Answering MPs’ questions in parliament on Wednesday, Ratas also said that the government’s aim is to decrease Estonia’s debt burden from 9.4 percent to 7 percent by 2021.

“At present the nominal deficit of the 2018 budget is 0.1 percent of GDP, or €36 million, and the structural deficit 0.25 percent of GDP, or approximately €61 million,” the prime minister said, adding that many national issues are addressed in the next year’s budget.

“This involves the Health Insurance Fund, our defense capability, local government, and the increase in the minimum income exempt from tax,” Ratas said.

The prime minister also added that it is important to finance projects with means out of EU structural funds before the end of the current budgetary period.

“We need to be able to look at the volumes of the projects and finance them [out of the EU funds] as much as possible before the end of 2020. With this I mean Rail Baltica, for example,” Ratas said.

The European Union’s current budgetary period lasts until the end of 2020. Estonia won’t have the same amount of EU support money available in the next budgetary period.