Coronervirus' Pandemo reached Kosovo budget

The incumbent Kosovo government is even negotiating agreements with several international financial institutions for borrowing, which will be used to cover losses from the pandemic COVID-19.

But the problem remains to ratify these agreements in the Kosovo Assembly, following the successful vote on no-confidence motion against the government. The government is the main sponsor of laws that are adopted in the assembly.

Acting Minister of Finance and Transfers Besnik Bislimi, at the government's meeting Wednesday, has said they are working to have additional revenues in the budget to cope with the crisis. So far, according to him, they have negotiated with various international financial institutions for loans worth over 300m euros.

That value, according to him, will be enough to cover the tax gap and the cost of the 180m-euro Paco Emergency Emergency, which has already begun to apply, but also the package that is in preparation for economic recovery.

The “simply needs the functioning of the Kosovo Assembly in order to pass the same approval procedures in parliament”, Bislimi has said.

Ismet Krasniqi, secretary-general in the Kosovo Assembly, says the provisions of the Constitution and the Parliament's Rule remain silent about the government's competencies in resignations to propose bills.

“So far, we have no practice for proceeding bills from the government in resignations”, Krasniqi told Radio Free Europe.

Krasniqi has even indicated that groups of MPs can submit bills, but there is no practice that can be processed.

“They can surrender, but there is no prosecution, because the leadership of the assembly must decide for further steps. We as administration can accept, but accession is half if you don't go further from”, he added.

According to the Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, Kosovo's Assembly with the votes of two-thirds of all MPs ratified international agreements, including taking over financial obligations on the part of the Republic of Kosovo.

Representatives of civil society in Kosovo consider that in the current situation, it is a problem for the bills to hand over to the assembly a government in office.

Analyst Eugen Cakoli, from the Kosovo Democratic Institute, the institute that monitors the work of the highest lawmaker institution, says that legitimately it is fully understandable that a government that has lost the assembly's trust will enter contractual relations on behalf of the Republic of Kosovo.

There are two ways of interpreting this. On one side is that the government is not right. And on the other hand is interpretation that as long as the government is on duty and no other government is elected, it is right. And that's why this case has to be fixed by the Constitutional Court so that we don't have the same situation”, Calcoli says.

The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) on Tuesday has approved a loan for Kosovo, worth 35m euros. The International Monetary Fund in April has also approved a loan worth 52m euros.

In addition, incumbent Deputy Minister of Finance and Transfers Agim Krasniqi has told Radio Free Europe that Kosovo is in negotiations with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for a 25m-euro loan.

A 100m-euro loan has also been pledged by the European Commission. The incumbent Kosovo government has approved 8 May initiative to sign agreements with the World Bank on loans worth $48m.

He has said that all loans Kosovo receives will be part of a consolidation fund used to cover the already approved measures by the incumbent government to strengthen the health system in the fight against corruption.

A final epilogue, Cakoli says, depends on the Constitutional Court, which is expected to decide on the subject addressed by the Vetevendosje Movement in connection with the Kosovo president's decree of forming the government.

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The Kosovo Assembly on 25 March brought down the government of incumbent Prime Minister Albin Kurti through a motion submitted by the Democratic League of Kosovo.

Following the collapse of the government, Kurti, Kosovo President Hashim Thaci has decreed, Avdullah Hotin, by the Democratic League of Kosovo as mandated to form the new government.

But the VV has sent the case to the Constitutional Court, which suspended the implementation of the president's decree until 29 May.