EU money will in future fund economic growth and employment in Estonia
The Ministry of Finance is embarking on a tour of Estonia to introduce the new EU budget period of 2014-2020, saying focus is on sustainable investments.
Estonia received 4.1 billion euros from the European Union in the past decade and the figure for the new seven-year budget will be 3.5 billion euros.
“Some of the investments from the previous period have been excessive investments such as highway infrastructure where great interjections and bypasses have been built,” Kadri Tali, the head of the ministry's state budget department, said.
Priorities for Estonia during the new period are economic growth and employment. The environment, the energy sector, transport and IT have also been listed as priorities.
“We have arrived at a stage where our economy is no longer growing quickly and focus is on increasing productivity. Estonia is a subcontracting nation which means we must continue to develop our own products and services. The plan is to support cooperation between businesses and research institutions,” Tali said.
She said EU funds must help with a jump in development.
Editor: J.M. Laats