The 2027 draft budget was approved in principle by the Economy Committee with 8 votes in favor and 4 against, after a meeting that lasted around 9 minutes. The passage of such an important document in such a short time sparked a clash between the majority and the opposition over the procedure and hearings with the ministries.
Fast vote on one of the main financial acts
According to the committee’s decision, the draft law on the 2027 budget passed in principle and is expected to be sent forward for review in the plenary session of Parliament.
The fast pace of the approval raised political questions about the depth of the review, given that this is the document that determines the distribution of public money for the coming year.
Clash over the hearing with the Ministry of Infrastructure
The debate focused on the opposition’s request to first hold the discussion with the Ministry of Infrastructure, as had been done with the other ministries.
Erion Braçe, from the Socialist Party, argued that the Ministry of Infrastructure had held its hearing in the responsible committee and that this was linked to the vote in principle on the draft budget.
Leskaj objects: “This is not cardboard work”
Democratic Party MP Bujar Leskaj objected to moving immediately to a vote and requested that the same discussion practice be preserved as for the other ministries.
He said it had been determined that the session with the Ministry of Energy would be held first and only then would the process move forward, describing the procedure followed as unacceptable with the phrase: “This is not cardboard work.”
The majority calls it procedure, the opposition sees it as a broader problem
Economy Committee Chair Milva Ekonomi defended the procedural approach, saying the issue was linked to the division of responsibilities between committees and to the stages of reviewing the budget article by article.
On the other hand, Leskaj broadened the accusation beyond the specific meeting, claiming that the same way of acting has also become a problem for the functioning of Parliament. After the debate, the meeting proceeded to a vote and the draft budget received approval in principle.
The draft law now moves to the plenary session for review, while the way it was passed in committee has left behind another clash over the standard for handling the budget and the real role of parliamentary debate.
At its core, the clash was not only about one missing hearing, but about the way procedures are managed when discussing the state’s most important financial document.