TALLINN. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Defense spending is at the center of Estonia's budget for 2025 approved by the country's parliament on Wednesday.
"The parliament passed the bill on the 2025 state budget at its session today, setting revenues at 17.7 billion euros and expenditures at 18.2 billion euros," the parliament press service said.
Fifty six MPs from Estonia's 101-strong parliament supported the government-proposed draft, while 29 MPs voted against it.
In 2025, budget revenues are expected to increase by 5.8% or 0.9 billion euros over this year's budget, while the expenditures will grow by 3.9% or by 0.7 billion euros. Investments and investment grants are projected at 1.9 billion euros.
Defense spending in the 2025 budget will stand at 3.3% of GDP, making Estonia the second highest spender among NATO countries after Poland. The United States is in third place. Tallinn will spend the largest portion of its defense budget on procuring munitions. Procurement of reconnaissance and early warning systems, anti-tank and anti-drone weapons, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles will grow considerably.
The defense industry, information technologies and the construction of the Rail Baltica network will also see major investments.
The budget bill provides for raising ten different taxes next year, bringing the tax burden to 35.8% of GDP.
The government deficit will remain at 3% of GDP, which is in line with the Maastricht budget balance rule.