Sunday Morning Iraq Economic News Highlights 6-18-23

The General Budget Enters The Circle Of {Appeals}

Iraq  2023/06/18  Haider Al-Jaber  Prior to approving the general budget law, which lasted for 4 days, governmental and parliamentary agencies announced their intention to challenge the law before the Federal Supreme Court, due to changes made to the original law submitted by the government, or the deputies objecting to it, and according to the law and the constitution, 7 parties An official has the right to challenge the budget before the court.

Earlier, Finance Minister Taif Sami denied making transfers in the general budget that the Parliamentary Finance Committee is conducting, stressing that it will challenge the budget in the event of changes to the paragraphs included by the government.

In the context, the representative of the coordination framework, Intisar al-Moussawi, suggested that the Ministry of Finance would appeal to some provisions of the financial budget law, noting that these paragraphs “are not linked to the citizen.”

A member of the Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kazemi, believes that the government has the right to challenge the General Budget Law, expecting that the impact of this appeal will be “limited.”

Al-Kazemi told “Al-Sabah”: “The government has the right to challenge the general budget law, while the powers of parliament are limited to transfers and classification, and not to increase the financial burden on the government,” expecting that “the Federal Court will stand by the government, and the articles that amounted to 78 articles instead of 67 articles.

He added, "If an appeal is made, this will not affect the law in general except in the contested articles, and they will be amended as the government deems."

For his part, a member of the Legal Committee, Muhammad Anouz, indicated that there is a clear exaggeration in expenditures within the General Budget Law.

Anouz told Al-Sabah: “If the government submits an appeal against the general budget law; This means that it wants to implement the original text, not the amended text.” He added, “There are points of view and calculations related to investing money by borrowing or spending it inappropriately,” noting that “there is a clear exaggeration in expenditures, but the government wants this matter.”

And he indicated that “the repercussions of challenging the general budget law will affect some projects only.”

And the legal expert, Ali Al-Tamimi, had confirmed that any paragraph that contradicts Article 62 of the constitution can be appealed, and indicated the possibility of appealing some budget articles, especially those related to taxes and extinguishing debts.

And he explained, “After the Iraqi parliament voted on the budget law, it was sent to the Presidency of the Republic for the purpose of ratification by the President of the Republic in accordance with Article 73 Third of the Iraqi Constitution. ».

Al-Tamimi also indicated that “the entities that have the right to challenge the Federal Budget Law are as follows: the three authorities, ministries, the prime minister of the region, bodies not associated with a ministry, and governors, as Article 19 of the Federal Supreme Court system says,” noting that “the request is submitted to the court by a signed letter.”

From the head of the concerned authority, and the contested text is related to the tasks of those authorities, or has implications and differences in application.    Edited by: Muhammad Al-Ansari  https://alsabaah.iq/79225-.html

Parliamentary Finance Explains The Impact Of Approving The Budget On The Exchange Rate During The Coming Period

A member of the Finance Committee in the House of Representatives and financial expert, Nermin Maarouf, considered, on Saturday, that the entry into force of the budget will be a stabilizing factor for the value of the Iraqi dinar, especially since the money from selling oil in dollars will be disbursed into the Iraqi dinar.

Nermin Maarouf added, in a press interview seen by “Takadam”, “If you redistribute the budget of 200 trillion dinars to the economic sectors, the Central Bank must pay more than 10 trillion dinars per month to the government for expenditures.

And she stressed, “the need for merchants to work through electronic portals to return the dinar to the Central Bank, although the Central Bank confirms that there will be no problems with the shortage of the dinar.”

And the finance member added, “If the central bank can meet the market’s demand and put an end to the black market, the value of the dinar will stabilize, but this cannot be done in one day and it will take several months.”   https://takadum-news.com/archives/169542

Parliamentary Finance Expects The Ministries To Start Implementing The Budget Provisions Early Next Month

political | 09:12 - 06/17/2023   Baghdad - Mawazine News, the Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed, today, Saturday, the release of salaries for 720 thousand new employees after the approval of the Presidency of the Republic on the budget, while it expected that the ministries would start implementing its provisions in early July.

A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kazemi, said in a televised interview: "The budget law sent by Parliament to the Presidency of the Republic includes 78 articles, after adding 11 articles to the copy sent by the government."

He added, "Transfers worth 6 trillion dinars have been made for the purpose of increasing governorate allocations and approving the budget. The salaries of 720,000 new employees will be released from lecturers, contracts, holders of higher degrees, seniors, and other categories," pointing out, "The Finance Committee added 150,000 job degrees to the budget in response to different segments." ".

He pointed out, "There are more than 500 spending units, and after the approval of the President of the Republic, the process of implementing the budget will be followed up by the Finance Committee and the remaining parliamentary committees, each according to its competence."

And he stressed, "The government may appeal against articles that added financial burdens, and appealing to any article will stop the implementation of that budget and not all of its provisions," suggesting that the ministries start implementing what was stated in the budget at the beginning of next July.   https://www.mawazin.net/Details.aspx?jimare=229511 

Parliamentary Finance: The General Budget Law Will Be Effective Within 15 Days Of Its Passage

Iraq  2023-06-17  A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kazemi, confirmed, on Saturday, that the budget law will soon be published in the Official Gazette after it was referred to the President of the Republic, indicating that the law will be effective within 15 days of its passage.

 Al-Kazemi said in a press statement, "The Finance Committee, two days ago, sent the budget law to the Presidency of the Republic for the purpose of approving it," noting that "the law will be approved within 5 to 15 days."

He added, "All political forces are unanimous not to go to the Federal Supreme Court to challenge the budget law, especially the articles related to Kurdistan, as they are constitutional and fair."

Al-Kazemi indicated, "The implementation of the law will lead to an urban and service revolution in the country because the government has promising plans for the next three years."

https://kirkuktv.net/AR/Details/15861

Parliamentary Finance Suggests That The Ministries Start Implementing The Budget Provisions Early Next Month

Iraq    2023-06-18   The Parliamentary Finance Committee confirmed the release of salaries for 720,000 new employees after the Presidency of the Republic approved the budget, while it expected the ministries to start implementing its provisions in early July.

A member of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kazemi, said: "The budget law sent by Parliament to the Presidency of the Republic includes 78 articles after adding 11 articles to the copy sent by the government."

He added, "Transfers worth 6 trillion dinars have been made for the purpose of increasing governorate allocations and approving the budget. The salaries of 720,000 new employees will be released from lecturers, contracts, holders of higher degrees, seniors, and other categories," pointing out, "The Finance Committee added 150,000 job degrees to the budget in response to different segments." ".

He pointed out, "  And he stressed, "The government may appeal against articles that added financial burdens, and appealing to any article will stop the implementation of that budget and not all of its provisions," suggesting that the ministries start implementing what was stated in the budget at the beginning of next July.    https://kirkuktv.net/AR/Details/15871

The General Budget Enters The "Appeals" Department.. Who Are The Parties That Have The Right To Do So?

Policy  2023-06-18   765 views  Alsumaria News – Politics  Prior to approving the general budget law, which lasted for 4 days, governmental and parliamentary agencies announced their intention to challenge the law before the Federal Supreme Court, due to making changes to the original law submitted by the government, or the representatives objecting to it, and according to the law and the constitution, 7 parties An official has the right to challenge the budget before the court.

Earlier, Finance Minister Taif Sami denied making transfers in the general budget that the Parliamentary Finance Committee is conducting, stressing that it will challenge the budget in the event of changes to the paragraphs included by the government

In the context, the representative of the coordination framework, Intisar al-Moussawi, suggested that the Ministry of Finance would appeal to some provisions of the financial budget law, noting that these paragraphs are "not related to the citizen."

A member of the Finance Committee, Mueen Al-Kazemi, believes that the government has the right to appeal the General Budget Law, expecting that the impact of this appeal will be "limited."

Al-Kazemi said, "The government has the right to challenge the general budget law, while the powers of parliament are limited to transfers and classification, and not to increase the financial burden on the government," expecting that "the Federal Court will stand by the government, and the articles, which amounted to 78 articles instead of 67, have been rearranged." material".

He added, "If an appeal is made, this will not affect the law in general except in the contested articles, and they will be amended according to what the government sees," according to the official newspaper.

For his part, a member of the Legal Committee, Muhammad Anouz, indicated that there is a clear exaggeration in expenditures within the General Budget Law.

Anouz said, "If the government submits an appeal against the general budget law, this means that it wants to implement the original text, not the amended text." He added, "There are views and calculations related to investing money by borrowing or spending it in the wrong place," noting that "there is a clear exaggeration in expenditures, but the government wants this matter."

And he indicated that "the repercussions of challenging the general budget law  will affect some projects only." He stressed that the appeal against the budget by the deputies or others is due to the existence of violations of the laws in force, "according to the official newspaper.

The legal expert, Ali Al-Tamimi , has confirmed that any paragraph that contradicts Article 62 of the constitution can be appealed, and indicated the possibility of appealing to some articles of the budget, especially related to taxes and debt amortization.

He explained in an interview with Alsumaria News, "After the Iraqi parliament voted on the budget law, it was sent to the Presidency of the Republic for the purpose of ratification by the President of the Republic in accordance with Article 73 Third of the Iraqi Constitution. by the Presidency of the Republic.

Al-Tamimi also indicated that “the authorities that have the right to challenge the Federal Budget Law  are as follows: the three authorities, ministries, the prime minister of the region, bodies not associated with a ministry, and governors, as Article 19 of the Federal Supreme Court system says,” noting that “the request is submitted to the court by a signed letter.” From the head of the concerned authority, and the contested text is related to the tasks of those authorities, or has implications and differences in application.   LINK

Iraq Gains Energy And Loses Part Of The Oil Revenues If The Washington-Iran Agreement Is Announced

Posted On2023-06-18 By Sotaliraq  Baghdad / Tamim Al-Hassan  There are conflicting analyzes regarding the effects of a new nuclear agreement between Washington and Tehran, which is being talked about vigorously these days.

Optimistic views go to the belief that the agreement would end the problem of Iraq paying financial dues to Iran, especially in the field of energy.

However, the pessimistic possibilities indicate that the reduction of US restrictions on Tehran will unleash the hand of some factions close to the latter to tamper with the Iraqi situation.

Economists also say that one of the expected negative effects after the agreement is the decline in oil prices, which may exacerbate the problem of the deficit in the Iraqi budget.

Regarding news of the imminent announcement of a nuclear agreement between Washington and Tehran, Monqith Dagher, a researcher at an American institution, believes that the effects on Iraq behind the new understandings have already begun.

Dagher, a researcher at the Center for Strategic Studies in Washington, told Al-Mada: “Iraq has transferred to Iran during the past days a total of 2.67 billion dollars, which is the value of the accumulated financial dues for the energy bill exported to Iraq during the previous years.”

And he continues: “The Iraqi government took credit for this financial transfer, which previous governments were unable to achieve due to the US sanctions on Iran, but the facts confirm that this transfer is part of an American-Iranian deal.”

A few days ago, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed, in a press briefing published on the ministry's website, that Iraq's transfer of nearly $3 billion to Tehran is conditional.

He added that Iran "can access its funds deposited in Iraq's accounts only for humanitarian and other non-sanctioned transactions."

Last week, one of the prime minister's advisors announced that the electricity system in Iraq would soon improve after paying gas dues to Iran.

Counselor Diaa al-Nasseri said in a tweet on Twitter, "The volume of Iranian funds that we released during the Sudanese government amounted to 1.5 billion euros, in addition to one billion euros being released."

He added, "Citizens will witness a gradual improvement in electricity, in conjunction with Iraq's plans to invest in clean energy and benefit from Iraqi gas."

And before that, the head of the Iranian-Iraqi Joint Chamber of Commerce, Yahya Al-Ishaq, had announced, “Part of Iran’s debts incurred by Iraq were liberated, and part of it was allocated to the needs of Iranian pilgrims, and another part of it was paid for the supply of basic commodities.”

A spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Al-Sahhaf, said in a statement a few days ago, “The foreign minister led a meaningful dialogue with his American counterpart during the international conference to combat terrorism held in Riyadh, which led to substantial arrangements regarding financial dues between Iraq and Iran.”

At the end of last May, the “Iran International” website quoted a source he described as “the insider” that the Iranian funds frozen in Iraqi banks amounted to 10 billion dollars or more.

Iraq imports gas from Iran to operate electricity at a value of $11 billion annually, according to Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.

These developments took place during the Iraqis' preoccupation with the issue of the budget, and Munqith Dagher confirms that within the new agreement: "It is the state militias to stop the escalation against America."

And it became clear in Iraq, since the coordination framework took power after the withdrawal of the Sadrist movement, that the attacks that were occurring on an almost daily basis against foreign missions and bases had stopped.

In the last three years, before the formation of the current government, the factions calling themselves “resistance” launched more than 100 attacks on these facilities.

In a related context, Nabil Al-Marsoumi, an economics professor in Basra, believes that the US understanding with Iran may lower oil prices.

Al-Marsoumi said in a post on Facebook: “Any American-Iranian agreement would lead to an increase in Iranian oil production and exports between half a million and one million barrels per day, which would result in a decrease in global oil prices that would negatively affect oil revenues in OPEC countries, including Iraq.” .

And members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee warned earlier of the possibility of adding another deficit between 6 to 9 billion to the budget (I passed a deficit of 64 trillion dinars) in the event that the price of a barrel of oil became 70 dollars, while it is now sold for 75.

Concern about the fluctuation of oil prices appears behind the plan to invest gas in Iraq, and to find an alternative in exchange for Iranian gas, relying on Qatar, whose Emir Tamim bin Hamad visited Baghdad a few days ago, in perhaps the fastest visit of an Arab leader to Iraq, which lasted only 3 hours.

The United States welcomed bin Hamad's visit to Iraq, and "framework" leaders who were known for their criticism of Qatar were silent about the recent visit.

Those leaders and faction leaders began, in recent months, to back down from their previous positions on Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and they have greatly reduced their attacks on the United States.

Returning to the US-Iranian understanding, Nabil Al-Marsoumi points out that “the abolition of restrictions on bank transfers in dollars to Iran will lead to a significant increase in the exchange rate of the dinar against the dollar, and the parallel exchange rate will come very close to the official rate.”

And there is still about 20 points (number) a difference between the exchange rate of the dollar from the central bank and the stock exchanges, despite the government's measures.

In addition, the leader of the Umma Party, Mithal Al-Alusi, criticized the new agreement between Tehran and Washington, describing it in an interview with (Al-Mada) as a "fragile agreement" and said that "Washington will then admit the error of this measure, just as it recognized the error of the Vietnam War."

Al-Alusi, a former deputy, added that "the agreement is still secret and it is not known from the American side who is managing it," noting that there are many side understandings on the sidelines of this agreement that led to "covering up the loyalists in Iraq."

And the former deputy considered that the agreement “will unleash the hands of loyalists (a term in Iraq used to refer to factions and parties loyal to Iran), and militias in Iraq and the region.”

Al-Alusi criticized the Iraqi policy, which "drums as a platform for negotiation and rapprochement between countries, while we do not find a clear position on the water and climate crises and the militias inside the country."

Al-Alusi confirmed that what is happening is related to the US elections, considering the announcement of the agreement that "it will be a sad day for Iraq and the region because it will unleash the hand of the Revolutionary Guards to tamper with the security of countries and export the revolution." LINK