Prishtina, 2 November 2026
Honourable Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers and Deputy Ministers,
Honourable members of the Government Cabinet and media representatives,
Dear citizens,
Today, the first item on our agenda is the approval of the Budget Law, which will be the first budget of this new mandate.
During the previous mandate, we achieved record budget growth, year after year, as a result of exceptional revenue performance. This enabled us, alongside expanding our support measures for citizens, to maintain long-term fiscal sustainability, keeping the deficit and public debt at historically low levels.
During this period, we also transformed the structure of revenues. Whereas under previous governments, the burden of revenue collection was placed mainly on Customs, under our government, domestic revenues have been growing at a faster pace, because the economy is growing and employment is increasing. By way of illustration, in 2019, the revenues collected by the Tax Administration of Kosovo amounted to only 40% of those collected by Customs. In the budget we are presenting today for 2027, TAK is projected to collect an amount equivalent to 60% of the revenues expected to be collected by Customs.
This year, despite the challenges we face, just like the rest of the world, economic growth reached 5.4% and 4.1% in the first and second quarters, respectively. This places us among the fastest-growing countries in the region and beyond. This also means continued budget growth and sustainable public finances.
For 2027, the projected budget amounts to €4.27 billion, which is €200 million higher than the revised 2026 budget and €300 million higher than the initial 2026 budget.
Of this budget, €908 million will go towards direct funding for municipalities. This is also a record budget for the municipalities of Kosovo, and this increase is the result of the continued growth in Government grants.
As this year’s budget does, the 2027 budget also provides for a 13th salary next year, alongside an increase in the salary coefficient to €120 as of 1 July 2027. In other words, in the first half of the year, there will be a 13th salary, while in the second half, there will be a salary increase for all employees paid from the state budget. This brings the salary budget to €1.085 billion, which, when divided among approximately 85,000 public employees, results in an average annual gross salary of over €12,000, or more than €1,000 gross per month. This also means that one of our pledges for the next mandate will be fulfilled as early as next year. And, of course, the increases will not stop there, as they will continue every year alongside economic growth.
This budget also provides for increased support for the defence teams of the four former leaders of the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), in accordance with the request submitted by the defence teams. Naturally, we also await the strategy from the Working Group, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Glauk Konjufca, regarding the other aspects of our engagement and support.
In line with our pledge to double child allowances during this mandate, we have planned and budgeted for a gradual increase in four phases, by 25% each year on top of the current amount. Thus, as of 1 January 2027, child allowances will increase by 25%, followed by another 25% in January 2028, another 25% in January 2029, and, in January 2030, the gradual increase will be completed, resulting in a doubling of child allowances within this mandate. In other words, a family with two children that currently receives €60 will receive €75 as of January, while a family with four children that currently receives €180 will receive €225 as of January. And this increase will continue every year until child allowances have doubled within this mandate, just as we have pledged to you.
Under the Goods and Services category, we have halved the budget for foreign travel expenses and allocated the savings to the budget for essential medicines at the University Clinical and Hospital Service of Kosovo (UCHSK).
In addition to the increased budget for medicines, we have also increased medical staffing by 120 positions at UCHSK, while, at the local level, investments have been planned on an unprecedented scale for the construction of modern Family Medicine Centres. Furthermore, to ensure that our healthcare institutions are properly equipped and fully operational, we have allocated funds for the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment and medical devices. This project is financially supported by the European Investment Bank and the Council of Europe Development Bank.
This will be a budget of major capital investments. For the first time, the budget allocates more than €1 billion exclusively to the capital investment category. This includes the construction of new roads, such as the Prishtina Outer Ring Road, the Duhël–Banullë section connecting the two motorways, the Dukagjini Motorway, and many other regional and national roads scheduled for expansion and rehabilitation.
We have also budgeted for the construction of much-needed dams for water storage, as well as environmental protection measures, including a new waste collection and sorting system.
And, of course, this budget also provides for a dedicated budget line for the completion of sports infrastructure as part of the preparations for the Mediterranean Games Prishtina 2030.
For the first time, this budget also provides for the establishment of a national airline, which will serve to provide more routes for our fellow citizens abroad, while also serving as a means of promoting our country across the diaspora, at airports around the world where aircraft bearing our national logo will land.
Dedicated budget lines have also been allocated for investment in tourism infrastructure, as a prerequisite for the successful implementation of Public-Private Partnership investments in the resorts of Brezovica and Dukagjin.
Dear citizens,
This is the first budget of our new mandate, and, as you can see, it is a budget of capital investment and the economic transformation of our country. It is a budget of fulfilled pledges and new initiatives. As always, it is in the service of citizens, for greater economic development and more quality jobs.
Honourable Ministers, from now on, it is up to each and every one of you to ensure that you implement the programme and the budget to the letter. I assure you that I will monitor the progress of each of you.
Thank you, and I wish you all success in your work. I now give the floor to the Minister of Finance to present the Draft Law on Budget Allocations for the Budget of the Republic of Kosovo for 2027.
The floor is yours, Minister Hekuran Murati.