the governing programme at the Kosovo Assembly on 3 February, has pledged that the budget of the Republic of Kosovo will reach 3 billion euros during the government mandate.

Kurti has promised that his government will be a government of economic development and employment.

The Republic of Kosovo's “Budget will reach 3 billion euros during our government mandate, advance increasing the value of the economy and maintaining public spending participation in Bruto Internal Product”, Kurti had promised.

As long as the government is not ready with the 2020 draft board, the assembly also remains to approve on Thursday parliamentary commissions that are necessary to proceed with decisions. The next assembly session, where these commissions are expected to be approved, is announced to be held Thursday.

With legal authorisations, the Ministry of Finance in the past government had extended budgetary divisions and access to means for budget organisations for the first two months of 2020.

For March, however, only the assembly could decide on the continuation of this decision or extended budgetary divisions. This is the final time allowed for budget spending, and there is no other legal instrument for budget cuts to be extended more than three months, so no later than March 31, 2020.

The outgoing government of Kosovo has spent over 6m euros, which were in the country's reserve fund.

After that date, Kosovo enters into a budgetary crisis, as no budgetary organisation or other public authority can authorize any spending or payment until the new Law for budgetary divisions is adopted.

Former Finance Minister in the past government Lulzim Rafuna tells Radio Free Europe that the previous government had designed the budget for 2020 professionally. According to him, in the situation in which the country is located, it would be good for the new government to proceed to the convent that draft budget, as it says, is a budget that affects economic development and improves the quality of citizens' lives.

The “Budget, which has been prepared by the Ministry of Finance in the past government, has been a budget that has focused on Kosovo's citizen, focused on the country's economic development by not excluding health, education and the area of rule of law. It has been a budget prepared for 2.4 billion euros -- a budget that has been larger than 2019 -- a budget that has not anticipated the rise of existing taxes and the introduction of a new tax”, he says.

Highway Cancelation, Opposition Reactions

The decisions of the past government, including budgetary frameworks, are not being taken into account by the new government. An example proving that Kurti Government has plans unlike that of Haradinaj is the review and annulment of some of the capital decisions and projects that the former Kosovo government had made.

Infrastructure and Environment Minister Lumir Abdixhiku has cancelled a tender for a project of the past government. He has made the decision to cancel the 110m-euro tender for the construction of 24km Banula-The White Land highway.

Also, the new government does not support the highway project linking the cities of Istog Paje Decani deakakova and Prizren, or how the former government is known.

Infrastructure and Environment Minister Lumir Abdixhiku has said government priorities are for any highway in the country to be built on foreign loans.

We have other plans for Dukagjin, instead of building such a highway we have seen the expansion of the current route, and the means in question to access other infrastructure projects”, Abdixhiku said.

The Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, at a conference held Tuesday, has rejected the decisions of Minister Abdixhiku. Gazmend Abashi from AAK, has said that there are many arguments that will also present in the Kosovo Assembly that “The Dukagjin” must continue to be implemented as a project.

“The Dukagjin Autostrada must continue to apply as the project is originally. Some 630 thousand Kosovo citizens live in the area where construction of the Dukagjini Auttostrada is preceded, and we have no reason to believe that these citizens will be separated from other” projects, Abrashi said.

Kosovo's 2020 budget, according to the government last year, is meant to be around 2.4 billion euros or 1m euros more than the 2019 budget.