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The Prime Minister talks about the increase to 4 billion euros and the inclusion of the 13th salary
Prime Minister Albin Kurti declared at the extraordinary session of the Parliament that the Government will present the 2026 draft budget only after presenting the government program.
He explained that the draft was approved at the end of October 2025, but the early elections interrupted the parliamentary procedure and created a new political situation.
" As provided for by the Law on Public Finance, within 2025, precisely on October 31, 2025, at the Government meeting we approved the budget for 2026, which should have been discussed and approved in November and December of the year we left behind.
But, as we know, the ninth legislature ended as it did; we had early, free, fair and democratic elections. Now we have a new government, so we will hold a new meeting of the Government in order to bring the 2026 budget to you, but it cannot remain as it is, due to the new composition of the Assembly and the new Government. The commitments we made in the last campaign are, of course, summarized in the exposition that I made on February 11, when I was re-elected Prime Minister. But, before that exposition is transformed into a new budget, the government program must come to you. So, it would be abnormal to bring a budget in accordance with the exposition without first bringing the government program. The logical order of things, from the chronology, is this: campaign commitments, the exposition of the candidate for Prime Minister, the new government program and then the budget review", he said.
Kurti stressed that the draft budget foresees nearly 4 billion euros, of which about 1 billion euros are dedicated to capital investments. He mentioned as a change the 13th payment for the public sector and the timing of its implementation.
"In this budget that we have presented, of course the headline is the figure of nearly 4 billion euros, where a quarter, or about 1 billion euros, are budgeted for capital investments. Naturally, the novelty but already announced in this budget is the 13th salary of the public sector, and this year it will not be at the end of the year, but in the spring ," Kurti underlined.
Responding to criticism that the budget represents continuity without change, he argued that economic growth of at least 4 percent constitutes sustainable development.
" We were criticized here that this is a status quo budget. I believe that I partly responded with the fact that we should bring the government program once and then review the budget. But, on the other hand, we must jointly accept that if stability was once progress, now we have stable progress. So, there is a certain qualitative transition from stability as progress to stable progress, in which case economic growth of at least 4% is of course stable. Such stable growth is not a bad status quo ," he emphasized.
The Prime Minister also reacted to claims that Kosovo's budget remains at a low level compared to other European countries, comparing the figures with the beginning of his mandate.
" It was said that this is the budget of the poorest country in Europe. The budget is close to 4 billion euros. When I took office in 2021, the budget inherited from the previous government was 2.4 billion euros, which is an increase of two-thirds. Economic growth, when we speak, is real growth and not nominal. It is growth after inflation is removed. And whoever is very worried about inflation, please support the law that will come soon on the ceiling prices for basic products. So, the growth is real. We want even more and faster, but this increase in the budget by two-thirds within five years of course means that we are Kosovo's and we are growing Kosovo, not another state. Kosovo as we found it with a budget of 2.4 billion euros in 2021, we have now brought it to 4 billion euros and I believe that it is an undeniable growth ," Kurti said.
Discussions on the draft budget are expected to continue after the presentation of the government program.
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