Estonia’s New Premier Brings In Austerity for the Sake of Security
- Country sees biggest round of cuts since financial crisis
- Kristen Michal says Baltic nation has no other choice
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Estonians have no choice but to stomach more tax increases and reduced state spending if the country wants to beef up its security against threats from Russia, according to the Baltic nation’s new premier Kristen Michal.
The Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has prompted some of Russia’s neighbors to boost military expenditure to deter Moscow. Already grappling with Europe’s longest recession, Estonia’s coalition government has rolled out a defense tax and the country’s biggest wave of budget cuts since the global financial crisis.