TIRANA, November 10 – The marathon session in the Parliament of Albania where the 2023 budget was discussed has ended, and as it was expected it was adopted with the votes of the majority after 28 hours of deliberations.
The plenary session of the Assembly started on Wednesday at 10:00 and continued until 23:00, and resumed its proceedings at 09:00 to close work on Thursday at 13:55.
The draft budget was approved with 74 votes in favor, while 41 deputies voted against, while there were no abstentions.
Also, the change to the law on value added tax was approved in principle, in favor of which 76 deputies of the 140-member Assembly casted ‘Yes’ vote.
Revenues are expected to reach 631.7 billion ALL in the 2023 draft budget, while expenses will be 687.2 billion ALL. It is planned that in 2023 the economic growth will be 2.6%, from the 3.7% expected this year.
Thursday’s session was characterized by fierce debates between the opposition and the majority, and the “bone of contention” was the mea project of the Port of Durrës.
On the one hand, the opposition accused the government of not being transparent, and on the other hand, the majority considered this project as one of the biggest investments that will turn Durrës into one of the most important points in the Mediterranean.
It was noticed that some majority deputies among whom Erion Brace, a former deputy PM, and Fatmir Xhafaj, a former Justice Minister, leveled harsh criticism against the draft budget.
In the meantime majority and opposition were involved in harsh debates using vulgar vocabulary against each other. PM Edi Rama was the main criticizer of the opposition labeling them as turkeys and horseflies. /Argumentum.al
