Estonia's chancellor of justice recommends amending State Budget Act

Estonia's chancellor of justice Ülle Madise recommends amending State Budget Act. Photo: Mihkel Maripuu

Estonia's Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise said on social media on Saturday that the time has come to amend the State Budget Act, the law setting out the fundamental principles governing the state budget.

«Practice shows that the yearly budgets drafted on the basis of that law do not show the expenses in such a way that it can be seen how much is spent on child benefits, pensions, road construction and more, and how much it costs to deliver subsidies and organize other activities of the state,» Madise wrote on social media.

She said the state budget for 2026 should again list costs in a breakdown by individual items. Before that, the State Budget Act needs to be amended to ensure that the annual budgets are drawn up in compliance with the Constitution.

«Transitioning to a so-called activity-based budget was hoped to yield good results, and it's unfair to blame anyone. It is now clear that we need to move forward,» Madise says in her post.

«Probably, this year's state budget is not compliant with the Constitution. That's because there are no revenue or expenditure lines that can be changed by the Riigikogu. Or which would make it possible to understand where and how much money is actually coming from and on what taxpayers' money is spent during the year. And, which is also important, where it might be possible to make cuts and, if the Riigikogu thinks more money is needed elsewhere, on which budget line to put it,» Madise said in an interview with ETV public television.