Prishtina, 29 July 2008
Dear members of the Assembly, dear Ministers,
Today, Kosovo is at a very important stage of its development.
We all know that a considerable number of countries have recognized the independence of our country, and that a number of other countries are in the process of recognition.
At the same time, a very important process has already started. And that is the process of gaining membership in the international financial institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
You also know, that a few weeks ago the Donors’ Conference on Kosovo took place, and it pledged an impressive financial support of 1, 2 billion Euros for the next three years.
This also shows that our international partners are very committed to helping Kosovo in its path towards integration into the European Union and NATO.
Another field on which the Government has been focused is the Budget Review for 2008.
We all know that the Budget 2008 was prepared in a very short time. This was done in an effort not to have delays in the launch of budget use, especially with regards to the execution of capital expenditures.
Since the approval of the Budget 2008 until now when we are reviewing the budget, we have seen positive trends.
At the same time the execution of capital expenditure has marked an increase in comparison with the last year, at we have also seen an increase in incomes in relation to the planned ones.
Normally, the driving factor of these trends is the tireless work of the Government of Kosovo.
Knowing that one of the concerns of the past has been the small amount of the execution of capital expenses, we paid a particular attention to this issue.
As a result, the ministries that absorb the biggest budget share for capital investments have started preparations on time and now in less than 4 months since the approval of the budget, the pledges for this category are at a satisfactory level.
At the same time, the Government has constantly been engaged in improving the performance of the Kosovo Tax Administration and the Customs Service and as a result we have seen a considerable increase in the overall budget revenues.
It is worth mentioning here that we have reviewed the level of incomes and compared to the initial estimations at the beginning of the year, now we expect the overall incomes to be higher for 27 million Euros.
This additional income is expected to come from custom duties and other non-tax payments.
On the other hand, we have an increase in expenditures, which will be mainly oriented toward the road infrastructure, new institutions, health sector, rule of law, energy, etc.
I wouldn’t go any further, as the details of this review will be elaborated by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Ahmet Shala.
Thank you!