Cuts in friendship society funding cancelled
Parliament fine-tunes government budget proposal
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Proposed cuts of nearly EUR two million in state funding for friendship societies and cultural publications have ben cancelled.
In its budget proposal, the government had planned sharp cuts in the funds, but the Parliamentary groups of the government parties have now decided to maintain the grants at about the present level.
It was originally planned that only six of the approximately 130 international friendship societies would have received state aid. The ones that would continue to enjoy state support would be friendship societies concentrating on contacts with nearby areas: the Nordic Countries, Estonia, and Russia.
In its original budget proposal the government had left EUR 61 million open for distribution. Parliament has now earmarked about EUR 50 million of that sum. Half of the funds are to go to railway and road maintenance, island transport, and state subsidies for private roads.
Nearly EUR 900 million had already been earmarked for those purposes in the government’s budget proposal.
In addition to transport funding, MPs were eager to make changes in the social affairs and health budget, as well as in funding for education.
On the basis of discussions held so far, some changes are in store for veterans’ benefits, and psychiatric care for children.
Helsingin Sanomat
