Draft law on aligning the State Budget Act with the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia (525 SE) – First Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session
Date: 2024-12-17 12:57
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 34
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 45m
AI Summaries: 34/34 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The fourth item on the agenda concerned the first reading of the draft law 525, initiated by the Isamaa faction, to bring the State Budget Act into compliance with the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia. Urmas Reinsalu, having reached the Speaker's rostrum of the Riigikogu, delivered the presentation, emphasizing parliament’s primary fundamental goal: to restore financially political choices consistent with the Constitution, and to clearly differentiate between income and expenses in budgets. It was also noted that the current funding structure and distribution of subsidies to legal entities require transparency and control. It was explained that the assessment of administrative expenses and their increases appears inadequately aligned with the 2024–2027 budget bases, and that questions arise regarding the growth of transferable funds and the under-utilization of external funds. The content of the draft focused on suitable changes to the basic law and that future subsidies to legal entities would be recorded item by item and transparently. It was regretted that the coalition has not merged or co-financed proposals, and that budget transparency continues to be a problem. In the second part, the discussions became substantive, addressing the commission's role and plan, and at the end, it was decided to continue the procedure, although later, as a final result, a critical assessment was reached regarding the amendment of the State Budget Act's basic law. Overall, it reflected a desire to improve transparency, but differences between the coalition and the opposition and in the final formatting of the draft law caused further considerations.
Decisions Made 1
Bill 525's first reading was postponed; the bill is dropped from the process. Aside from the bill's adoption, the vote result was 46 in favor, 20 against, and 0 abstentions.
Most Active Speaker
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart (Center Party) was the most active speaker; position: other.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The Riigikogu continues with the fourth item on the agenda, in which the draft bill No. 525 initiated by the Isamaa faction to bring the State Budget Act into conformity with the Constitution is being discussed at its first reading, and the presentation will be given by Riigikogu member Urmas Reinsalu.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu said that the 2025 state budget is non-transparent and unconstitutional, and Isamaa wants to restore the Parliament's competence to distinguish between revenues and expenditures and to amend the budget's base law, so that the oversight would be clear and subsidies to legal entities would be described.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech expresses gratitude and invites the audience to ask questions, addressing Ando Kiviberg directly.
Ando Kiviberg
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Ando Kiviberg asked whether there was any surprise in preparing the given budget year and its draft that the unused funds during the current year may be carried over to the next year.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu said that this is not a matter of faith, but a matter of facts: the share of carried-forward funds has grown explosively in recent years, and last year 13% of the state budget went unused, which indicates a critical state of the quality of the state's money management and emphasizes that by June it must be known how much money remained unspent.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Toomas Kivimägi invites Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvarti to speak.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The presenter asks why the coalition put two similar draft bills into consideration only after the budget was adopted, and why they were not merged with the coalition's draft bill, and why the steps taken to improve budget transparency did not change anything.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu accuses the government of paralysis and of being unable to make real leadership decisions, emphasizes that the 2025 state budget is not in line with the Constitution, and that the State Auditor and the Chancellor of Justice have repeatedly pointed this out, but the government answers with a rhetorical smokescreen and intends to raise the issue again at the beginning of the new year.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Vadim Belobrovtsev to speak.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev criticizes the ministers' loosely adopted budget and cites examples of unexpected large allocations, such as 10 million euros for teachers' salaries and for purchasing computer equipment, and the closure of the Kopli fire station together with the Rescue Board's surplus, which raises questions about how budgets are actually managed in the ministries.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu states that the government has lost real control over budgetary funds, and tax increases are seen as an alternative, with which he intends to restore the minimal constitutional requirement and enable more efficient and economical management of expenditures, as shown by the 2025 budget.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi asks Urve Tiidus.
Urve Tiidus
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The draft bill to amend the State Budget Act presents seven substantive points for refining the estimates, and if you had to choose one of them, what would be your key recommendation?
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu noted that although social benefits are the largest in the budget by magnitude and are regulated by law, there is a risk that within their costs they could be maneuvered later without oversight; therefore this piecemeal, ad hoc system must be cut off, as last year when the budget execution data became known in June.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi asks Helir-Valdor Seeder to speak.
Helir-Valdor Seeder
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Helir-Valdor Seeder asks how the opacity of the state budget may be at odds with the constitution and whether the ombudsman or the president should intervene in the situation, referring to the criticism of the ombudsman and the State Comptroller and to the draft law to bring Isamaa into alignment.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu urged considering not promulgating the 2025 state budget law due to a constitutional conflict and asked the president to use his leverage to force the parliament to work under the threat of early elections and to achieve a minimum level of quality, while noting that the Chancellor of Justice has the right to challenge the Basic Law, but not a standalone budget act.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanks and says that there are no more questions, and what was discussed in the steering committee and the decisions made there are presented by Maris Lauri, a member of the Finance Committee.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The Finance Committee discussed the draft, which the government did not back, and emphasized that changes have already been made to the budget and that a results-based budget will be presented together with programs and development plans, and that amendments to the Basic Law are being considered; the committee decided to put the draft on the agenda for 17 December, to appoint Maris Lauri as the representative of the leading committee, and proposed to reject the draft (6 in favour, 2 against).
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chair Kivimägi invited Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvarti to pose a question.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart asks why the Centre Party's and Isamaa's budget-transparency amendments reached the chamber only late, why they were not merged into one or discussed together, and why they were voted down in the Finance Committee, even though they align with the coalition's pledge to make the budget transparent.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Maris Lauri notes that in the committee Draft Bill 511 and a proposal that the Centre Party and Isamaa would support amendments to the extent of overlap and have them merged were discussed, but they refused, and although the bills had been submitted on time, they withdrew their own bill from debate in the plenary chamber last week.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi finishes the questions, opens negotiations, and on behalf of the Estonian Centre Party faction asks to grant Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart the floor for eight minutes.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart expresses that the coalition presented budget transparency requirements only after the budget was adopted, and provides examples such as the confusion around Rail Baltica's numbers, the lack of an obligation to provide explanatory notes, the right to change ministers' expense lines, and the closure of the Kopli Fire Station, and calls for urgent reform of the budget system.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy speaker Toomas Kivimägi thanks the audience.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
They accuse the coalition MPs of submitting a draft bill because they promised to make the budget transparent.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
In the speech, thanks are given, and on behalf of the Reformierakond faction a request is presented to Maris Laur.
Maris Lauri
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Maris Lauri called for voting to reject Bill 511, saying that although the underlying law does indeed need substantive improvement, the proposed solution is an ill-considered rush job and will not satisfy the criticisms, therefore next year work must be done more thoroughly and more systematically.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
He thanks and, on behalf of the Isamaa faction, requests the floor for Aivar Kokk.
Aivar Kokk
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
In his speech, Aivar Kokk accused the growing opacity of the state budget and the political distribution of funds, gave examples from the 2023 state budget debate and the expenditures that occurred the following year and the overspending of the reserve, and stressed that Isamaa wants clear line items for salaries and operating costs and an honest, open discussion of the budget.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi asks for three more minutes.
Aivar Kokk
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Aivar Kokk criticizes the ministries' budget for lack of transparency and the ministers' indifferent movement of money, stressing that transfers between the payroll fund and operating costs and the planning of large investments must not take place without a decision by the Riigikogu and must be under parliamentary oversight.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Toomas Kivimägi declares the negotiations concluded and invites the Riigikogu to vote on the leading committee's proposal to reject Bill 525 at its first reading.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
46 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour, 20 against and 0 abstentions; the proposal received support, but draft bill 525 was rejected and withdrawn from the proceedings; thank you, dear colleagues, the meeting is adjourned and we will meet tomorrow.