MONEY NEEDED FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS RS Cadres Blocking Budget Creation for 2022

SARAJevo, (Patria) – The Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BiH cannot complete all necessary activities in creating the budget for 2022 because the Fiscal Council has not yet adopted the Global Fiscal Framework, followed by the adoption of the Budget Framework Document for the three-year period, it was confirmed today by the Ministry of Finance and Treasury for the Patria News Agency.

The last Global Fiscal Framework was adopted by the Fiscal Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina at the end of December 2019 for the period 2020-2022.

The Fiscal Council was supposed to adopt the new three-year framework 2022-2024 by the end of 2021. Instead of adopting the Budget of BiH Institutions and international obligations, BiH has been on temporary financing for the entire year 2021 and entered 2022 in this manner. The last state budget, the one for 2020, was adopted in July of that year.

Time is running out to pass this year's budget, which also includes funds for holding the General Elections, and the funds should be operational for the Central Election Commission no later than 15 days after the elections are called, which is expected on May 4.

“If the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not adopt the Budget Law before the beginning of the fiscal year, financing will be temporary until that law comes into force. Temporary financing, for the purpose of carrying out activities legally determined by budget users, is carried out in the amount of up to one quarter of the budget for financing the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in accordance with the last law on the budget of the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and international obligations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, on which the Council of Ministers of BiH makes a special decision,” the law states.

The adoption of the Global Fiscal Framework is being hindered by cadres from Republika Srpska, who, after starting the blockade of state institutions at the end of July 2021, primarily the BiH Presidency, the BiH Council of Ministers, and the BiH Parliamentary Assembly, in whose work cadres from RS do not participate or refuse to vote on decisions. The same applies to commissions and the Fiscal Council, thus blocking the normal functioning of the state and its institutions.

Failure to adopt the budget for 2022 will jeopardize the holding of the General Elections, and as things stand, it seems that this is the ultimate goal of SNSD, supported by HDZ.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury of Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently blocked in creating the budget for 2022, although according to the Law on Financing of BiH Institutions, the deadline for adopting the budget for the next year is December 31. In the last few years, these deadlines have not been met. The budget for 2018 was adopted in January of that year, and the budget for 2019 at the very end of the same year. The budget for 2020, which is the last state budget, was adopted in July 2020.

The Ministry of Finance and Treasury is obliged to submit the Budget Framework Document to the Council of Ministers for adoption.

“After the Fiscal Council adopts this document for the period 2022-2024, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury will prepare the Draft Budget Framework Document of BiH Institutions for the period 2022-2024 and submit it to the BiH Council of Ministers. After the BiH Council of Ministers adopts the Budget Framework Document, the Ministry of Finance and Treasury will prepare the Draft Law on the Budget of BiH Institutions and International Obligations of BiH for 2022 and submit it to the BiH Council of Ministers for further procedure,” stated the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BiH at the end of 2021.

The Fiscal Council consists of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of BiH Zoran Tegeltija, the Minister of Finance and Treasury of BiH Vjekoslav Bevanda, the Prime Ministers of the Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska Fadil Novalić and Radovan Višković, the Minister of Finance of RS Zora Vidović, the Minister of Finance of FBiH Jelka Milićević, who have voting rights, and two members without voting rights.