“Times have been hard, but as many experts have said, there are easier times ahead,” the head of government remarked. “The difficult decisions have been made, so things will hopefully be smoother sailing from here on in. Over the last 100 days we have made decisions that will strengthen our national defence and provide the ammunition the Defence Forces need to have a further-reaching and more precise impact on the enemy. We have also launched cabinet meetings focusing specifically on the economy, at which a number of decisions have been taken to boost competitiveness for the benefit of all. For example, the Defence Fund will come into play in early 2025, and the Large Investment Facility and the Centre for Applied Research will launch in the first half of the new year as well. We have confirmed the priority development areas for wind energy, so as to establish cheaper and cleaner energy. A lot has been achieved in a fairly short time, but we are still working hard to see Estonia prosper. I am grateful to everyone who has helped, advised and supported us.”
Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets admitted that the government has been very exacting in its first 100 days so as to focus on burning issues. “Among them, the livelihoods of people in Estonia and the state of the economy have been our top priorities,” he said. “We are making the investments we promised to make in both defence and internal security, and over the last three months we have made strong progress in protecting the population and making people more crisis-ready, too. That said, we have to remember that security spending can’t come at the cost of pensioners or working people’s livelihoods, or essential public services like education and health care. I am pleased that we have moved forward with both our building insulation programme and public transport reforms, and we are continuing to champion the development of regions outside our so-called golden circles. All of this is designed to make everywhere in Estonia a good place to live.”
Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas says economic recovery must continue to be the government’s priority, and that the best economic policy is education policy. “The broader purpose of all the major education reforms that have been launched is to support the country’s economic development, improve people’s livelihoods and promote life in Estonia,” she said, citing as examples the reforms to the transition to Estonian-language education, those to vocational education and the obligation to learn, and the signing of the Education Pact. Kallas added that expanding the measure for large investors and opening up the Estonian labour market to skilled labour is also key to strengthening the economy.
The first 100 days of Prime Minister Michal’s government included the preparation of both the national budget and the national budget strategy for the next four years. The 2025 budget was approved end of September, with €17.7 billion in revenue and €18.2 billion in expenditure. Through its budgetary decisions, the government has safeguarded the security of the country and its people, invested in strengthening the economy and significantly reduced public spending.
At the beginning of October, the government launched cabinet meetings focusing solely on the economy in order to boost economic competitiveness. Among other things, these meetings have already produced a mandate for the Minister of Enterprise and Industry to launch a €100 million Defence Industry Fund and a Large Investor Facility from 2025, while the Minister of Climate has been tasked with establishing priority development areas for wind energy on state-owned land.
On 19 September, the government held its now traditional five-yearly session in the village of Põgari, celebrating the continuity of Estonian independence and statehood at the government level.
