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President Vjosa Osmani will emphasize the importance of approving the Kosovo budget as well as the EU Growth Plan during upcoming talks with political parties, her media advisor, Bekim Kupina, told Radio Free Europe, after civil society in the country called on her to unite the parties to approve the new budget.
"The president will call for a political compromise, through which the interests of Kosovo and its citizens will be guaranteed, as well as the way forward for the country's advancement will be secured," Kupina said on Tuesday.
He added that Osmani "will encourage" political parties to cooperate to avoid any blockade that could negatively affect the well-being of citizens and the functioning of Kosovo's institutions.
Osmani is expected to call political parties for consultations soon, after on Sunday, the first candidate to form the new government, Albin Kurti of the Vetëvendosje Movement, failed to win the necessary votes for a third term.
Kosovo formed a new parliament months ago, but the failure last week to form a new government has increased the risk that the country will enter 2026 without a budget.
In a letter to Osman, 21 civil society organizations said that the lack of a new budget would paralyze payments for the salaries of teachers, doctors, public administration, social transfers for hundreds of thousands of Kosovo citizens, the implementation of public works, and more.
"The country's financial future and the well-being of its citizens should not be held hostage to political blockades. We believe that your experience, authority, and unifying role as president can be decisive in avoiding a crisis that would affect many families in Kosovo," the letter states.
These organizations proposed to the president, as they said, several "possible legal and feasible paths."
They demand that the incumbent Government submit the draft budget law for 2026 to the Assembly, or that the current Assembly at least vote on an extension of the current budget until the end of March 2026.
They also require ratification of the Agreement with the European Union on the Growth Plan, the Facility Agreement, and the Loan Agreement.
The Growth Plan contains a package of 6 billion euros to support the approximation of the economies of the six Western Balkan countries to European standards.
From this package, Kosovo could benefit from over 880 million euros, but the failure to ratify the agreement with the bloc has meant that it has not been able to receive a single penny of this amount yet.
But can an incumbent government draft a new budget?
Many legal experts believe that the incumbent government cannot and does not have the authority to propose a budget for approval in the country's new Parliament.
In an interview with Radio Free Europe on Monday, finance expert Haki Shatri said that only a government with full powers can take initiatives to amend the budget law, or to continue budget allocations for the first months of 2026.
"If no solution is found to operationalize one-twelfth of the budget in January, even if there is an earthquake, no one dares to undertake anything ," he said.
The former Minister of Economy and Finance added that without a new government, in January there will be no money for the army or the police.
Albert Krasniqi from the Democracy Plus organization wrote on Facebook on Tuesday that the incumbent government - elected by the previous legislature - cannot propose the draft law for the annual budget for the new legislature.
" The Assembly, which has not yet elected a new government, cannot pass laws without having its own government to implement them. The Assembly's rules of procedure provide that the draft budget be reviewed by parliamentary committees - committees that have not yet been established ," he wrote.
He said that the distinction between the Government in resignation and the Government in office should be made clear, explaining that the Government in resignation is one that, during its mandate, after the resignation or dismissal of the Prime Minister, continues to exercise its functions until the formation of a new government, while still having a functional Assembly, established committees, and Government-Assembly communication channels.
Meanwhile, according to him, the incumbent government is a government elected by the previous legislature, which has no institutional connection with the new legislature that emerged from the elections.
"Therefore, according to the Law on Government, the government in resignation can propose the budget bill, while this right is not recognized for the government in office," he added.
Gëzim Shala from the Kosovo Law Institute wrote on Facebook on Monday that the incumbent Government does not have the right to propose the budget, nor does the Assembly have the right to vote on the budget proposal of this incumbent Government.
"The government in resignation refers to a government that has been elected by a certain legislature, which continues its work until the moment of election of the new Government, and not in cases where the Government's mandate has ended. In this specific case, the incumbent Government was not elected by this legislature and does not belong to it ," he wrote./ REL
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