PODGORICA (Montenegro), May 7 (SeeNews) – Montenegro's finance ministry approved temporary funding to state-financed institutions for May, as the Parliament has still not adopted the 2021 budget, it said.
The funding is in the amount of up to one-twelfth of the 2020 expenditures, the finance ministry said in its decision published on Thursday.
The decision was taken on April 29 and came into force on May 1. A similar decision was also adopted for funding in January, February, March and April.
On March 31, Montenegro's government adopted the 2021 draft budget envisaging a deficit equivalent to 3% of the projected gross domestic product (GDP). The draft budget targets revenues of 1.880 billion euro ($2.3 billion), up 14.7% compared to last year, and expenses of 2.019 billion euro, down 2.2%.
The country's Parliament has scheduled a session for May 11, at which one of the items on the agenda is the draft budget law, but the decision is expected only after the vote on prosecutorial laws and the removal of Justice Minister Vladimir Leposavic.
Montenegro reported a record-high budget deficit of 419.5 million euro in 2020, compared to a deficit of 143.3 million euro in 2019.
($ = 0.828175 euro)