Draft law amending the State Budget Act (520 SE) - First Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
Date: 2025-01-16 12:19
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 74
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 1h 28m
AI Summaries: 74/74 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
A single item on the agenda concerned the carrying out of the first reading of the draft act amending the State Budget Act, initiated by the Centre Party faction. The discussion raised issues of budget transparency and the need to bring the state budget and its explanatory notes into alignment, and to include expenditure and revenue lines in the act. Speakers pointed out that the existing system consolidates details into the explanatory notes, allowing ministers to make changes even after the Riigikogu (Parliament) has voted; critics argue this is a contradiction of constitutional order and clarity. Discussions also covered, in broad terms, proposed solutions and the opportunity to achieve a very thorough discussion and cooperation between the opposition and the coalition during the second reading, in order to achieve a clearer and more accountable budget structure.
Decisions Made 1
Bill 520 to be rejected on the first reading. The Riigikogu adopted the leadership committee's proposal to reject the bill. The result of the vote: 32 in favor, 11 against, 0 abstentions. Bill 520 is dropped from the process.
Most Active Speaker
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart – Centre Party faction representative and bill introducer; position: other
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Today on the agenda is the first reading of the draft law No. 520 to amend the State Budget Act, initiated by the Estonian Centre Party faction, presented by Riigikogu member Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvarti.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart called for amending the State Budget Base Act so that the budget would be transparent, expenditure- and revenue-based, and the Estonian Parliament would actually be able to decide and ensure oversight, because the current system manipulates the numbers and allows ministries to operate outside of oversight.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller thanked and invited a question to be posed, asking Vadim Belobrovtsev to come onto the stage.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Belobrovtsev claims that a cost-based budget is clearly better than an activity-based one, because it is more transparent and easier to understand and shows where the money goes, helping to avoid forgetting large sums, and adds that the prime minister also agrees and asks whether things are moving in the right direction.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart said that she hopes to begin processing the draft in the new year, proposing a combined variant used in the Netherlands, in which the law would include cost- and revenue provisions, and the explanatory memorandum would set out metrics that could serve as the basis for decisions, and she urged the coalition and the opposition to jointly improve the draft, since this is only the first reading.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets thanked the presenter, found the idea interesting, and asked how long its implementation might take and whether by the next year it would already be implementable, noting, at the same time, that ministers have said that activity-based budgeting is not good and surpluses won't be found right away.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The speech invites Evelin Poolametsa onto the stage.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
I think it's good to discuss this bill now, at the start of the new year, because there is still time to adopt the budget next year, and if it is adopted, it will take effect for the 2026 budget and will allow the expense and revenue lines to be presented separately.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller invited Madis Timpsoni to speak.
Madis Timpson
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Timpson noted that although the Budget Act can be improved, according to the Chancellor of Justice the state budget is most likely in conflict with the Constitution, and nothing has been done since the warning in 2017.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasized that the transition to activity-based budgeting, which was supposed to begin 15 years ago, could have taken place earlier; the criticism raises the issue that the law lacks specific provisions and that the explanatory memorandum is not binding, and therefore it is good that today an amendment to the Basic Law is being considered.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller asked Rene Kokk to speak.
AI Summary
Rene Kokk emphasizes that the base law of the state budget needs to be reviewed, and it is necessary to declare to the government that the activity-based budgeting project has failed and to return to the previous practice, citing examples of the 100 million for Rail Baltica and the 100.4 million that was double-allocated in 2023, and asks what arguments a representative of the Commission would use to persuade people to continue on the current path and that the draft is a bad idea.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart emphasized that this bill is only the first reading, and at the second reading the opposition and the coalition can jointly make the necessary amendments, and the aim is to make the budget more transparent, by inviting Members of the Riigikogu to move the bill to the second reading and to work for it together.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman asks Aivar Sõerd to take the floor.
Aivar Sõerd
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The presenter Aivar Sõerd asks what problem is being solved on the revenue side and why the Ministry of Finance's 2021 classifier is being adopted, given that tax revenues and the ministries' own revenues are almost transparent.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart thanks for the question and explains that the draft's aim is to standardize the allocation of costs and revenues in a uniform form, based on the 2021 Ministry of Finance regulation, and if the coalition or the opposition have better ideas, at the second reading it will be possible to work them through together and define the allocation more precisely.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Arvo Aller asks Evelin Poolametsa.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Evelin Poolamets notes that the government does not support the bill, because the Ministry of Finance has initiated changes to the State Budget Act and plans to create a hybrid budget, where part is activity-based and part is cost-based, and asks how familiar the respondent is with the new draft.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart believes that the draft referred to was the same as the one the Riigikogu processed and adopted, but the Government's draft did not guarantee transparency, therefore it is necessary to move forward, and at the second reading the government together with the Ministry of Finance could submit new comments so that the law would apply to the 2025 budget.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chair invites Lauri Laats to speak.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The presentation highlights that the budget adopted last year was a real mess, and in January it turned out that 100 million for the construction of gas plants had been hidden, and most of the ministers did not know about it, which Lauri Läänemets calls the management of hard finances, and Jürgen Ligi claims that everything is fine.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
This speech is short and expresses a call: "Your time!" — it invites listeners to act.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats says that this is very important and wishes that the Estonian state budget would be better understood by future governments.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
I believe that it would be a big step forward, but before drafting the bill we listened to the views of the State Comptroller Janar Holm and of the Special Committee on Anti-Corruption and the Chancellor of Justice, and we acknowledge that the performance-based budget has not been successful and must be started anew — this is a sign of a strong democracy in acknowledging mistakes and seeking improvement.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller asks Aivar Sõerd to take the floor.
Aivar Sõerd
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Aivar Sõerd states that the starting document prepared on the basis of the Finance Minister's 2021 decree does not solve the problem of budget transparency, because operating costs are presented in only a single line item, and the actual cost items (IT, rent, supplies, etc.) would require a separate breakdown.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
He emphasizes that now is your time to act.
Aivar Sõerd
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Aivar Sõerd claims that it is very far-reaching and does not add transparency.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Arvo Aller thanks the listeners.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart said that if these things were currently in force, they would not be presented in the budget in this way, and because the law takes precedence over the regulation, they must be brought into the law and followed; the draft will be improved, and the expenditure lines should be written out in full up to 500,000 euros; for larger purchases they will be adjusted, and at the second reading a political debate will be held in the Finance Committee and it will be decided how exactly to spell out the budget.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chair thanked, informed that there were no questions, and invited the next speaker, Maris Laur, who is the lead committee's rapporteur and a member of the Finance Committee.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Maris Lauri said that the amendment bill to the State Budget Act, discussed in the Finance Committee, was properly processed, but the government does not support it and desires more thorough, broader participation, which is likely to reach the Riigikogu this year, and whose discussion will also focus on the government's position and on compliance with procedural rules.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The presenter is thanked, questions are opened, and Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart is asked to speak.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He asks why the opposition's bills cannot be amended between the first and second readings in the same way as the coalition's, and he calls for starting with that so that the 2026 budget would be transparent.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Maris Lauri said that the government's amendments to the State Budget Act have been drafted hastily and superficially, and that they lack logic, background, and justification, and therefore the draft is unfit from the outset and unsuitable for discussion.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Arvo Aller announces that negotiations with the factions will be opened, and on behalf of the Centre Party faction, Lauri Laats steps onto the stage.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats emphasized that the draft bill submitted by the Estonian Centre Party is important for improving the transparency of the state budget, but the current government does not see the will to make changes, and mutual insults and the failure to keep promises increase the trust deficit in institutions, therefore amendments should be made at the second reading.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller requests three additional minutes.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats drew attention to the fact that the state budget is opaque, incomplete, and incomprehensible, and urged the coalition to quickly move the bill to a second reading, start a discussion and make amendments before the second reading.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Maris Lauri represented the Reform Party faction and thanked.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Arvo Aller, announced that three more minutes would be given.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
According to Maris Lauri, the budget's basic law must be amended, but not hastily and superficially, because the draft is ill-thought-out and understanding of how money is spent and the objectives requires deeper consideration and substantive, responsible discussion in the Finance Committee and in other committees.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller thanks and informs that, on behalf of the initiators' faction, a reply speech will be given, and asks Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart to take the floor.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He noted that it was a prime example of the Reform Party's attitude when the opposition wants something.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-chairman Arvo Aller said that they would start from the very beginning, and Anastasia was told to start again, because there had been noise in the meantime.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart criticized the Reform Party for the opposition's attitude, claiming that the opposition's draft is seen as crap, called for an open discussion in the committee, and stressed that every faction decides for itself whom it represents on the Finance Committee, while praising Andrei Korobeiniku's work in the Finance Committee.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chair, Arvo Aller, thanked and asked Maris Laur to raise a procedural question about the conduct of the sitting, not a speech in reply.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Maris Lauri clarifies that it was a counter-speech, not a gesture, asks on what basis it was done, and asks in the Riigikogu chamber to explain the concept of freedom of speech, noting that the awareness of this among all Riigikogu members is not sufficient.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
During my presentation I explained why I allowed a rebuttal: the initiators’ draft bill could not be defended in the committee, and on behalf of the initiators the rebuttal was delivered by the faction's representative Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, which was entirely worthy of a rebuttal.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
According to the Riigikogu's Rules of Procedure and the Order of Work, there is an opportunity for a rebuttal when one is mentioned by a faction, and Maris Lauri mentioned me as a speaker several times, which enabled me to deliver this rebuttal.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chair thanked, stated that this is a procedural matter, and turned to Maris Lauri.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Maris Lauri asks about changes to the Riigikogu's debate rules: whether every objection can now be answered, even if the speaker is not named, and how this new procedure actually works compared to the previous practice.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Arvo Aller said that for the draft bill submitted by the faction, the faction's representative speaks, and the others from the faction may not take the floor or deliver a rebuttal, because a rebuttal is given only once during the negotiations.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Belobrovtsev asserts that it is logical to give every mentioned person the opportunity to deliver a response speech, whether or not they are named, and although generic terms such as "spokesperson" or "opening speaker" may be used, that opportunity must still arise; am I right?
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The procedural explanation by Vice-Chair Arvo Aller confirms that there may be a faction or a speaker at the podium, and that this is a faction's draft bill, and he will direct the arrangement of the next speeches by Anti Poolametsa and Riina Solman.
Anti Poolamets
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anti Poolamets argues that the opacity of the state budget and the inconsistencies of the explanatory note, together with the National Audit Office's criticism, show that the results of spending cannot be clearly tracked, and he condemns the officials’ attitude toward questioners and censorship, calling for the admission of mistakes and their correction.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-chairman Arvo Aller asks whether the audience would like some extra time.
Anti Poolamets
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
They ask for three more minutes.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
They ask for three more minutes.
Anti Poolamets
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anti Poolamets accuses the Reform Party and Maris Laur of promoting censorship, and emphasizes that problems must be acknowledged and the state budget improved, because the international fight against autocracy does not tolerate concealment.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
On behalf of the Isamaa faction, Riina Solman is asked to deliver a floor speech.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman thanked the chairs for the calm leadership of the session and called for improving the culture of debate, making politics understandable and less arrogant, emphasizing listening to the people and the opposition, and affirming Isamaa's readiness to cooperate.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman thanks and asks Maris Laurit to give an on-the-spot answer.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Maris Lauri said that it is not appropriate to spread a demagogic claim about her, emphasized that the state budget is so complex that not all details can be explained to a seven-year-old, and asked the chair of the meeting to bring the discussion back to the topic and to avoid personal attacks.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
This is a short but clear call to action: your time has come.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Maris Lauri stressed that for a substantive discussion it is necessary to listen to the other side mutually and to be honest, and she noted that this was not the case in the committee.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chair Arvo Aller declared the rebuttal speeches finished and closed the negotiations, after which Lauri Laats posed a question to the chair of the meeting.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats asked a question about the procedures for conducting the meeting, and asked whether the position presented by the co-rapporteur is the commission's opinion or a personal opinion, and whether there is a valid regulation governing this.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Maris Lauri first gave a presentation on the committee's positions and introduced what had been discussed in the committee, and in the second round she presented the positions of the faction she is a member of.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He clarified that the colleague probably could not keep up with the procedural details and the speeches, and he stressed that he has a very clear stance and that, as the commission's representative, he always speaks about what happened in the commission.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller announced that the lead committee intends to defeat Bill 520 at its first reading, and preparations for the vote will begin.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The proposal received the support of 32 members, 11 against and 0 abstentions; Draft 520 was rejected and withdrawn from the proceedings; today’s session has ended; have a nice day!