Parliament votes on two laws and ends the discussion of five others, including the fiscal deficit law {extended}
Parliament votes on two laws and ends the discussion of five others, including the fiscal deficit law {extended}
11/07/2020 18:02:27
(Baghdad: Al Furat News) The House of Representatives voted in its nineteenth session, which was held under the chairmanship of Muhammad al-Halbousi, Speaker of the Council, today, Saturday 7/11/2020, and in the presence of 182 deputies on two laws, while it finished reading Five laws, including the Deficit Financing Act.
According to the council’s statement, Al Furat News received a copy of it, that at the beginning of the session, Representative Mona Al-Amiri read a statement denouncing the criminal attack that affected a number of women and a security associate in Diyala governorate and led to the martyrdom of five citizens, including an 85-year-old woman, demanding an arrest The perpetrators must be judicially punished, and the intelligence effort must be activated in the area and the security level increased in it.
For his part, Al-Halbousi, in the name of the House of Representatives, denounced all criminal acts that affect citizens in a number of provinces, including Diyala Governorate, calling on the security forces to intensify their efforts in preserving the lives and safety of citizens, directing the Security and Defense Committees, the Mirror, the Family and Childhood, and the gathering of parliamentarians to visit the families of the victims in Diyala and see On the causes of the accident.
The council read Surat Al-Fatiha as a mercy for the souls of all the martyrs of Iraq.
The Council requested the vote on the draft law ratifying the agreement to accelerate cooperation in the economic field and energy affairs between the government of the Republic of Iraq and the government of the Republic of South Korea submitted by the committees on foreign relations, oil, energy, natural resources, economics and investment until it is studied by the members of the Council.
While the Council voted on the draft law on the accession of the Republic of Iraq to the second protocol to the Hague Convention of 1954 for the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict, submitted by the Committees on Foreign Relations, Culture, Tourism and Antiquities to enhance the protection of cultural property in the event of armed conflict and for the purpose of protection over movable cultural property by strengthening protection Legal and criminalization of the people who committed it.
The Council also postponed the draft law ratifying the United Nations Convention on Transparency in Treaty-based Investor-State Arbitration submitted by the Foreign Relations Committee until the opinion of the relevant committees is taken.
Also, the council postponed the vote on the first amendment law proposal to the Judicial Supervision Authority Law No. 29 of 2016 submitted by the Legal Committee until the proposal matures.
The Council voted on the draft law on joining the Republic of Iraq to the AIIB’s infrastructure agreement, submitted by the Foreign Relations, Economy and Investment Committees, in order to build and rehabilitate the infrastructure in Iraq and diversify its sources of financing.
In another context, a number of deputies demanded that the relevant parliamentary committees adopt a reformist financial vision, as Iraq avoided throwing it into heavy debts as a result of internal and external borrowing adopted by the government to finance the financial deficit.
For his part, Al-Halbousi stressed the need to support the government in its measures of reforms in all levels and strengthen the foundations of the economy, calling on the government to take preventive measures to address the decline in global oil prices and the Finance, Economy and Investment Committees to provide the necessary requirements to achieve the desired reform in the best interest of the country.
During the session, headed by Hassan Al-Kaabi, First Vice President of the Council, the Council finished reading a report and discussing the draft law on financing the fiscal deficit presented by the Financial Committee.
The Finance Committee expressed its reservation not to submit the draft federal budget law for the year 2020 and the existence of a clear exaggeration in the estimates of the amount of borrowing, calling for reducing all items of expenditures and limiting them to the necessary priorities and supporting investment projects according to disbursement mechanisms that depend on fairness in distribution, stressing the need to pursue a wise policy for debt management The year in coordination with the monetary policy and controlling the revenues of the lost customs ports and the automation of customs and tax collection, as well as the collection of debts owed by telecommunications companies and institutions operating in Iraq, indicating that the deficit in the draft law amounted to (41.6) trillion dinars, i.e. by (72) Percent to total expenditures.
Representatives’ interventions regarding the draft law focused on the need for the Council to review the financial data from the Central Bank and clarification from the government to know the source of borrowing, its mechanisms and its impact on the Iraqi reserve, in addition to legal objection to voting procedures on the draft law on financing the fiscal deficit.
The interventions during the session, partly headed by Mr. Bashir Haddad, demanded a serious discussion of the financial crisis with the government, as it threatens to cause a financial collapse with negative repercussions on society, and the call for adding job grades for those dismissed from the Ministry of Interior in Nineveh Governorate and disbursing farmers’ dues, and asking the government to develop a plan for austerity And reduce extravagance in ministries and control of border crossings to address the current financial crisis.
For its part, the concerned committee affirmed that taking into consideration all the valuable comments and proposals submitted by the ladies and gentlemen, and including them in the draft law before voting on it.
In the same regard, the Council completed the reading of the report and the discussion of the draft law ratifying the agreement to avoid double taxation and prevent financial evasion with regard to taxes on income and capital between the government of the Republic of Iraq and the government of the State of Kuwait submitted by the Foreign Relations Committee.
The Council completed the reading of the report and discussion of the draft law on the accession of the Republic of Iraq to the Convention on the Recognition and Implementation of Foreign Arbitration Decisions (New York 1958) submitted by the Foreign Relations and Legal Committees.
The Council completed the reading of the report and the discussion of the draft law abolishing Law No. (127) of 1981, the Ratification Law of the Arab Labor Convention No. (10) of 1979 regarding paid study leave and the Arab Recommendation No. (3) of 1979 attached to it and submitted by the Foreign Relations Committee.
The Council concluded reading the report and discussion of the draft law on the accession of the Republic of Iraq to the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC90) of 1990 submitted by the Foreign Relations Committee.
After that, it was decided to adjourn the session to next Monday 9/11/2020.
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