While the provision of state-provided services is not set to be cut, savings are to be in the operating and personnel costs of ministries and their subordinate agencies, some ministers say.

These savings are put at €100 million, the sum earmarked in the newly agreed supplementary budget for this year.

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) told AK: "No public services will this year be cut."

"There are transferable lines; buffers where savings can be made. Savings will derive from operational costs and labor costs, but no service will be reduced mid-year," the prime minister went on.

AK also spoke to Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev (Reform), asking him whether civil servants would now be bearing the brunt of the impending cuts.

Võrklaev rejected that charge, saying: "Actually over the past three weeks, many ministers have been aware of the substance [of the cuts], while some plans had already been in place for a while."

As for services, in an address to staff, director of the Social Insurance Board (SKA) Maret Maripuu noted €1,27 million cuts need to be made to social service provision, along with €120,000 from a substitute care support service, all of which will most likely fall on child and special needs care, family mediation, and other services

A €400,000 cut from personnel and operational costs is also to be made in this area, Maripuu noted in her letter, which portal Delfi got hold of.

Võrklaev said that he had seen that communique also.

"The annual salary cost for 150 [SKA] staff is about €5 million. This means in my opinion we can review operational and personnel costs across the state, prior to cutting services," Võrklaev told AK.

150 was the figure by which SKA's payroll has risen, Võrklaev noted, stating that 100 people process pensions and family benefits alone, according to the agency's website.

Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) meanwhile said that lengthy cabinet discussions had focused on whether the savings made via the supplementary budget should be on one-off or rolling costs, which in the latter case would impact future years' expenses.

"Eesti 200's goal from the start has been to make permanent cost reductions; otherwise, we will have to restart the entire process in August. There is no point in making one decision two months before and then starting over again," the minister said.

"This debate took place, and it was finally agreed that 80 percent of the cuts would entail permanent cost reductions, save for the Ministry of the Interior, which was allowed to make cuts to one-time costs," she continued.

While agreement has this week been made on the €175 million (€100 million in cuts and €75 million in called-in dividends from state-owned firms) negative supplementary budget on a preliminary basis, the final excel table setting out all the relevant entries is still in the future, and, Kristina Kallas noted, is also a matter for each minister must align the savings according to their priorities.

"We know that the cut for research and development is €18 million, ministry expenses cuts are around €30 million, and foundations cuts are about €10 million. The exact sources of the cuts are or will be known to the ministries. The final adjustments are being made so that the bill can be completed by Wednesday," Kallas added.

That tight time-frame also reflects the upcoming Riigikogu summer recess. Once finalized, the supplementary budget must be passed at parliament before it can enter into effect.

Once summer is over, the work of drafting the 2025 state budget begins in earnest.

While the supplementary budget under process has been issued in response to the current economic situation, ultimately its main aim is to ensure Estonia's state budget deficit falls within the 3 percent of GDP set out under EU rules.

The current Reform-Eesti 200-SDE coalition has 12 ministers, excluding the prime minister, across 11 ministries – the Ministry of Social Affairs has two ministers, health and social security, under its remit.

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