BH Bloc: FBiH Budget Held Hostage by SDA and HDZ

(Patria) - Following the announcement that pension and other payments from the FBiH Budget could stop from February 1st due to the House of Peoples not convening, the BH Bloc parties SDP, DF, and NS issued a joint statement:

"At the last session of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament, the BH Bloc took a firm stance that the FBiH budget should not and must not be adopted in an urgent procedure in this situation, precisely anticipating payment blockages due to the non-convening of the House of Peoples. For this reason, we proposed a conclusion to the FBiH Government on temporary financing that would enable uninterrupted pension payments, as well as benefits for the most vulnerable categories of the population. Due to the government's haste and insistence on its own interests within the budget, such as, among other things, salary increases for elected officials, we are now in a situation where payments are uncertain," the BH Bloc announced.

The reaction highlighted that, as the bloc of parties emphasized, the adoption of the budget requires the convening of joint bodies of both houses, which have not yet even been appointed.

"We are now in a situation where SDA and HDZ are holding the citizens of FBiH hostage with no indication that they are capable of resolving this crisis in the next five days."

"When making this decision, the Government and Prime Minister Novalić were aware of the consequences that such a decision would produce and are therefore most responsible for what may follow – further endangerment of the most vulnerable with catastrophic consequences," the statement emphasized.

"The current situation shows that the BH Bloc's move to propose the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament was correct and state-building. If we had left the House of Representatives without leadership, it would also be blocked today and held hostage by HDZ and SDA, just as the House of Peoples is," the BH Bloc concluded.