Budget, Financial Services, Latvia

The board of the Latvian Free Trade Union Confederation said on Thursday that it did not support the 2020 budget, pointing out that the government had not listened to the social partners and ignored laws that stipulated increasing financing for healthcare and education.

However, during the Trilateral Cooperation Council's meeting today the confederation's head Egils Baldzens said that his organization was not against the 2020 budget per se. The confederation is pushing for budget improvements, which the organization hopes to achieve while the 2020 budget is reviewed by parliamentary committees. "We do not want a government crisis. However, we hope that the budget will be adopted with slight improvements, including what is stated in the government declaration," said Baldzens.

The Latvian Employers' Confederation President Vitalijs Gavrilovs agreed that there was a lack of consultation between the government and its social partners in drafting the 2020 budget. Although the confederation is not particularly satisfied with the draft 2020 budget, it still supports submitting the budget bill to Saeima.

Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins (New Unity) emphasized that the budget would provide financing for the areas named by the social partners, but the additional financing would be smaller than they wanted. Karins reminded that not all parties' budget requests were met in full.

"I call on the social partners not oppose to the government, because then the meaning of trilateral cooperation will be lost. This is not the time for arguing," the prime minister said.

Karins reaffirmed that the government was listening to social partners and that what they had said was justified. However, it is important to agree on compromises that will satisfy the majority. "This is not a perfect budget, but this is a feasible budget," Karins added.

Karins also said that there was no reason to say that the 2020 budget would not fulfill what was required by law, for example, with regard to increasing financing for healthcare and education. As soon as the Saeima adopts the budget, it will have the force of law, and the related laws will therefore have to be amended, he explained.

As reported, the government on September 17 approved allocation of EUR 173.9 mln for ministries and independent institutions' priority measures next year.

Of this amount, EUR 91.12 mln will be distributed among ministries' priorities, EUR 72.4 mln will be allotted to cross-sectoral priorities, and EUR 10.44 mln for independent institutions' priorities.