On 11 January, 2025, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani chaired an extraordinary meeting of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Council of Ministers, with Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani in attendance. The meeting, attended by members of parliament and ministers representing the Kurdistan Region in both federal parliament and government, focused on the financial rights and entitlements of the Kurdistan Region.

The Prime Minister emphasised that the financial rights and entitlements of the people of Kurdistan must be provided. However, beyond financial matters, there are many other national issues that require collective efforts from the Kurdistan Region and its representatives. These include the implementation of Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution which addresses the fate of the Kurdistani areas outside the Region; allocation of the Peshmerga budget as an integral element of the Iraqi security apparatus; and reparation for the families of the victims of the Anfal Campaign, Halabja, and other genocidal crimes committed by the former regime including the destruction of 4,500 Kurdistani villages. These reparations are clearly addressed in the Iraqi Constitution.

Prime Minister Barzani stated: “Unfortunately, Baghdad’s current treatment of the Kurdistan Region does not reflect the principles of federalism, or a federal entity, as no governorate is treated in the same manner. The Federal Government’s approach is unjust, violates the Iraqi constitution, is incompatible with the federal system, and is entirely unacceptable.” He emphasised that this relationship must be corrected, stating: “We have a constitution, and we must abide by it. The federal status of the Kurdistan Region must be respected.”

The Council made the following decisions:

1. The KRG and the Kurdistan Region's representatives in Baghdad must collaborate to ensure the full payment of salaries to public sector employees in the Kurdistan Region for all twelve months of 2025. To achieve this, the Council resolved to form a delegation of the Kurdistan Region’s representatives to meet with the Prime Minister of Iraq and deliver the KRG’s message. This message emphasises that the Kurdistan Region must be treated as a federal and constitutional entity within Iraq and that the issue of salaries for 2025 must be resolved.

2. The KRG’s Ministry of Finance and Economy must actively participate in the review process of the Kurdistan Region’s share in the proposed tables for salaries, operating expenditures, investment budget projects, and regional and provincial development budget. Furthermore, all entitlement tables for 2025 must be prepared jointly by the Kurdistan Region’s Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Federal Ministry of Finance. This includes financial entitlements and job grades and staffing tables, which must be aligned with the Iraqi Constitution and the recent ruling of the Supreme Court.

3. Preparations for the Federal Budget Law must begin immediately, ensuring that the Kurdistan Region's share of the budget is allocated based on the 2024 census and fair constitutional standards for determining the Region's entitlement as a federal entity. Respecting the unique status of the Kurdistan Region, the allocated budget must be disbursed directly to the Region and redistributed according to its own budget framework.