The reports come at a time when ministries, state agencies and the public sector are being required to make cuts in the context of the 2025 state budget, while various taxes and duties are being hiked.

Kadri Klaos, head of the Ministry of Finance's state finance department, told ERR a portion of the 2023 budget is certain to remain unused.

Klaos said: "In the Ministry of Finance's summer forecast, we have accounted for a continuation of relatively similar activity."

However, since the under-process 2025 state budget and the accompanying state budget strategy will include new cost-saving objectives, institutions' actions and their financial impact may change, Klaos added, noting that this is just "very indicative and estimated."

Klaos stressed that carrying over unused funds into the next budgetary year is permissible under law, but again it is still too early to draw significant conclusions.

Urmas Reinsalu, chairman of the Riigikogu's State Budget Control Committee, has also said a similar shortfall will occur with this year's (ie. 2024's) budget, citing finance ministry figures.

The summer forecast said the state will execute 89 percent of the 2023 budget, which totaled €19.617 billion. This would leave an unspent sum of €2.158 billion.

The Ministry of Finance has previously explained that ministries are given a spending limit at the start of the year in accordance with the budget. If less gets spent, the budgetary balance picture improves, save for cases involving external funds, where expenses and revenues are considered equivalents.

In summer this year, it was reported that over €2 billion from the 2023 state budget has remained unused.

The total expenditures and investments from the 2023 state budget came to €18.712 billion, with an execution rate of 87 percent, ie. €16.241 billion was utilized over the year, and €2.471 billion was not.

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