Budget for 2025, proposed by the BiH Presidency, will not be adopted on Wednesday; HDZ and SNSD demand 'corrections'

(Patria) - Presidents of SNSD and HDZ BiH, Milorad Dodik and Dragan Čović, clearly emphasized today that there is no support for the proposed Budget of institutions and international obligations that came from the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Both Dodik and Čović agree that a new budget is needed and that work is being done on budget corrections for it to be adopted.

"I think the approaches are wrong when it comes to the Presidency's decisions, and they have led us to a point where we will have to sit down and agree on budget corrections to finally adopt it," Čović said.

The session of the House of Representatives of the BiH Parliament is scheduled for October 15, and the proposed Budget is also on the agenda. At the previous session, the House voted not to consider the Budget because there was no authorized proposer to present it. No one from the Presidency of BiH or the Ministry of Finance and Treasury of BiH appeared at the session.

Dodik has moved the deadline for budget adoption to the end of the year, and pressure is mounting from trade unions demanding urgent budget adoption. The salaries of around 22,000 employees could not increase in 2025, regardless of the increase in the base salary, because there is no Budget. Temporary financing is in effect.

"We have nothing against adopting the budget within the Global Financial Framework proposed for this year by the Council of Ministers; we cannot accept unconstitutional norms in the Budget, such as including new institutions that are not foreseen for financing at the BiH level and in accordance with the Constitution," Dodik said at today's press conference.

The proposal for the Budget of BiH institutions and international obligations for 2025 was adopted by the votes of Denis Bećirović and Željko Komšić, while Željka Cvijanović voted against.

The Budget proposal includes funds for BHRT (22 million KM) and for seven cultural institutions of state importance (11 million KM), which is unacceptable to both SNSD and HDZ.