Salary and pension increases guaranteed – If the national budget is not adopted by December 20, temporary financing will be implemented

Even if the National Assembly of Serbia fails to adopt the budget for the coming year by December 20, there is no cause for concern, as the state will continue to function properly, stated Nenad Stanisic, a professor at the Faculty of Economics in Kragujevac.

The electoral process is entering its final phase, to be followed by the formation of a new government, a process that can take up to three months. The deadline for adopting the state budget for the next calendar year is December 20. Should the parliament fail to pass this document by then, the state will shift to temporary financing, which ensures the regular settlement of obligations and the continued operation of state institutions.

As Stanisic explained, temporary financing is a legally established mechanism applied in situations where the budget is not adopted within the prescribed timeframe.

– Temporary financing is a mechanism for funding the state, its institutions, and its bodies, operating on a monthly basis. It is established for the first three months of the coming year and can be extended for an additional three months if, for any reason, the budget is not adopted during the first quarter of that year – the professor noted.

According to him, any potential delay in the adoption of the budget does not mean that state funding will cease.

– There are legal provisions in place that ensure the continuity of institutional operations – he concluded.

Salaries and pensions to continue being paid

A potential shift to temporary financing should not jeopardize the regular payment of salaries, pensions and other benefits. The announced increases in salaries and pensions, for which decisions have already been made, would also be implemented under the temporary financing arrangement.

What this mechanism does limit is the ability to launch new, large-scale economic projects or to undertake additional financial obligations not covered by existing plans.

Therefore, even if the National Assembly of Serbia fails to adopt the budget by December 20, the regular funding of the state's existing obligations will continue. This temporary financing arrangement can last for a maximum of six months, that is, throughout the first two quarters of the coming year.

Narodna skupština Republike Srbije

Ekonomski Fakultet Kragujevac

National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia

Faculty of Economics Kragujevac

Nenad Stanisic

budget of Serbia