According to Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform Party), the government is drawing up the budget on the assumption that defense spending must remain at no less than 5 percent of GDP, meaning other areas will have to cut costs.

"We have promised to reduce the shortfall, or deficit, to below 4.5 percent. We are trying to do that. It simply means spending has to be reined in. Operating costs, technical costs. We will also have to forgo investments that might be possible in better times — buildings and other construction projects. We cannot afford those when a large share is going toward defense investments," Keldo said.

Making cuts within the Ministry of Interior's area of responsibility is difficult, Interior Minister Igor Taro (Eesti 200) said. Instead, additional funding would be needed to develop capabilities such as counter-drone defenses. Taro did not say Tuesday how much additional funding would be needed.

"I cannot imagine telling society right now that we are simply not going to deal with civil protection at all. We need shelters. Everyone agrees on that. Everyone is asking where those shelters are — where they are in schools, where they are in residential buildings. Or could we say, for example, that we are no longer going to build the national border infrastructure?" Taro said.

Social Democratic Party Vice Chair Riina Sikkut said the minority government needs opposition support to pass the state budget, but the government has not discussed its budget plans with the opposition.

"If everyone had the same information about the forecast and the use of foreign funding, it would be much easier to find support in the Riigikogu because otherwise questions inevitably arise about where a particular figure came from, why a particular choice was made and what the alternatives were," Sikkut said.

The government wants to make the major decisions on the 2027 state budget by the end of next week.

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