Social Democrats may back Estonia’s budget if proposals are accepted

Estonia’s Social Democrats may support next year’s state budget in an amended form if their proposals are accepted, party leader Lauri Läänemets said on Tuesday, ERR reported. The party has called for additional funding for special care.

The governing coalition does not have a majority in parliament and needs support from opposition parties to pass the budget. Läänemets said the Social Democrats wanted to address issues including special care and healthcare, and that they would consider supporting a revised budget if their proposals were backed.

Parliament’s Finance Committee discussed the budget on Tuesday. Committee chair Annely Akkermann of the Reform Party said opposition proposals are included in the budget process every year, adding that discussions would be more extensive this year. The deadline for submitting amendments is at the end of October, with more serious negotiations with the opposition expected in November.

The budget’s first reading is scheduled for October 20, the second for November 11 and the third for December 9. The committee plans to discuss the budget by area of government over several meetings in the coming weeks.

Next year’s budget totals 21.3 billion euros, with 19.4 billion euros in revenue, about 20.2 billion euros in expenditure and approximately 1.2 billion euros in investments.