Komšić and Bećirović Again Refuse to Vote for Budget: Amidžić Unwavering, Wants to Settle Viaduct Debt with Central Bank of BiH Funds

(Patria) - Members of the BiH Presidency Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić did not support the Draft Law on the Budget of BiH Institutions and BiH's International Obligations for 2025 at today's session of the BiH Presidency, while Željka Cvijanović supported the draft.

Given that the BiH Presidency is the constitutional proposer that submits the Budget for adoption by the PS BiH, it is clear that the budget will not be adopted for some time yet.

The Minister of Finance and Treasury in the Council of Ministers of BiH, Srđan Amidžić, explained the most important items of this year's budget at today's session of the BiH Presidency, as well as the obligations that exist after the amendments to the Law on Salaries in BiH Institutions were adopted in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH.

"We are aware of the fact that the Trade Union expects this budget, as do numerous employees with secondary vocational education, police officers, and soldiers. The Ministry of Finance and Treasury has corrected the budget to fulfill existing financial obligations internationally, but there is clearly no political will to adopt the budget," stated Amidžić.

Although the BiH Presidency rejected the submitted draft on May 13th and tasked Amidžić to submit a corrected draft, this did not happen because the Council of Ministers of BiH did not have the new draft on its agenda.

What is contentious for Komšić and Bećirović is the proposal to pay the Viaduct debt of 117 million KM from the profits of the Central Bank of BiH, with the remainder to be distributed to the entities.

The Central Bank of BiH opposed such a proposal, which was supported by Komšić and Bećirović. The latest statement from the PIC also supports the stability of the Central Bank of BiH, which is a clear signal that another solution must be sought for the payment of the Viaduct debt.

The proposed budget for 2025 amounted to 1,570,500,000 KM for financing BiH institutions and 1,226,773,016 KM for public debt repayment.