TALLINN. Sept 29 (Interfax) - The Estonian government on Thursday approved the country's 2023 budget and a state budget strategy for the next four years.
The central priority of next year's budget will be to ensure Estonia's security and the capability of the country's population and companies to cope with crises caused by the situation in Ukraine, the government's press service told Interfax on Thursday.
Revenue in the 2023 budget is projected to be 16 billion euros, down 16% from the 2022 budget, and expenditure is expected to be 17 billion euros, which is 18% more than in this year's budget. "As we drew up the budget, we had two clear priorities in sight: to ensure the security of the Estonian state and the people and to protect our people," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said.
"National defense and protection of the people are the sole conceivable priorities at a time when the security situation has become more tense than it has been for several generations," Kallas said.
Defense spending in 2023 will exceed the limit of 1 billion euros for the first time in Estonia's history. Nearly 2.5 billion euros earmarked for enhancing the country's defense capabilities in 2023-2026, or more than half of Estonia's overall defense spending, will be invested in acquisitions. Estonia will have a functioning medium-range air defense system by 2025. A central air defense system will be procured together with Latvia. The country will additionally invest in anti-tank systems, covered fire position weapons, coastal defense systems, and situational awareness and infrastructure necessary for the presence of NATO allies. Another 30 million euros will be spent on cybersecurity.
Apart from its immediate military potential, Estonia will also focus on internal security and population protection. Thus, 6 million euros will be spent on hiring internal security volunteers, large-scale national defense and support of communities and non-governmental organizations. Furthermore, the country will increase training at its internal defense academy in order to secure the future of personnel of its police and other internal security agencies.
The budget will also finance the transition to Estonian-language general education, and additional funds will be allocated for higher education programs and to increase teachers' salaries.
A service that will enable the population and small-size businesses to buy electricity at a regulated price over the next four years will be launched to tackle the sharp rise in energy prices.
The draft budget will now be sent to the parliament for approval.