Halilaj criticizes the government: €4.27 billion budget, capital investments at just 30 percent and citizens are leaving

Durim Halilaj, a member of the Alliance’s leadership, has accused the government of misleading citizens with figures and failing to manage the economy. He said the nominal increase in the budget has not been accompanied by an improvement in citizens’ well-being.

The performance of capital investments was also at the center of his criticism. Halilaj said that, for the first nine months of 2026, €750.9 million had been planned at the central level, but spending reached just €225.5 million, or around 30 percent of the planned amount.

To illustrate the difference between nominal and real growth, he referred to the 2019 budget of €2.4 billion and the current budget of €4.27 billion. Although the difference on paper represents a 78 percent increase, Halilaj stressed that cumulative inflation of around 38 percent limits real growth to just around 29 percent.

According to Halilaj’s calculation, the purchasing power of the current budget is equivalent to €3.09 billion in 2019. He added that estimates by the IMF and the World Bank put projected economic growth between 3.3 and 3.6 percent.

He said the billions cited in official documents do not demonstrate economic development, and a larger budget does not necessarily mean greater well-being for citizens.

Halilaj also accused the government of obstructing municipal projects and failing to provide financial support to local authorities. He claimed the executive’s exclusionary approach had directly harmed citizens in municipalities by making it harder to carry out projects involving water supply, roads and sidewalks.

Another concern raised by the Alliance leadership member was the departure of citizens from the country. He said that, during this term, around 250,000 citizens had been forced to emigrate from Kosovo because of a lack of investment, new jobs and economic prospects.

In Halilaj’s assessment, people choose to leave when capital investment and new employment opportunities are lacking, while the authorities offer them only propaganda.

Concluding his response, he reiterated that the budget increase had not improved citizens’ well-being, accusing the government of emptying Kosovo.