Lebanon's Finance Minister says 2026 budget to support financial regularity, social spending
The discussions touched on the ministry's ongoing preparations for the 2026 draft budget, which is being developed in collaboration with the EU.
Jaber said he is looking forward to a budget that reflects Lebanon's development strategies and reform objectives, which the government has adopted as its main priorities.
These include reactivating governance and oversight bodies, restructuring banks, public debt, and the Eurobond portfolio.
He noted that the draft budget under preparation takes into account measures that would help put Lebanon on the right track toward financial regularity, paving the way for future budgets to increase spending on social sectors.
For her part, De Waele highlighted the EU's readiness to assist ministries in preparing their budgets, which would help the Finance Ministry allocate financial resources.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
L'Orient-Le Jour
17 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Finance Ministry wants to reassess Lebanese banks' real estate, land assets
On Tuesday, the Finance Ministry issued a decision outlining the provisions related to the revaluation of real estate assets seized by banks due to their clients' failure to repay debts, as well as the revaluation of their other real estate and land assets. In this decision, the Ministry specifies the exchange rate that banks must use for these revaluations, given that the lira exchange rate to the dollar has significantly fluctuated since the onset of the Lebanese economic crisis in 2019, until achieving stability in the summer of 2023.'This mechanism, whose aim is purely fiscal and accounting in nature, is intended to adjust the accounts of Lebanese banks. It follows and complements Law No. 330 of 2024,' said Nadim Daher, a certified public accountant and member of the Lebanese Association for the Taxpayers' Rights. More on banks'...
L'Orient-Le Jour
17 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Cash declaration at the border, Internet, appointments: Other decisions made at the latest Cabinet meeting
The disarmament of Hezbollah was not the only explosive issue on the agenda at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting in Baabda, on which the government took a step forward. The government also approved two draft laws amending existing legislation, seen as critical for trying to convince the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) — the leading global anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing body — to remove Lebanon from its gray list. The first project, which is considered urgent, seeks to increase the penalties for those who do not declare the sums of money in their possession when crossing Lebanese borders. This is an amendment to Law No. 42/2015 concerning the cross-border transport of cash. The law requires anyone physically transporting money, when entering or leaving the country, to declare it to customs if the amount exceeds $15,000, subject to fines, among other penalties. The second project strengthens the provisions of Law No. 44/2015 "in order to ensure better compliance with international standards," according to the decision's statement. Both projects now must go before Parliament. According to a government source, they were prepared under the direction of Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, Economy Minister Amer Bsat and Central Bank (BDL) Governor Karim Souhaid. The adoption of the two laws in 2015 allowed Lebanon to be removed in 2016 from the FATF's gray list, where it had been placed six years earlier. However, during the most recent evaluations conducted from 2022 to 2024, the country was put back on the list. Internet discussion postponed until next week The government was also supposed to review the report of Telecommunications Minister Charles Hage on ongoing negotiations between Lebanon and three satellite internet service providers: Starlink, Eutelsat and Arabsat. The issue was ultimately postponed until next week. The minister said that Starlink, the network operated by SpaceX and owned by billionaire Elon Musk, meets all the conditions set by Lebanon, including those of the security forces and the justice ministry's consulting and legislation committee, to obtain a license from Lebanese authorities. The parliamentary telecoms committee is scheduled to examine the Starlink case and that of illegal internet providers on Wednesday. The ministry was also to report on the status of negotiations with the two other companies, Eutelsat and Arabsat. Both operate smaller satellite fleets than Starlink but have more concentrated networks — Eutelsat in Europe and Arabsat in Arab countries. The telecom ministry plans to consult security forces and the consulting committee when the discussions reach the stage of formal negotiations. Environment, culture, and firefighters As for administrative appointments scheduled on the agenda, the executive approved the renewal of Rony Lahoud's term as head of the Public Housing Agency — a body distinct from Banque de l'Habitat, tasked with facilitating home ownership for low-income families. Its capacity to accept new applications has been halted since Lebanon's crisis. Lahoud has held the position since 2014. The government also approved the makeup of the board of directors. Hani Shaarani serves as chair, with Hani Shamaa, Gaby Khouryati, Bassim Bkhash, Joumana Tadmori and Leila Shahoud as members. The government also approved a draft decree presented by the Environment Ministry to ratify the Arab Environment Facility, a regional body established by members of the Arab League to finance and support environmental projects. Lebanon is among the countries that have already signed onto this mechanism, ratified at the ministerial level by the Arab League in September 2008, but the ratification process in Lebanon has been underway since 2011. Few Arab League countries have ratified this treaty to date. The government also approved a memorandum of understanding between Lebanon's National Library and the National Library of Spain, submitted by Culture Minister Ghassan Salameh. Few details were provided, but such agreements typically involve collection exchanges or digitization projects in practice. The government also approved an agreement between the Civil Service Council, the International Organization of La Francophonie, and the French Institute of Lebanon to improve the French-language skills of some Lebanese civil servants. Finally, the Cabinet approved a competitive exam to be launched by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport for the recruitment of 25 officers for the fire brigade of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, to fill vacant positions with the fire brigade operating at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport.
LBCI
2 days ago
- LBCI
EU suspends tariff retaliation after Trump trade deal
The EU announced Tuesday the suspension of its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods worth 93 billion euros ($107 billion) after Brussels struck a deal with Washington last month. "The commission has today adopted the necessary legal procedures to suspend the implementation of our EU countermeasures, which were due to kick in on August 7," EU trade spokesman Olof Gill said. AFP
