Reirs, Bondars urge ministries not to demand extraordinary amounts from state budget

• Published date: 25 May 2022
• Publication title: LETA

RIGA, May 25 (LETA) - A solution must be found to ministries' practice of claiming extraordinary amounts from the state budget while the annual budget bill is being drafted, Finance Minister Janis Reirs (New Unity) said at a meeting of Saeima Budget and Finance Committee today.

t the beginning of the meeting, the committee's chairman Martins Bondars (Development/For) raised the issue, pointing out that ministries were acting as trade unions. The Finance Ministry is then painted as the "evil" ministry, while other ministries go on to tell the public that their requests for funding have been rejected.

Bondars said that this was unacceptable and ministries should stop acting as if they were trade unions and instead work as policymakers and implementers.

Bondars therefore suggested that debates about budget expenditures take place in the spring. His suggestion was also supported by MP Vjaceslavs Dombrovskis.

Reirs said that this year, the fiscal space was bigger than ever - EUR 300 million. Usually this amount ranges from...