Sazan Ibrahimi from the Kosovo Communist Association has criticised the budgetary division for municipalities for 2027, praising that, despite nominal growth in the budget, municipalities will have less real financial power.

According to Ibrahimi, the municipal budget increases from 867.6m euros in 2026 to 908m euros in 2027, but their overall budget share decreases from 21.7 to 21.3 percent.

He stresses that if inflation continues at the current pace and the rise in wages from July is covered by this amount, real means available for investment, maintenance and services can be about 12.6m euros lower, or 2.8 percent less than in the preceding year.

Full response:

The record budget, but less in %s for municipalities: from 21.7% in 2026 to 21.3% in 2027

The municipal budget increases from 867.6m euros in 2026 to 908m euros in 2027, or only 4.66%. But the participation of municipalities in the overall budget dropped from around 21.7% in 2026 to 21.3% in 2027. So, municipalities are divided into a smaller part of the state budget.

If inflation continues at the same level as in the past few months, and the rise of the wage coficent from July is covered within this amount, the orientation estimate shows that the real purchasing power of abroad is down from about 445.6m euros in 2026 to 433m euros in 2027. That means about 12.6m euros, or 2.8%, less real opportunities for investment, maintenance and services.

This pressure is added to obligations from collective contracts. According to AKK data, during the year 2026 only, around 100m euros were received through the execution of judicial decisions. Continued withdrawals in 2027 would further narrow the investment space.

The municipalities need more financial power to serve citizens. Record figures on paper do not compensate for reducing participation in the budget and losing purchasing power.

Source Layer: Insander