Budget for 2017 Adopted, HJPC Report Rejected

The session of the House of Representatives of the BiH PA in Sarajevo has concluded, with 73 audit reports for institutions postponed to the next session on December 14, writes Patria.

The representatives supported the Bill on the Budget of BiH Institutions and BiH International Obligations for 2017 in the first reading.

The budget amounts to 950 million KM and is in line with the global fiscal framework for 2017-2019.

In addition to the functioning of state institutions, capital expenditures include the allocation of funds for the permanent resolution of accommodation for state institutions in order to reduce rental costs.

Funds for all these facilities will be secured from the clearing debt of the Russian Federation in the amount of approximately 22 million KM, and partial financing of the Bratunac-Ljubovija border crossing construction project is planned from these funds.

The total external debt for 2017 is slightly over a billion, which is about 240 million KM more compared to this year. Of this amount, the obligations of the Federation of BiH are 650 million KM, Republika Srpska 350 million, Brčko District of BiH 6.2 million, and BiH 5.5 million KM.

The Bill on Amendments to the Law on Road Traffic Safety was also adopted in the second reading. Staša Košarac's 12 amendments were not adopted.

The report on the work of the HJPC for 2015, defended by Milan Tegeltija, President of the HJPC, was not acknowledged.

The parliamentary initiative of Denis Bećirović was adopted, which states: "The Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina is tasked with preparing and submitting to the parliamentary procedure, no later than 90 days from the date of adoption of this initiative in the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Bill on Amendments to the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina that ensures the full and consistent implementation of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Sejdić and Finci v. Bosnia and Herzegovina."