Budget, Financial Services, Latvia

The government heard the Finance Ministry's report on fiscal space measures and spending on priority measures in the 2020 state budget and the 2020-2022 framework. The report summarized the priority actions of ministries and independent institutions to receive additional funds from the 2020 budget.

In total, around EUR 190 mln was available for ministries' priorities next year. Of this amount, EUR 167 mln will be distributed among ministries' priorities and EUR 25.5 mln will be allotted to independent institutions.

In the 2020 budget, additional funds of EUR 50 mln are earmarked to increase the salaries of medical staff and for other priorities of the Health Ministry, while EUR 8 mln is earmarked for priorities of the Education and Science Ministry, as well as additional EUR 23 mln in order to increase teachers' salaries to EUR 750 as of September 1, 2019.

Raising the differentiated non-taxable minimum to EUR 300 from January 1, 2020 will require EUR 32 mln, EUR 18.9 mln will be allocated to the Interior Ministry, EUR 13 mln to the Culture Ministry, and EUR 10 mln will be spent on raising the minimum income level.

An additional EUR 5 mln will be allocated to priorities of the Justice Ministry, including maintenance of the existing prison infrastructure. Meanwhile, additional EUR 45 mln for the construction of Liepaja Prison will be allotted from the 2022 state budget.

An additional EUR 6.3 mln will be allocated to public media, EUR 600,000 to the Corruption Prevention Bureau, and EUR 600,000 to the Central Election Commission.

EUR 5 mln will be allotted from next year's state budget for the new system of financing of political parties, and EUR 10 mln for measures against money laundering and terrorism.

An additional EUR 700 000 will be allocated to the President's Chancery, EUR 100,000 to the Ombudsman's Office, EUR 400,000 to the Constitutional Protection Bureau, EUR 500,000 to the State Audit Office, EUR 100,000 to the Supreme Court, EUR 900,000 to the Constitutional Court and EUR 400,000 to the Prosecutor's Office.

EUR 7 mln will go to construction of pre-school facilities. An additional EUR 9.4 mln will be allocated for the priorities of the Transport Ministry and EUR 1.1 mln for implementation of the administrative territorial reform. An additional EUR 3 mln has been allocated for the Foreign Ministry's priorities in the 2020.

As reported, ministries originally required additional EUR 953.5 mln for their priority measures in next year's budget.