The government originally aimed to send a negative supplementary draft budget to the Riigikogu today (May 23) at the latest to keep on track with its spring working timetable, but this will now be delayed.

On Wednesday, Minister of Finance Mart Võrklaev (Reform) sent a memo to the coalition partners outlining its main components.

"The material presented yesterday is certainly not the kind of material that can be sent to the Riigikogu because there are specific lines that have not been clarified," said Läänemets, adding the memo was very general.

"Secondly, it must be said that the information known to both Eesti 200 and SDE is not quite there in that form. Maybe it is not a good idea to do the budget over the phone," he said, pointing out that ministers will not physically meet this coming week. "We had no other idea about it."

"Today, the government certainly can not approve the budget in principle. For that, political agreements must be made beforehand so that all parties can understand them in the same way," the minister added.

Proposal would put pressure to cut subsidies next year

Läänemets highlighted two issues that have not yet been resolved.

The first concerns approximately €6 million worth of cuts from Minister of Social Protection Signe Riisalo's (Reform) area of responsibility.

Läänemets said only the cuts for this year could be done. However, the table presented by Võrklaev suggests savings should be found in fixed costs.

"I know that in the social field, indeed, it would be possible this year to make a cut in carry-overs. But there is also a cut in this table for the following years," said Läänemets, noting that this surprised SDE. "We had quite different information a week ago."

The minister said the law should be changed in the future for the cuts to be carried over to the following years. "And changes to the law already concern, for example, special pensions or benefits for the most vulnerable, whether it is disability benefits or something like that," he said. "These are not questions that can be decided with an Excel spreadsheet and then discussed about what is done and how."

Biggest point of contention is cuts to the Ministry of the Interior

The second point is cuts to the Ministry of the Interior. Läänemets is still against this.

"While the Reform Party has exactly the same position on defense, the Social Democrats have the same position on both defense and internal security," the minister said.

He noted that even a couple percent cut in operating expenses would mean a reduction in the payroll of the Ministry of the Interior.

"SDE believes what we should really be discussing is (Gen.) Martin Herem's proposal and how we can find an extra €1.5 billion for national defence, given the developments being discussed in the security cabinets," Läänemets said. "And the second thing is, I think we are very close to the point where we also need to start putting more money into internal security."

The Riigikogu is due to break for summer at the end of June, and some members have already made vacation plans. However, there is no law that says the budget cannot be discussed over the summer.

Läänemets did not begin to predict when the draft could reach the Riigikogu: "I can't say what the finance minister's plan is."

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