In its second draft amending budget this year, the Finnish government has proposed an increase in net expenditure of around EUR 2.3 billion.
The two main areas of spending are national defense, given Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and measures to alleviate the harm caused to children and young people by the corona pandemic.
"Finland’s security environment has changed as a result of the Russian invasion war in Ukraine, which requires immediate measures to strengthen defense capabilities and border security." a government press release said € 2 billion would be allocated to defense budgets.
The breakdown of defense figures includes EUR 690 million for the Ministry of Defense’s administration and the Border Guard, EUR 38 million for improving cyber security and about EUR 293 million for supporting the country’s security of supply.
In addition, around € 120 million will be allocated to efforts to reduce the impact of the Covid pandemic on children and young people.
Of this, EUR 58 million for pre-primary and basic education, EUR 26 million for vocational training and EUR 17 million for upper secondary education.
Expenditure will be offset to some extent by the projected increase in revenue of € 1 billion – almost entirely due to an increase in the corporate tax revenue estimate.
The government parties reached an agreement on the draft amending budget on Friday, and the proposal will go to Parliament on Wednesday.
If Parliament approves the proposal, it will increase the government’s net borrowing needs by about 1.3 billion euros.
Total net borrowing is expected to be around € 8.9 billion in 2022.
"The government debt budget is estimated at € 138 billion at the end of 2022, which is about 52 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)." stated in a government press release.
Source: The Nordic Page