Oil prices, the deficit and the Kurds… The budget is still hovering in the corridors of Parliament

Oil prices, the deficit and the Kurds… The budget is still hovering in the corridors of Parliament

3-19-2023

Oil prices the deficit and the Kurds... The budget is still hovering in the corridors of ParliamentInformation / Baghdad…
The decline in global oil prices and the deficit, which exceeded 60 trillion dinars in the budget, represent the most important obstacles that stand in the way of approving the budget, at a time when the people are waiting for a vote on it by the House of Representatives, as it is still oscillating in its corridors amid fears of price fluctuation and its decline to lower levels, as the parties are still The parliament confirms that there is a need to study the budget and settle the share of the Kurds and ensure that they do not object to the percentage specified for them in the budget, despite the fact that the Prime Minister settled matters during his visit to Erbil and the matter was confirmed by members of the State Administration Coalition.

The representative of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Sharif Suleiman, told Al-Maalouma that “most of the outstanding problems between Baghdad and Erbil occurred due to the failure to approve the oil and gas law, which would solve many problems related to the oil file, as the region aspires to more understandings with the government, especially since Kurdistan has signed a document of direct dealings between the governments of the center and the region to end all obstacles facing the political process between the two sides, in addition to that there is optimism about the relations between Baghdad and Erbil, especially in the budget file, which will be applied properly in the event that all parties adhere to its provisions and the constitution to overcome any obstacles that stand. between the center and the region.

On a related note, former MP Jassim Muhammad Jaafar ruled out, during his interview with Al-Malooma, that “the Kurds will boycott the parliament sessions in protest against the failure to increase the region’s share in the budget,” pointing out that the Kurds will not repeat the ball, as the budget will pass with their acceptance or boycott of parliament. “.

On the other hand, economic expert Abd al-Rahman al-Mashhadani told Al-Maalouma that “the budget deficit occurred as a result of the exaggeration of some important figures that were set, as the continued decline in global oil prices will put the government in front of the problem of lack of financing, which will be the investment aspect.” From the budget, it is the victim for the sake of the operational side, similar to previous years,” pointing out that “fixing the price of a barrel of oil at 60 dollars will be better in all respects in relation to the budget, and therefore one of the reasons for the delay in approving the general budget is the fluctuation of global oil prices and a review of the numbers The task of the general budget before voting on it inside the dome of Parliament.

And in a legal context, as expert Ali Al-Tamimi explained to Al-Maalouma, “any additions to the increase in the general budget law from Parliament must be accompanied by the approval of the government and the Council of Ministers in accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution, and unlike it, the law is subject to appeal before the Federal Court, and Parliament has the right to transfer And the reduction between the chapters of the budget law,” stressing that “the percentage of deficit in the budget stipulated in Article 6 of the Financial Management Law for the year 2019 has confirmed that the deficit does not exceed 3 percent for the planning budget, at a time when the budget law is considered an amended law, and as a result, the deficit percentage If it is low or high, then this is considered an amendment to what was stipulated in the financial management law, and as a result, the budget law is applied, and the deficit percentage is not considered a violation of the aforementioned law.

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