President Edgars Rinkēvičs and Prime Minister Evika Siliņa (New Unity) have agreed not to comment on the state budget drafting process until mid-August, Rinkēvičs announced at a press conference on Wednesday following a meeting with the Prime Minister.
This decision was made because key work – including expenditure cuts, forecasts, and other preparations – will continue through mid-August. Until then, both officials will pause their regular coordination meetings, Rinkēvičs explained.
“Therefore, I will not comment on any issues related to where or how cuts will be made until we have a full picture – a complete state budget proposal that will be discussed in the Cabinet and presented to me by the Prime Minister,” said the President.
He emphasized that pulling premature and uncoordinated decisions out of context only unsettles the public and is not beneficial to anyone.
The President acknowledged the need for expenditure reductions
and reiterated that three budget priorities have been clearly defined: defense and security, demography, and education. However, he stressed that without the full picture, it would be very difficult, irresponsible, and risky to discuss any specific sector.
The Prime Minister added that cost-cutting measures would be based on both proposals from the bureaucracy reduction task force and austerity plans submitted by ministries. These include freezing public funding for political parties, freezing salaries for state-elected officials and ministers, scrapping monetary awards, and reducing bonuses for substituting duties and performance evaluations in public administration.
Siliņa noted that it would not be possible to completely eliminate bonuses for substitution and performance evaluation, as public sector employees must still receive fair compensation.
She also mentioned that ministries are preparing reform plans that will involve the merging and centralization of institutions.
Read also: Stock exchange listing – opportunity or threat? Latvian Prime Minister calls for open debate