Auditor General: Estonian state has more ambitions than it has resources
Development plans must be realistic, as unfulfilled promises tend to alienate people from the state, Auditor General Janar Holm said.
The auditor noted especially unrealistic goals in transport and mobility.
Successive governments have promised four-lane highways and high-speed trains, but a National Audit Office report shows there are insufficient funds even for basic road maintenance.
This also coincides with the ongoing Rail Baltica construction, and significant and growing investment into national defense.
"These plans we've had – Estonia can't fulfill them, and that's what we've pointed out," Holm told "Esimene stuudio."
"The biggest concerns relate to maintaining the condition of the roads or building Rail Baltica. Also, paving gravel roads. There has been progress in all of these areas, but the goals are ambitious and achieving them would cost about €1.35 billion – money we don't yet have," Holm stated.
Speaking more broadly about Estonia's strategic planning, Holm said that with several plans, it has long been clear that more has been bitten off than can be chewed.
"Why is a development plan important? A pledge without backing can alienate the people. It is important that the state keeps its promises. Another issue is that plans are needed, yet we lack a short-term plan for what to do, and the difficult decisions aren't being made," explained Holm.
Holm acknowledged it is not normally the nature of governments to revise expectations downwards, but the public do grasp that the large investments into defense mean there isn't much left for other areas.
Estonia will be facing a high budget deficit in the coming years, too, which means it will be difficult to pay salaries to teachers and rescue workers, Holm added.
Holm said he doesn't believe Estonia will face fines for failing to meet its EU commitment to build four-lane highways. "We are preserved by the fact that all countries are struggling," he added.
There is a hole of at least €300 million missing, needed to bring the road network up to standard by the end of 2030. Another €300 million is missing in the period 2026–2029, simply to keep state-maintained roads in a "good" condition.
"We are currently trying to prevent road quality from deteriorating. If you don't repair in time, it can cost even more later. In the coming years, we'd need €213 million annually, but €80 million of that is missing," Holm went on.
Meanwhile 2024 saw one of the highest numbers of road traffic fatalities in Estonia in the past decade. Commenting on this, Holm said that road conditions are a factor but noted that traffic culture is also an issue, and decisions have not been made on these issues either.
"We have become paralyzed in our decision-making. There has been talk of average speed checks — something transport experts have supported. Or a demerit point system, but these measures haven't been politically acceptable. Fine, then we need to state the consequences frankly. Or do something else, and do it better — not just wait around. If there's no political support for a solution, another path needs to be found."
As for Rail Baltica, Holm said Latvia is missing far more funding there than Estonia. "Over there, there is much more finger-pointing going on. This is something we need to discuss with the Latvians seriously," Holm remarked.
While Estonia is still on track for completing its section of Rail Baltica in 2030, Latvia is not.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Mari Peegel
Source: "Esimene stuudio," interviewer Johannes Tralla.
