At a Glance

• The Council of Ministers has delayed submitting the draft budget law to Parliament.

• Political parties within the State Administration Coalition remain heavily divided over the budget's contents.

• The Kurdistan Region's financial share serves as a primary point of contention.

A source within the Finance Committee of the Iraqi Parliament stated that the Council of Ministers' submission of the draft budget law to the Parliament will be delayed until next month. 

Key Statements and Focus Area

• The parliamentary source told Channel8 that the delay could be until November 15, adding that political parties within the State Administration Coalition remain divided over its contents. 

• The source noted that the Kurdistan Region's financial share in the budget remains another primary point of contention. 

According to a source who spoke to Channel8, the conditions and demands imposed on the Kurdistan Region have grown increasingly stringent. 

The source stated that among these requirements, Baghdad demands the handover of 445,000 barrels of oil per day, alongside regional internal revenues, taxes, and customs fees. 

The source emphasized that the KRG rejects these demands, adding that the Kurdistan Region's share in contractual and newly created public sector employment allocations remains strictly contingent upon reaching a final agreement regarding its overall budget share.

FYI

An Iraqi government delegation led by Acting Parliament Speaker Mohsen Al-Mandalawi, alongside the Deputy Prime Minister for Energy Affairs, the Ministers of Oil and Electricity, and several advisors, held talks with Kurdistan Regional Government officials. 

The meeting focused on drafting the 2027 federal budget bill, explicitly deliberating the Kurdistan Region's revenue share, financial entitlements, and the technical procedures required to resume its oil exports. 

However, Channel 8 has learned that the meeting concluded without reaching a tangible result, as the two sides only agreed on a timeline to resolve the outstanding issues. 

In Article 10 of the draft law, the Kurdistan Region's budget share is set at 12.67 percent, accompanied by several conditions imposed on Erbil, including the daily delivery of 400,000 barrels of oil, surplus natural gas production, the settlement of Trade Bank of Iraq debts, and the handover of non-oil revenues. 

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