The Ministry of Culture itself also has to find ways to reduce its budget by 5 percent next year via cuts to ministry-provided subsidies, labor costs, and operational expenses. Over a three-year period, the ministry's savings target stands at 10 percent. How much does this translate to into actual sums for your ministry?

I should start by explaining things in a bit more detail. This task you outline didn't just appear out of nowhere. I've been in this position for a year and a half and have already prepared two budgetary cuts – last year's state budget and the negative supplementary budget this summer – and this is now my third austerity budget.

In the previous budgets, I focused on finding and identifying the necessary savings from within my ministry. The ministry itself has shrunk its operating expenses down to the bare minimum. The single clear objective of the cuts has been to ensure that no culturally significant institutions are forced to close their doors. And up to now, we've managed to achieve that.

However, the task this time is so substantial in scale, that it is no longer feasible to meet the target simply by cutting the ministry's internal costs. As I stated, we've already brought those costs to a minimum, and there is still something of a buffer left, which we will have to use up to meet this new task.

And the current government has indeed agreed on these percentages: Five percent next year. And how this is done is up to each minister within their respective ministries. Simply the specific challenge with the Ministry of Culture's budget is that a large portion consists of funds which are passed on to others, rather than being put towards the ministry's internal operations.

Our operating costs aren't as high as those funds we distribute, so therefore the cuts are mainly being made to those funds, alongside reviewing our renovation funds and other ministry activities.

Quantify the task for us, so we can understand if the Ministry of Culture's administrative budget this year is approximately €343 million, then how much needs to be summarized so that we have some point of comparison, then we can go into the content, how much needs to be reduced from where and what?

I will certainly start by really explaining how I am addressing the 5 percent cuts target. Why am I explaining it this way? This is because, as I stated earlier, our largest expenses are the funds we pass on. These cultural institutions and organizations which play a critical role in maintaining and fostering Estonia's national identity and cultural space.

My first priority has been to identify which institutions are the foundation of our cultural field, without which the core of our culture could not function.

Have you identified this core, then?

The information from our administrative heads as of today is that foundations and public-law entities under the Ministry of Culture's remit will face a 4-percent budget cut next year, while their budgets will then be frozen until 2028.

This was the main message which came out today. In 2025, the total cut will amount to €13.45 million, with an additional €8 million in 2026 and €5 million in 2027.

This means that by 2026, we will need to spend €26.3 million less than this year. The second part of the equation will be clarified after a week.

Is it your political intent for this 4-percent cut to be distributed evenly among the institutions, or are there political decisions to be made about which institutions to support, more or less?

The four-percent cut applies uniformly across the board – there won't be any exceptions. We are talking about the baseline budget. While there are specific areas with exceptions outside the baseline, that's a detail. All foundations and public-law institutions under the Ministry of Culture, including the public broadcaster, must cut 4 percent, and their budgets will be frozen.

This is already an exception in itself, so we won't make further exceptions.

But really there are some "golden" exceptions. I have refused to make cuts in the field of literature, as I believe literature needs to be supported during these tough times. We also won't cut lending compensation or funds for institutions with direct ties to the Ministry of Culture. Those remain untouched.

Just to confirm, does this mean that compared with this year's budget, these institutions must cut 4 percent and their budgets will stay at that level until 2028?

Yes, you understand things correctly.

So, if they must cut 4 percent, does that mean someone else will have to cut more?

That's right, and the second part of the equation will be revealed next week.

What does this mean in practice? Are we talking about the same support and application rounds for things like music competitions, or private theater grants?

The Ministry of Culture has been tasked with cutting 10 percent over the budgetary period. Up to today, I've announced that foundations and public-law institutions are to take on 4 percent of that, while the rest will be clarified next week.

If foundations and public-law institutions make up the majority of the ministry's budget, does that mean the remaining areas will need to be cut by 20 percent?

We'll find out the rest of the equation next week.

Why will that be clarified later?

Because then the government also has other decisions to make that directly affect these decisions from the Ministry of Culture

I understand that much, but how does this depend on the government's decisions?

It does certainly depend on it because there are still unresolved issues which could affect decisions within my ministry. However, I won't go into any further detail on that

When foundations are given the task of making a 4-percent cut, why did you decide to give all of them the same cut across the board, rather than making political choices to support one foundation more, or another one less? Why didn't you set priorities among the foundations, such as the theaters?

Foundations in the cultural field, as I have said before, play a very significant role and a key role in implementing national cultural policy and achieving its objectives. It would be arbitrary to start making exceptions here. The subsidies they get already vary across museums and foundations— be it museums, concert organizations, or performing arts institutions, we are talking about, their budgets are already different. I'm pleased that they've approached their work with great seriousness. It's also a sign of trust and confidence, as much as we can offer in these difficult times.

Let me bring a simple and arbitrary example, which is we do we need to maintain a ballet theater in two cities (ie. Tallinn and Tartu – ed.)? Maybe one would be enough?

Next year can indeed be the right time to start that discussion. It has been talked about, and the debate has already started in the media. It needs to be discussed with experts in the field. I'm not an expert in the field myself, plus without studies, analyses, and impact assessments, I can't give a subjective judgment or answer to that question.

And this should be analyzed, for example, within the framework of this zero-budget project, which also affects the Ministry of Culture: Do we need two ballet theaters, or if we could provide as it were ballet theater services with just one theater?

This is exactly what needs to be discussed. As of today, this task has not been given me. In order to answer the question of how many theaters the Republic of Estonia can afford, the debate needs to take place among the experts in the field.

When foundations got the task to make cuts, they will undoubtedly have to make some tough decisions, such as doing less of something, or closing certain areas. Do the heads of these foundations have the assurance that they have free rein, so to speak? Or should they fear criticism following, falling also on the minister, who could then say, "Oh, we didn't agree to this, let's review the decision made by the head of the institution"?

The heads of foundations have the freedom to decide how to manage the cuts within the given percentage. They really have had the time to think and discuss things over the course of this year, during which time it was known that significant cuts were coming, on which activities could be scaled back and which must absolutely continue in place.

But I did emphasize one thing to them—the most important factor in this situation is the people. Of course, the ministry cannot dictate what plans an institution's head should have or how they should act; in that respect, their hands are free. The heads of institutions themselves will decide how to achieve the 4 percent cut.

In other words if the Kultuurileht foundation decides to shut down one of its publications, no one can intervene politically?

They are not shutting down any of their publications. We have been in constant communication with our foundations. I hope that a situation like that does not arise unexpectedly. We have reviewed the "pain points" for each institution.

And from where can these foundations even make cuts, if a large portion of their expenses are related to personnel costs?

The dynamics and options for savings vary between foundations. Some have the ability to generate their own revenue, which serves to provide more flexibility. There, much of the opportunities lie. I can't provide a more exact answer to this question. The use of transferred or allocated funds depends on an institution and its founder—founders also have expectations, and it is the other party's responsibility to meet those expectations. We are in daily contact with our foundations via various advisors, who work in this ministry

One more difficult issue to address: The head of the National Library (Rahvusraamatukogu) told Vikerraadio today that they are short by €1.2 million to complete the construction, while when the building is finished next summer, the library will essentially lack all funding for furnishings, or €21 million. What is going to happen there?

We have discussed this in the cabinet. A decision or clarity on the need for funding for the National Library's furnishings will be reached within a week, and then the fate of the missing funds will also be determined. I remain hopeful we can resolve this situation in a positive way for the library, ensuring that the ongoing construction can continue, that the missing €1.2 million for construction gets found, and that funding for furnishings is provided, so the library can open. The government's stance has been that ongoing construction projects should be completed.

And what about the €9.9 million for the Tallinna kunstihoone?

That is also among the priorities.

These are essentially additional budget requests, and you're still waiting for a response, then?

Exactly, just like the other ministries are.

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