MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th December, 2021) Estonia's Parliament on Wednesday adopted its 2022 state budget with an historic high expenditure on national defense and security of ��798 million ($905 million).
"59 members of the Riigikogu (Estonian Parliament) voted in favour of the passing of the State Budget for 2022 Act and 37 were against," the parliament said on its website.
According to a press release of the Estonian Parliament, the country's revenue is expected to be ��13.132 billion, expenditure ��13.633 billion, and the volume of investments ��724 billion.
Compared to the current year, expenditure on national defense and security will rise by ��103 million and hit the historic high of ��748 million, which is 2.3% of GDP. The parliament called the number "the largest defense budget in the history of the country."
The parliament noted that this state budget will help Estonia overcome COVID-19 pandemic difficulties and will make the country's economy "future-proof." The draft of the 2022 budget originated from the State Budget Strategy 2022-2025, Action Programme of the Government of the Republic, and the recommendations of the European Commission.
On Monday, Estonia announced that it will host large-scale military exercises, dubbed "Hedgehog-2022", with the involvement of about 16,000 soldiers in 2022. Conscripts, reservists, the Estonian Defence League paramilitary armed forces, and NATO allies will be involved in exercises on the territory of Estonia and Latvia.
