Bytyqi: Prices rose more than 22%, government presented three budget plans in nine months

At today’s parliamentary session, LSDM lawmaker Fatmir Bytyqi described the second revision of the 2026 budget as evidence of poor planning and the government’s inability to manage public finances.

According to him, the same government has presented three different budget plans in just nine months. Meanwhile, citizens are facing rising public debt, higher prices and a declining standard of living.

Bytyqi said public debt per person had risen sharply: “In July 2024, every citizen of the country owed 4,674 euros. I repeat: every citizen, including a child born in July, owed 4,674 euros. Today, every child and every citizen owes 6,000 euros. In less than two and a half years, you have increased public debt per person by 1,400 euros.”

He noted that these figures do not include all unpaid obligations or delays in VAT refunds. According to Bytyqi, the European Commission has also raised the issue and identified systemic problems with payments.

The lawmaker said retail prices had risen by more than 22 percent under OBRM-PDUKM’s government, while inflation continued to erode living standards.

“You drove retail prices up by more than 22 percent and failed to stop inflation from one month to the next. You tried to present it in a misleading way, like a schoolchild, comparing months and saying that inflation in September was 0.2 percent compared with August. But monthly inflation in September is 3.3 percent. Whatever you do, inflation is 3.6 percent,” Bytyqi said.

He also raised concerns about the possibility of a new energy crisis and asked how the government would respond to more severe shocks in the energy sector when even minor disruptions in the oil market had had such consequences.

“These were your results after a few oil-related disruptions. Imagine what could happen in the event of bigger problems and shocks involving electricity. As you say and know: God help us,” he warned.

Commenting on the budget forecasts, Bytyqi reiterated that the government had drawn up three different budget plans in nine months, which, he said, demonstrated instability in public finance planning.