VIDOVIĆ: ADOPTION OF PROPOSED BUDGET WILL COLLAPSE BiH's FINANCIAL SYSTEM

BANJA LUKA, AUGUST 16 /SRNA/ - The proposed BiH budget is catastrophic, and if adopted, it would collapse the country’s financial system, said Zora Vidović, a member of the BiH Fiscal Council.

Vidović reminded that the Fiscal Council had agreed on the 2025 budget, which was supported by the Council of Ministers, and that subsequent increases were made in certain budget items. “The budget has been submitted to the BiH Presidency for adoption, where the Serb member is expected to be outvoted. The choice of items for which the budget was increased is catastrophic. They want to raise the allocation for the Armed Forces of BiH by BAM 60 million. Who is even attacking BiH that they need to be strengthened?” Vidović asked. A particular problem, Vidović noted, is culture, which falls under the jurisdiction of the entities, and financing it at the BiH level is a violation of the Constitution. “I hope this will not pass in the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH,” emphasized Vidović, who is also the Minister of Finance of Republika Srpska. She assessed that a budget adopted in this manner would collapse the financial system of BiH and noted that Christian Schmidt also contributed to creating this financial chaos. “I remind you of his decision to transfer funds for the ‘Viadukt’ project to the Channel Islands, which are an example of an offshore zone. He did this without any accountability. And someone was found to execute it, which is not normal. There is no need to even discuss the financial system of BiH; it does not exist,” Vidović told RTRS. She emphasized that these are citizens’ funds, used to build roads that everyone uses, expressing surprise that the Federation of BiH accepts all of this. Vidović assessed that such actions continue to undermine BiH.