Võrklaev presented his idea of ​​a negative supplementary additional budget to the cabinet meeting on Thursday, but SDE Chairman and Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets does not agree with making cuts in his area of administration.

Võrklaev said that everyone's requests were considered to reach a compromise as soon as possible. For example, changes to the revenue base of municipalities and the distribution of education funds were removed.

"It also took into account the request of the Ministry of the Interior in its savings pitch, where the minister offered his savings number. /.../ Regardless of the fact that we still have issues with the Ministry of the Interior, on Tuesday the minister of the interior, at least on the phone, agreed to review things with all the other ministries, to reach an agreement. Because time is pressing and the budget needs to be filled," Võrklaev said.

Speaking about Läänemets's opposition to cuts at the Ministry of the Interior cuts, Võrklaev stated that if every minister started saying the same thing, the budget would not be able to be put together.

"If we go into every area (with the message) that there are no savings to be made here, then unfortunately we will not achieve those savings. The current savings target for the Ministry of Interior, which would have to be made from staff management costs, is somewhat less than the amount that the Ministry of Interior administration paid in bonuses and performance fees last year," the finance minister claimed.

Võrklaev said Läänemets himself has proposed that savings from personnel management costs at the ministry could amount to €4 million.

"According to initial calculations, compared to other ministries, it should be higher. But this has been his own offer. And that is what I have taken into account," the minister of finance said.

He hopes the cuts can be agreed upon by next week and then sent to the Riigikogu. "Every day we spend arguing actually postpones it," Võrklaev said.

Tsahkna: No political agreement

Eesti 200 chairman and foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said at the government's press conference on Thursday an agreement between the parties is nowhere in sight.

"Today, taking into account the exclusions, I do not know at all how many cuts are going to be made /.../ Today, in the government meeting, we will not approve the supplementary budget, because there is also no agreement within the framework of the memo [presented by Võrklaev]," he stated.

Tsahkna said the table of cuts presented in the memo does not correspond to what has been a political agreement, and Eesti 200 does not agree that the three ministries in their hands must make up to half of the €175 million, while some areas are excluded altogether.

"If we contribute, we all contribute. This memo does nothing to address this," he said.

Kallas: Interior ministry could cut rewards

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) told ERR there is no final agreement in the government. "New things are constantly being found to disagree with. Therefore, I will not give a (final) figure, because we do not have a clear final picture," she said.

Kallas agreed with Tsahkna that the negotiations will not get far by excluding areas from the cuts.

"We have proposed alternatives. What creates a sense of injustice in ministers, as the foreign minister has said, if one does less, others have to do more. And that creates a disconnect in everybody. We are in this together, the government has to come up with these solutions together, and that means that everyone still has to play their part; that everyone can justify their area as being just as important," she said.

Kallas said no one wants to make cuts at the expense of internal security, but there are places in the Ministry of the Interior where cuts can be found.

"If you have over four million, almost five million (euros) in bonuses paid last year in the interior ministry, I think nothing will happen if they are not paid this year. I believe that there are solutions," Kallas said.

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