Govt publishes €87.2b draft budget for 2024 with €10.1b deficit

The government on Monday published the draft budget of 87.2 billion euros for the year 2024 with a deficit of 10.1 billion euros, said the for the Ministry of Finance in a press release.

The draft budget reflected the austerity measures announced earlier by the four-party alliance government in its programme.

According to the draft, the government will make cut in various sectors including social welfare, early childhood education, and services for refugees and asylum seekers.

The government, however, proposed to allocate more money in third level education, energy subsidies, and grants for arts and culture.

Finance Minister Riikka Purra will hold bilateral discussions on the draft budget with the ministries on September 5 and 6.

The Government will discuss the budget proposal at its budget session on September 19 and 20.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance's proposal for the central government spending limits decision for 2024–2027 was published on Monday based on the current state of preparation.

During 2024–2027, the deficit in central government finances is estimated to be an average of EUR 9.8 billion.

The central government spending limits decision will be included in the General Government Fiscal Plan for 2024–2027 to be published on 9 October.