Ruling parties agree on draft budget for 2025

The components of the four-party alliance government led by conservative Kansallinen Kokoomus (National Coalition Party-NCP) on Tuesday discussed on the draft budget for the year 2025 and completed the initial works.

The government will discuss the 2025 budget proposal in its plenary session on September 23, said an official press release late Tuesday night.

The in Budget for 2025, central government expenditure amounts to EUR 88.8 billion and revenue to EUR 76.6 billion. The EUR 12.2 billion deficit will be financed with debt.

Without the measures decided by the Government, about EUR 4 billion more debt would be needed in 2025.

In the Government Programme, the Government outlined measures to strengthen central government finances by EUR 6 billion.

The Government decided on additional adjustments totalling EUR 3 billion in the spring government session on spending limits.

The Government will actively monitor the implementation of the EUR 9 billion package of measures and will take corrective measures if the package threatens to fall short of the target.

From the perspective of the sustainability of central government finances, it is essential to halt the growth of expenditures by the wellbeing services counties.

The Government will support and guide the wellbeing services counties in finding ways to safeguard services and ensure the sufficiency of funding and personnel.

In the spring government session on spending limits, the Government decided on new measures to boost growth. These include a tax credit for large-scale industrial investments, the recapitalisation of Finnish Industry Investment Ltd with EUR 100 million in 2025 and the recapitalisation of Fingrid and Gasgrid to ensure that Finland's energy grids can enable large investments anywhere in the country.

The Government is taking an open-mined approach to finding new measures to accelerate growth by the mid-term policy review of spring 2025.

Despite the challenging economic situation, the Government will safeguard the security of Finland and its people. The resources of the Finnish Border Guard and the police will be further strengthened. Finland will fulfil its NATO obligations.

The focus is also on children and young people. For example, the Government is implementing a maximum waiting time for access to therapy for young people and is proposing funding to improve the availability of low-threshold mental health services and to develop a hybrid model for child welfare.

The 2025 budget proposal of government bolsters conditions for economic growth. Economic growth driven by the private sector will also serve to secure the financing base for central government finances.

The fast-acting measures to curb indebtedness that were decided on due to the difficult situation in central government finances will move forward.

The Government will continue its efforts to put Finland's economy on a sustainable growth track.

Halting the growth of indebtedness is a necessity for ensuring that future generations can enjoy the services of the welfare state: good schools, healthcare and social welfare services and care services. If the Government’s decisions are implemented in full and within the planned timeframe, the growth of the debt ratio will come to a halt in 2027.

Earlier on August 8, the four-party alliance right-wing published the draft budget of EUR 88.1 billion for 2025 with a deficit of EUR 12.2 billion.