After repeated calls by the European Union and other international partners, the Parliament of Kosovo approved with 85 votes the 2021 budget. The vote held on Tuesday night, passed through an overwhelming majority, including the votes from the opposition parties Vetëvendosje and the Democratic Party of Kosovo. The budget for 2021 will be 2.4 billion euros, and comes only 10 months after the approval of 2020 budget, which was delayed with a couple of months due to the political crisis. The approval of 2021 budget was essential, to avoid entering into the new year facing new elections and without a budget, considering that the formation of the new government could take months.
The Constitutional Court of Kosovo on 21st of December declared invalid Etem Arifi’s vote in favour of Hoti’s government, ruling that the actual government did not receive the necessary votes in parliament to be legitimate. As a result, the country will need to hold its next elections within January. After meeting with all the political parties, the Acting President of Kosovo Vjosa Osmani is expected to announce in the coming days the date of the next elections.
