The Plenary Session of the Parliament convenes on Thursday to vote on the budget. For days now, the Government has been consulting with political parties in order to find the golden formula for voting in favor of the state budget.
SigmaLive spoke with lawyer Simos Angelidis, who explained what will happen if the state budget is voted against for the second time, as the political landscape remains murky.
He initially said that the responsibility for a budget that would be acceptable to the parliamentary parties lies with the Government and the Minister of Finance.
He added that after the vote against the budget on December 17, the Parliament voted the implementation of the twelfths which are valid for one month, with the possibility of voting for another month.
"In case the Parliament votes against the budget again, then there is the possibility of approval by the Parliament for spending from the permanent fund of the state."
He clarified that the Constitution provides for the same expenditures as last year, while he explained that the Government will have the opportunity to consult and bring the state budget back to Parliament as many times as it wants until mid-March, when the approval of expenditures will be completed.
It is pointed out that in this case each Ministry will decide how to distribute the amount that as mentioned above will be the same as the corresponding period.
The specific expenditure separated by the adoption of the budget:
According to Article 166 of the Constitution, there are four conditions that are independent of the adoption of the budget.
- Pensions and grants
- Penalties for debts of the Republic
- Amounts to be paid to the Courts
- The salaries of the President of the Republic, the Judges, the Auditor General, the Attorney General and the Assistant Prosecutor, the Governor and the Deputy Governor of the Publishing Bank.
The separate voting of the budget of the Parliament:
On July 19, 2019, the article of the Constitution 167.7 and 167.8 concerning the voting of the budget of the Parliament was amended.
This year, the budget concerning the operation of the Parliament was voted separately for the first time and should be included in the state budget when it is voted. It remains unknown whether the vote on the budget of the Parliament will continue or will be considered invalid in case of a vote against the state budget.
Finally, Mr. Angelidis stated that in case the second month of the twelve months passes without a budget, then the Government should take responsibility and resign. He added that the new government will rule the country until the normal term of the previous government ends.