The Parliament of Kosovo passed on Monday the draft law on economic recovery on its seventh attempt, following six failures to vote it due to the lack of quorum.
With 64 votes the law passed on the first read, however, it will need another voting in the second read for the law to enter into force.
The law enables taxpayers to withdraw ten per cent of their pension savings from the Kosovo Pension Saving Trust.
This was also one the most controversial points which did not have the support by opposition Kosovo Democratic Party [PDK] and Vetevendosje. Therefore they voted against.
Also, the International Monetary Fund assessed that the withdrawal of funds from the Trust is not the right move.
“The proposed 10 per cent withdrawal of pension savings from the Kosovo Pension Saving Trust (KPST) undermines Pillar 2, reduces future pensions, and limits the size of the domestic capital market, which has been an essential source for budgetary financing,” reads the concluding statement of the 2020 Article IV Mission published on Thursday.
Kosovo’s government claims that this law will boost the country’s economy hit by COVID-19 pandemic.
The government has already implemented the emergency fiscal package by distributing around 180 million euro mainly for businesses and citizens who lost their jobs due to pandemic
The draft law on economic recovery with 385 million euro was approved by the government on July 22.
The failure of Kosovo’s Parliament for six times to vote on this draft law showed that the ruling coalition remains fragile and struggles to ensure even the simple majority of 61 votes [out of 120].
