It took more than seven months to complete the 2019 budget law, despite the pressing need to have completed it by the maximum constitutional deadline of end January 2019. Had Lebanon managed to produce the 2019 budget within the mandated time frame, it would have gone a long way toward restoring confidence in the ability of the state to complete its financial functions, which, in turn, would have had positive effects on local financial markets, and on the countries and donors that pledged loans and grants to Lebanon on the condition of fiscal reforms at the April 2018 investment conference, known as CEDRE. Based on figures released for the 2019 budget, the assumption of reducing the fiscal deficit to 7.6 percent from 11.5 percent the previous year is far-fetched; international financial institutions are in agreement on this. In terms of revenues, it is very difficult to achieve an increase of
