Projection for 2015: Planned Public Spending of 2,334.1 Billion KM

The Draft Budget Framework of the Federation of BiH for the period 2016 - 2018 has been prepared in accordance with the Law on Budgets of the Federation of BiH, and represents a preliminary Draft Budget of the Federation of BiH for 2016, as well as budget projections for 2017 and 2018, it was determined at today's session of the FBiH Government, reports the Patria News Agency.

This document represents the strategic basis for the annual budget preparation process, and its key goal is to place macroeconomic, fiscal, and sectoral policies at the center of the budget planning and preparation process, considering that the annual budget is one of the main instruments through which the economic and social priorities of the Government of the Federation of BiH will be realized.

The starting point for its preparation were macroeconomic projections and assumptions for the next medium-term period, as well as the priorities of the Government of the Federation of BiH adopted by the Government's Work Program for the period 2016-2018, along with fiscal policy goals.

According to this document, after a GDP decline of 0.1 percent last year, a GDP growth of 2.6 percent is projected for this year, while in the coming years, growth of 3.2 percent is expected in 2016, 3.6 percent in 2017, and 4.4 percent in 2018.

Also, in the coming years, a gradual strengthening of economic growth in the Eurozone is expected, and the expected exit of Italy and Croatia from recession, as well as faster growth in Austria, should have multiple effects on BiH as well. Total planned public spending in 2015 is 2,334.1 billion KM, including debt repayments, borrowing, and interest expenses.

This planned amount represents a growth of 3.8 percent compared to the execution of the FBiH Budget for 2014. In 2016, public spending is projected at 2,472.2 billion KM, or 12.7 percent of the GDP of the Federation of BiH. In 2017, total spending is projected at 2,463.6 billion KM, or 12.1 percent of the GDP of the Federation of BiH, while in 2018 it is projected at 2,500.8 billion KM, or 11.5 percent of the GDP of the Federation of BiH, the FBiH Government announced.