Around one month ago, Hussar announced that he would be holding meetings with party faction leaders to find common ground on what contribution MPs might make to saving costs at a time of austerity measures being put in place in the 2025 state budget.

The speaker said that he has already met with the factions heads, and the main topic of discussion has been whether, and to what extent, to reduce the expense allowances granted to MPs. For instance, Hussar's own party, Estonia 200, has suggested halving these.

Hussar said: "The proposals coming from the factions vary widely."

"None of them expressly oppose cutting allowances. The question is how to do this and in what way. Since we still plan to hold thorough discussions on these matters, I won't be giving any specific proposals. Otherwise, the process would end up being carried out via the media. I'd rather discuss this with the faction leaders first," Hussar, a former Postimees editor-in-chief, went on.

Reform Party Riigikogu faction chair Õnne Pillak said she had already met with Hussar to exchange ideas on the matter.

Pillak said that, in her view, MPs should cut their expenses in line with the state's cuts. However, the Reform Party has yet to form a unified stance on how far expense allowances should be cut.

"Yes, we have shared thoughts on expense allowances, but until we have reached a unified position; let's keep this as an internal discussion. Once this has been agreed on, we can talk about it more specifically," Pillak said.

Center's faction chair Lauri Laats called the entire process initiated by the speaker "pure populism," since cutting expense allowances would not save a significant amount of money.

According to Laats, meaningful savings could be achieved if MPs' salaries were tied to their actual work contribution.

Laats said: "The simplest example can be taken from the European Parliament, where if an MEP does not attend a session and sign in, they do not receive per diem pay. Similarly, if they don't take part in a session in Strasbourg, their expense allowances are also affected. These are precisely the areas which should guarantee the quality of lawmaking."

Priit Lomp (SDE) pointed out that Hussar had proposed a similar reform of expense allowances a year ago. At that time, one idea considered was tightening the system of reimbursing MPs' fuel expenses.

Lomp said: "Back then we were also waiting for discussions to take place. Unfortunately, the issue fell off the table. However, this is a topic which needs to be addressed and should not be handled in a hurry. If consensus is sought at the Riigikogu on this matter, the SDE faction will not be obstructing it."

As for Isamaa and the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), their faction chairs, Helir-Valdor Seeder and Martin Helme respectively, had not responded to ERR's questions on the matter as of Monday evening.

The state budget bill 2025 is with the Riigikogu for its first reading, of three, with a view to passing by year-end.

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