On Thursday, October 16, the Presidium of the Saeima convened an extraordinary meeting of parliament, during which the draft state budget for the next year, medium-term budget framework, and a package of accompanying bills will be reviewed.
The extraordinary meeting will begin at 9:00.
On Wednesday, Finance Minister Arvils Ašeradens handed over a package of budget bills to Saeima Speaker Daiga Mierina. The traditional ceremony for the handover of the "budget portfolio" also involved the chairwoman of the Budget and Finance Committee, Anda Čakša.
While handing over the budget to the Saeima, the head of the Ministry of Finance noted that this is a "budget for a safer future." According to him, significant work has been done to ensure funding for security and other important areas.
Mierina, for her part, noted that parliamentarians will thoroughly analyze whether there are any opportunities in the budget to find additional ways to cut expenses. "Parliamentary quotas" are not provided for in the budget review, the speaker assured, but allowed that proposals submitted by deputies could lead to "long and emotional debates."
The Speaker of the Parliament noted that, as in previous years, the Saeima will not consider the budget during extended sessions that last into the night. Work on the budget will take place from 9:00 to 21:00, so that the next day deputies can continue discussions "with a fresh perspective," but if necessary, meetings may also be held on Saturday.
Čakša, in turn, promised that the expenses of each ministry will be carefully scrutinized. Representatives of the ministries will be invited to the meetings of the Budget and Finance Committee to discuss next year's expenses and possibly find new ways to reduce them.
As reported, the government approved the draft state budget for 2026 on Tuesday, with revenues amounting to €16.064 billion and expenditures of €17.945 billion.
Compared to the 2025 budget, the increase in budget revenues will exceed the growth of expenditures - revenues are planned to increase by €944.6 million, while expenditures will rise by €804.3 million.
The total expenditures of the general government sector next year will decrease to 47% of GDP compared to 47.5% this year. Along with the reduction of total expenditures, defense spending will increase.
Overall, expenditures for next year have been reduced by €171 million. A total of €693.5 million has been allocated for priority measures, including €448.3 million earmarked for defense and security needs.
