Estonian finance committee reviews half of 2027 budget amendments

Estonia’s parliamentary finance committee reviewed half of the amendments submitted to the 2027 state budget on Monday, ERR reported.

The committee approved a comprehensive amendment prepared by the government and submitted in the committee’s name. It includes 200,000 euros for the national volleyball team in recognition of its success. The committee also prepared a proposal to add 7.47 million euros for special care services, a 13 percent increase in funding. The budget line currently includes 57 million euros.

Members reviewed many other proposals, most of which were sent to the full parliament without the committee’s support. Amendments need at least two votes in the committee to be put to a vote in the plenary. Proposals that do not meet legal requirements will be removed from the list, while the others can still be voted on.

One point of dispute is the Centre Party’s proposal to use a bank tax and progressive income tax to fund amendments. Committee chair Annely Akkermann said there were no draft bills or calculations showing that either measure could bring 100 million euros into the state budget. She also said the Centre Party had not specified what income would qualify someone as rich or what higher tax rate it proposed.

The committee will continue reviewing amendments on Tuesday, and the draft budget is due for its second reading on Wednesday. Two extraordinary committee meetings were cancelled last week because there was no quorum.