If the Saeima does not adopt the budget for the next year, the government will automatically fall, stated Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs at a press conference on Tuesday, who met with the Speaker of the Saeima Daiga Mieriņa at the Riga Castle on Tuesday.
When asked if he is confident that the parliament will be able to adopt the budget for 2026, the president replied that he does not want to speculate and that only the coalition and opposition deputies can provide an answer to this question.
Rinkēvičs reminded that it is important to fulfill the state's obligations regarding the defense budget as soon as possible, as well as to address issues of demographics and education.
For her part, the Speaker of the Saeima, Daiga Mieriņa, acknowledged that the pre-election period has an impact: all three coalition parties are making public statements about their initiatives instead of addressing these issues together.
"In my opinion, these issues should be discussed collegially at one table. The adoption of the budget will show how united the coalition partners are," emphasized Mieriņa.
As reported, the government will submit the state budget for the next year to the Saeima on October 15, and the next day, October 16, at 9:00 AM, an extraordinary meeting of the Saeima is scheduled to consider the budget and related bills.
The first reading of the budget may take place on November 5, and the debates for the second reading are planned to start on December 3 and continue on December 4 and 5.
