The budget of the Ministry of Culture for the next year is planned at 253.1 million euros (in 2027 - 252.8 million, in 2028 - 247.3 million, in 2029 - 245.8 million euros), writes Diena.
Of this, 35% is allocated for cultural education, or 88.4 million euros, 62% for cultural policy, or 157.3 million euros, and 3% for social cohesion policy and media, or 7.2 million euros.
Initially, a reduction of 13.6 million euros was anticipated for the sector, but it ultimately amounted to "only" 3.1 million euros. Thus, a number of priorities will not be fulfilled, including the increase in salaries for museum workers.
Before setting the task of increasing efficiency for the ministries, the Ministry of Culture outlined several key priorities: to allocate an additional 5.8 million euros for the salaries of state museum employees, 2.2 million euros for the development of the fund for non-governmental organizations and sustainable society, 1.5 million euros for cybersecurity of the cultural sector data center, 0.74 million euros for preparation for the Song and Dance Festival in 2028, 0.4 million euros for the preservation and sustainability of cultural heritage in crisis situations, and 0.12 million euros for the safety and protection of journalists. Additionally, it was planned to allocate 4.68 million euros for promoting Latvia's image, supporting reading, maintaining media, and other cultural events.
The initial goal of the Ministry of Culture was to save 13.6 million euros, but this amount was eventually reduced to 3.1 million euros, explained Minister of Culture Agnesa Lāce at a meeting of the Saeima Education, Culture and Science Committee, where the ministry's budget for the next year was discussed. One of the areas of savings was the reduction of targeted subsidies to the budgets of museums, libraries, theaters, concert organizations, music and art secondary schools, and other state cultural institutions by increasing their own revenues (2.3 million + 0.5 million euros). This means that each agency must earn 2-3% more than before.
In addition, the budget for Latvia's "School Bag" will be cut due to a decrease in the number of students: in 2026 - by 0.06 million, in 2027 - by 0.14 million, and from 2028 - by 0.2 million less.
Salaries for public administration employees will also not be increased.
