Latvia’s Ministry to Redirect 50M Euro Reserve to Housing, Sports and Waste

Latvia’s Ministry of Climate and Energy has uncovered 50 million euros in its reserves, planning to allocate the funds toward home heating subsidies, regional sports funding, and municipal waste management costs, according to LSM.

The funds stem from a 2013 court victory by Latvia against the European Commission over insufficient free allocation of emission quotas. The quotas sold eight years ago yielded over 50 million euros, which remained unused until brought to light by the Climate Neutrality and Economic Growth Law passed last year. Amid an austerity regime, plans were altered to draw upon the reserves.

"Tas ir vienreizējs finansējums, uz ko neattiecas direktīvas prasības. Līdz ar to, reaģējot uz Finanšu ministrijas un premjera norādījumiem – un patiesi, manuprāt, ikvienam valsts pārvaldes darbiniekam vai vismaz vairākumam ir skaidrs, ka mums jāievēro taupība –, meklējot līdzekļus, mēs izvērtējām, kuri resursi šobrīd nav piesaistīti stingrām, konkrētām saistībām vai šauriem uzdevumiem, lai mēs varētu atbalstīt kopējo budžetu."

pauda Klimata un enerģētikas ministrijas valsts sekretāre Līga Kurevska.

Under amendments prepared by the Ministry of Climate and Energy, 10 million euros is earmarked in 2027 to cover housing subsidies for the heating season.

"Protams, labāk, ja mums to visu nevajag, bet esmu diezgan droša, ka daļu no tās noteikti vajadzēs, jo diemžēl tie cipari enerģijas tirgū ir nepielūdzami,"

norādīja Kurevska.

Five million euros in each of the next four years—totaling 20 million euros—will compensate for uncollected natural resource tax revenues from landfills to prevent increases in waste management costs. Another 20 million euros is allocated to finance various sports needs.

The Ministry of Education and Science has not yet named specific measures to be funded from these resources, but emphasized that the money will fund a newly created institution, the State Sports Fund, which must be established by the end of May next year.