"The current draft of next year’s budget will indeed be reviewed and it will be sought to raise the share of the budget allocated for defence to 3.5% of the gross domestic product," Paluckas told TV3 on Monday.
According to him, defence funding may be raised at the expense of public debt in the short-term because effects of taxation changes would be noticeable gradually, bringing additional funding little by little year after year.
As reported, the draft of the 2025-2027 state budget was presented in October. Next year, budget revenue is projected at EUR 17.98 billion, while budget expenditure at EUR 23.02 billion. Compared with 2024, budget revenue will grow by 5.9% or EUR 1 billion, while expenditure by 11.7% or EUR 2.4 billion. The general government debt will amount to 43.2% of GDP, while the general government deficit to 3% of GDP.