Čović continues to block Budget adoption: Why was the urgent session of the BiH Parliament rejected

(Patria) - The Presidency of BiH adopted the Draft Budget of BiH institutions and international obligations for 2020 on June 26, in the form it was proposed.

Thus, the Budget as prepared by the Ministry of Finance should be supported by the BiH Parliament. Given that we have been on temporary financing for half a year, it was logical to expect an urgent session of the Parliament to be convened and the Budget to be adopted. However, according to Patria's findings, HDZ BiH, led by Dragan Čović, is delaying the entire process.

Namely, at the session of the Joint Collegium of both houses of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH, Čović did not vote for an urgent session to be held, again emphasizing the issue of appointing members of the Central Election Commission.

It is also questionable whether there will be a majority to include the Budget as an agenda item at the regular session on July 7.

And time is running out. Half a year has passed without capital investments, serious investments, especially now during the fight against the coronavirus pandemic when every mark is needed, and BiH is still without a Budget.

And when the conditions for final adoption were created, Čović continued with blackmail policies.

Otherwise, the Budget amounts to around 1.8 billion KM, of which 996 million KM is for financing BiH institutions, and the rest for financing Bosnia and Herzegovina's debt.

The Presidency of BiH, in accordance with its constitutional powers, adopted the Proposal of the BiH Budget for this year in the form it was determined earlier, but significant items in the budget structure have changed.

Around 60 million KM has been secured by reducing and almost halving capital procurements, and significantly reducing travel expenses and other items.

Around 41 million KM has been secured for the remediation of the consequences of the coronavirus epidemic.