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The President of the Republic proclaimed two acts07.01.2002
Today the President of the Republic proclaimed the State Budget for the Year 2002 Act and the Alcohol Act passed in the Riigikogu on 19 December 2001.
After the proclamation of State Budget Act the Head of State addressed a letter to Prime Minister Mart Laar.
"I am delighted to observe that the process of drafting the State Budget has been approached based on the principles of cost-effectiveness and balanced budget," the President of the Republic wrote to the Prime Minister, and continued: "Despite the scarcity of resources it has been made possible, while raising the appropriations for the education and for the support to business activities as well as other fields of activities, to finance the long-term potential for the development of the country. It is pleasing that employees occupied in quite a lot of important areas of life can count on pay rise this year and the benefits for disabled persons will be increased."
However, in his letter to the Prime Minister, the Head of State noted that he had proclaimed the State Budget for the Year 2002 Act somewhat reluctantly. He explained:
"The Estonian Local Government Associations Assembly, the Joint Local Government of Lääne-Virumaa and many local governments have turned to me proposing not to proclaim the State Budget for the Year 2002 Act. They have justified their proposals by the fact that the adopted budget does not provide them with sufficient financial means to discharge their tasks and governmental duties assigned to them by law. It has been noted that this year's budget of the majority of local governments, above all in rural districts and in small towns, has even been decreased by comparison with that of the last year. The inflexibility of the formula serving as the basis for the calculation of subsidies to the budgets of local governments from the subsidizing fund established by the State Budget for the Year 2002 Act, and equally the lack of earmarked resources for fulfilling the tasks imposed on local governments by Roads Act, Public Transportation Act etc., are considered to be the reason for this shortcoming."
In his letter, the President referred to his talks with the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance resulting in a shared understanding that the Cabinet should once again consider the possibilities to solve the problems brought forward in the abovementioned appeals. "I am of the opinion that the Cabinet and the associations of local governments should jointly, as soon as possible, work out proposals enabling to better balance the interests of different regions of Estonia," the Head of State concluded his letter sent to the Prime Minister.
Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, January 7, 2002
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