FBiH House of Rep adopts Bill on 2025 budget

The bill was adopted with 54 votes in favour, six abstentions, and 29 votes against.

During the debate on Wednesday, MPs submitted 41 amendments, of which the FBiH Government partially accepted one proposed by the Commission for Local Self-Government.

For the budget to take effect, it must also be approved by the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament, which is set to vote on the proposal on Friday, January 31.

Presenting the draft budget, Prime Minister Nermin Niksic highlighted that the government managed to complete the previous year without a budget rebalance and ensured funding for all key priorities. He emphasized that 50 million Bosnian marks (€25.6 million) have been allocated for flood relief, 100 million marks (€51.2 million) for subsidies and reimbursements to small and medium-sized enterprises regarding the minimum wage decision, as well as 200 million marks (€102.4 million) for cantons and 50 million marks (€25.6 million) for cities and municipalities.

During the session, opposition MPs criticized the government for giving them a limited timeframe to review the budget, accusing it of acting unilaterally. They also expressed concerns over the lack of substantial measures to address pensioners’ needs and improve support for oncology patients.

Additionally, opposition lawmakers urged the adoption of the long-awaited forestry law, arguing that delays are causing significant financial losses. They also questioned why the budget was not proposed through the standard legislative procedure and called for the completion of long-overdue fiscal reforms.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Dragan Miokovic announced that the regular session, originally scheduled to follow the extraordinary session, will be postponed to early next week.