On Tuesday, March 25, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a draft order prepared by the Ministry of Finance regarding the preparation schedule for the draft law “On the State Budget for 2026 and the Budget Framework for 2026, 2027, and 2028.” The package of draft budget laws for 2026 is scheduled to be submitted to the Saeima (Parliament) on October 15, 2025.
The government agreed that issues related to the state budget draft law will be discussed in the National Tripartite Cooperation Council before being reviewed by the Cabinet of Ministers, in accordance with deadlines set by the Prime Minister.
Preparation Schedule for the Draft Law “On the State Budget for 2026 and the Budget Framework for 2026, 2027, and 2028”:
- March 20, 2025: Submission to the Ministry of Finance of information for the 2025 Progress Report of Latvia's Fiscal Structural Plan 2025–2028, including implementation of the EU Council’s country-specific recommendations
- March 31, 2025: Submission to the Cabinet of Ministers of the report on additional funding for strengthening defense capabilities
- April 8, 2025: Approval of the 2025 Progress Report of the Fiscal Structural Plan 2025–2028 by the Cabinet of Ministers
- By April 15, 2025: Submission of the 2025 Progress Report to the Saeima
- April 22, 2025: Submission of the Fiscal Risk Management Report to the Ministry of Finance
- April 30, 2025: Submission of the 2025 Progress Report to the European Commission
- Date to be set by Cabinet: Minister of Finance to present the 2025 Progress Report at a Saeima session
- May 12, 2025: Submission of information to the Ministry of Finance for the preparation of the state basic budget framework for 2026–2029
- June 30, 2025:
- Submission to the Ministry of Finance and the State Chancellery of proposals for priority measures in defense and demographics, including required funding
- Submission to the State Chancellery and the Ministry of Finance of proposals for optimizing public sector spending, including structural reforms and improved service delivery
- July 17, 2025: Submission to the Ministry of Finance of the report referred to in Article 21 of the law “On the State Budget for 2025 and the Budget Framework for 2025–2027”
- August 12, 2025: Submission to the Cabinet of Ministers of reports referred to in Articles 20 and 21 of the law “On the State Budget for 2025 and the Budget Framework for 2025–2027”
- August 19, 2025: Review by the Cabinet of Ministers of the reports mentioned above, as well as:
- Review of the informative report on macroeconomic indicators, revenue, and general government budget balance forecasts for 2026–2029
- Review and approval of the Fiscal Risk Declaration
- Review of the report on the state basic and special budget baselines and spending review results for 2026–2029
- Review of the report on priority measures proposed by ministries and central government institutions for 2026–2029
- August 26, 2025: Cabinet of Ministers decision on priority measures to be included in the 2026–2029 budget draft law
- August 28, 2025: Ministries submit estimates of their maximum allowable total state budget expenditures for 2026–2029 to the Ministry of Finance
- September 1, 2025: Calculation and distribution to ministries of the maximum allowable total state budget expenditure ceilings for 2026–2029
- September 11, 2025: Preparation and submission to the Cabinet of Ministers of accompanying draft laws (budget law package)
- September 12, 2025: Ministries submit their state budget requests for 2026–2028 to the Ministry of Finance
- September 16 & 23, 2025: Review of the accompanying draft laws (budget law package) by the Cabinet of Ministers
- October 7, 2025: Review of the draft protocol of agreement and disagreements between the Cabinet of Ministers and the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments
- October 14, 2025:
- Approval by the Cabinet of Ministers of the draft law “On the State Budget for 2026 and the Budget Framework for 2026, 2027, and 2028” (including explanatory notes)
- Approval of the general government budget plan for 2026
- October 15, 2025:
- Submission to the Saeima of the draft law “On the State Budget for 2026 and the Budget Framework for 2026, 2027, and 2028,” including explanatory notes, the Fiscal Risk Declaration, the Fiscal Discipline Council’s monitoring report, the accompanying laws, and the protocol of agreement and disagreements with the Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments
- Submission of the general government budget plan for 2026 to the European Commission and the Eurogroup.