Baghdad's latest delay of Kurdistan budget 'a dangerous precedent:' PM Barzani

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Wednesday that he considered Baghdad’s most recent delay in releasing the autonomous region’s share of the national budget "a dangerous precedent."

Barzani made the statement while leading a session of the regional cabinet in Erbil along with Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani.

During the meeting, the cabinet "discussed the latest developments in negotiations with the federal government regarding financial rights and dues for the Kurdistan Region, especially after the passage of the fiscal deficit financing law for the year 2020 by the Iraqi parliament and in the absence of the Kurdish blocs."

Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, is facing a severe financial crisis resulting from similar disputes in the past, the outbreak of the coronavirus, and the resulting crash of global oil prices.

On Nov. 12, the Iraqi parliament approved the bill without representatives from the Kurdistan Region, who boycotted the session over disagreements about a clause that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) argues improperly limits funds already allotted to the autonomous region.

Read More: Iraq’s parliament passes deficit law, despite Kurdish objections

"The Kurdistan Region has done everything in its power and has fulfilled all its obligations to reach a comprehensive agreement with the federal government," according to a KRG statement.

Barzani pointed out that the KRG "is the official party concerned with negotiating with the federal government to solve the problems and it will not compromise on the constitutional and financial rights of the people of the Kurdistan Region."

"The delay in sending part of the Kurdistan Region’s share is a dangerous precedent and a violation of the legitimate rights of the people of the region," Barzani added.

The regional Council of Ministers decided to send an official letter to its federal counterpart requesting that it send a portion of the region’s disbursement for May, June, July, and October.

The KRG said that it appreciated the position of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General for the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, who stressed to the UN Security Council that Kurdistan Region employees are not only employees of the region, but are also Iraqi citizens and the issue of their salaries should not be held up by politics.

Read More: UN calls on Iraq to deliver salaries of public servants in the Kurdistan Region

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi said on Tuesday that the controversial law includes "problems and errors," but did not specify whether or not these included the provisions that the KRG objects to.

Read More: Iraqi PM: Controversial budget law has 'problems and errors'

Editing by John J. Catherine