Less optimism, election campaign approaching: Will there be an agreement on the BiH Institutions Budget for 2026?

(Patria) - The Budget of BiH institutions and international obligations for 2025 was adopted in November 2025. This year, there is no optimism regarding the Budget proposal and its adoption.

Political blockades also affect the holding of sessions, which is best seen in the number of interrupted sessions of the House of Peoples of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly.

The adoption of the Global Fiscal Framework for 2026 is still pending, as cadres from Republika Srpska do not want to sign the document that precedes the Draft Budget.

Deputy Minister of Finance and Treasury Muhamed Hasanović announced today and proposed that, due to the growth of indirect tax revenues, the budget framework for BiH institutions, which has been at the level of 1.02 billion KM for years, be increased. It should be reminded that, for example, Sarajevo Canton had a budget of 1.88 billion KM for 2025. And about 70 institutions are financed through the state budget.

Hasanović proposed an increase of the budget by 40 million KM in 2026, with a clear multi-year projection. According to his proposal, 30 million KM is planned for BHRT in 2026 as an intervention measure to stabilize the public RTV system, while 10 million KM would be directed to cultural institutions of state importance. It is already clear that this proposal will not receive support. SNSD cadres also complained last year and were against the BiH Presidency's conclusion to allocate funds for BHRT. Amidžić stated that BHRT is not a budget institution and that he cannot accept such a solution. While politics is bickering over who BHRT belongs to, the state public radio-television system is on the verge of collapse. The broadcast of the Football World Cup, in which the BiH national team is playing after 12 years, is also in question.

Given that it is an election year, and the BiH Central Election Commission will call the General Elections at the beginning of May, there is very little time left for holding sessions of both houses of the BiH Parliamentary Assembly before the summer break, and then the official election campaign (September), although it seems to never end in BiH.

The next session of the House of Representatives of the BiH PA should be held either at the end of April or the beginning of May, while the date of the new session of the House of Peoples of the BiH PA is not yet known.

The procedure for adopting the Budget will depend on the will of political actors, and most of all on SNSD, whose cadres must first vote for the Global Fiscal Framework, and then for Minister Srđan Amidžić to propose the Draft Budget to the BiH Council of Ministers, which is then sent to the BiH Presidency, which is the formal proposer of the Budget of BiH institutions and international obligations.

Although this year is challenging due to inflation and price increases, as well as the uncertainties brought by the conflict in the Middle East if a ceasefire is violated and the war continues, which has already disrupted all global trends, there will be no salary increases for employees in BiH institutions (about 23,000 employees from three state police agencies) until the Budget of institutions is adopted, regardless of the increased base in this year.

The coming months will show how much political parties feel responsible towards employees in BiH institutions, as well as the citizens of BiH from whom they will seek votes in the elections in October.