The Committee on Economy, Finance and Budget adopted the Budget Proposal for this year with a decision on borrowing in the continuation of today's session, which began in December last year.
The members of the opposition did not attend the session.
The plenary session on the most important economic act is scheduled for tomorrow, it was not held twice before because the opposition did not allow it due to the constitutional crisis, so the state entered the New Year with temporary funding.
Zdenka Popović (Democrats) said that it would be disastrous in economic terms if the state budget was not adopted.
"If the temporary financing is short-lived, it cannot be a problem and if we have money in deposits for regular financing of all expenses. This situation is not comparable to 2021 because then we had money from bonds of 700 million euros, and now that is not the case. We have 820 million euros of debts waiting for us that we need to repay. Someone wants to consciously push Montenegro into a huge economic problem and damage the state's reputation and investor trust," Popović assessed.
According to her, in the short term, temporary financing will not cause any problems, but in the long term it is detrimental to the state.
"It will not be possible to pay out pensions in proportion and we will not be able to use 450 million euros from the Growth for the Western Balkans program. I ask my colleagues to think carefully," said Popović.
Dejan Đurović (NSD) said that it was surprising to see the same scenario announced again at a time when European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Koss had expressed great praise for the work of the parliamentary majority.
"We have entered a problematic situation of temporary financing and have thus jeopardized the liquidity of the state, servicing obligations is questionable and this has slowed down the dynamics of Montenegro's development and its European path," Đurović pointed out.
He assessed that the budget is not a rehabilitation budget, but can be treated as a development budget, capital investments are higher than last year's, money has been allocated for the Virpazar bypass project, which is very important for the area...
"The budget is based on a clear commitment to improving the living standards of our citizens, and it is also proof that the government is pursuing a responsible fiscal policy. I expect my colleagues in parliament to agree with the development of Montenegro tomorrow, and it is important that we adopt the budget tomorrow. If that does not happen, someone will have to be politically responsible in the next local elections in Nikšić and Herceg Novi," said Đurović.
PES MP Branka Marković said that "DPS and its satellites are trying to return the country to a state of economic crisis, and that citizens deserve a responsible government and opposition that will work in the interests of citizens and the country, not those who want to destroy the country's economic and European progress."
Mirsad Nurković (BS) said that we are entering the end of January without an adopted budget, and this is not the first time this has happened, but it is causing a lot of attention.
"Our system is vulnerable and the failure to pass the budget raises concerns about how we will finance the key obligations of the state in the coming period - education, health, security. All of this may be jeopardized in the coming period. We need to resolve problems of a political nature in a political dialogue. The budget is well laid out in a structural sense. The fact is that it is sustainable and a guarantee that the state will regularly pay all obligations to citizens, and it is also the driving force behind new investments and trends," said Nurković.
SNP MP Slađana Kaluđerović is asking what will happen to the country's credit rating and all the consequences of not adopting the Budget.
Finance Minister Novica Vuković said that they are "very disturbed by this entire period of waiting for the budget to be adopted," and that the ministry did its best to have the budget adopted at the end of last year.
"This is a moment in which it is clear that the state should not be involved. This is a budget that strengthens the standard of living of citizens and that should not be denied to them," said Vuković, adding that "the budget is a measure of the possible."
According to him, it is very worrying who spoke about temporary financing in the previous period.
"In order to comment on payments, one must know the dynamics of payments by month. If bonds were due in January, I ask analysts how that would work. The debt servicing process is now stopped and servicing obligations in the coming period is uncertain. They can be serviced from deposits, and since mandatory expenses (salaries, pensions, social benefits) are the priority, we can do so until the debt is paid, and 650 million is due by the end of the first quarter. If one installment is not paid, everything falls due. For example, if we do not pay the installment for the highway, 650 million euros would be due," Vuković said, adding that without a decision on borrowing, he cannot do anything about it.
He pointed out that no one has the right to jeopardize Montenegro's credit rating.
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