Parliamentary Finance: The economic situation will be difficult, and spending will be limited to the operating budget.
Parliamentary Finance: The economic situation will be difficult, and spending will be limited to the operating budget.
2025-05-01 05:04
Shafaq News/ Jamal Kocher, a member of the Iraqi Parliament’s Finance Committee, confirmed on Thursday that the country could face a difficult situation if oil prices decline, and that the matter will be limited to securing the operating budget only.
“The Iraqi state’s operating budget amounts to 90 trillion dinars,” Kocher told Shafaq News Agency. “If oil resources decline and the price of a barrel of oil falls below $60, and the required quantities are not replaced, we will enter a difficult economic situation.”
He added, “The government will be in a difficult position and will only be able to secure the operating budget due to the low price of a barrel of oil.” He explained that “the government is facing difficulty in submitting the 2025 budget schedules to Parliament for many reasons, most notably the decline in oil prices, and there is no time left due to the start of the election campaign.”
An Iraqi cabinet source told Shafaq News Agency yesterday that the government is considering canceling the 2025 budget due to the drop in oil prices, which has increased the country’s fiscal deficit .
The source said, “The Cabinet did not formally discuss the budget schedules in its previous sessions, and Finance Minister Taif Sami informed the Cabinet that there is a large deficit in the budget schedules .”
He added, “Under current conditions, there will be no budget this year due to the decline in oil prices, which has directly impacted financial revenues and increased the deficit in the 2025 budget .”
The source explained that, “If the budget is cancelled, Finance Minister Taif Sami may issue a decision to release bonuses and promotions for state employees that were halted and delayed due to the budget .”
On April 16, the Parliamentary Finance Committee warned against adjusting the price of a barrel of oil in the Iraqi federal general budget due to the decline in global oil prices .
Committee member Jamal Kocher told Shafaq News Agency, “The price of a barrel of oil was set in the general budget law at $70 per barrel. At the time, the price of a barrel of oil was more than $70. It is not yet known whether the government has adjusted the price of a barrel of oil in the budget or not .”
Kocher pointed out that “the Iraqi state’s operating budget is only 90 trillion dinars, and if the price of a barrel of oil falls below $60 and is not addressed, this will plunge the country into a financial crisis, and the government will spend oil revenues on employee salaries only.”
shafaq.com
