Head of State Michel Aoun (c) chairing a meeting of Nagib Mikati's government on Feb. 15, 2022 at Baabda Palace. (Credit: @LBpresidency)
BEIRUT — Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s cabinet started a session in Baabda Palace shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, under the leadership of President Michel Aoun to discuss the controversial capital control draft law. This law is aimed at legalizing and standardizing banking restrictions in place since 2019.
Here’s what we know:
• The initial draft law has been criticized by several institutional and civil society actors. Two parliamentary committees, namely the Finance and Budget Committee, chaired by MP Ibrahim Kanaan, and the Administration and Justice Committee, chaired by MP Georges Adwan, rejected the latest version for “defects” in form and content.
• The draft law was transferred to the government on Tuesday for re-examination. The cabinet should send it back to the parliamentary committees once it is revised.
• The government claims that the draft law has taken into account remarks made by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF is discussing a financial rescue deal with the Lebanese government.
• Saade Chami who leads the Lebanese delegation responsible for negotiating with the IMF, told L'Orient Today that the government is not going to draw up a new version of the text on the capital control draft law, “especially since the parliamentarians meeting on Monday have not examined the project, but have expressed formal reservations.” However, Chami did not rule out the possibility of making some changes to the project.
• The agenda for Wednesday's session is made up of 29 items, including one on food security in Lebanon. The cabinet session was preceded by a meeting between Aoun and Mikati.