TALLINN - The government said the current pace of utilizing foreign aid in the first nine months of the year - 2 billion kroons (128 million euros) of the 5.1 billion kroons included in the budget - is in keeping with plans.
According to a forecast by Finance Minister Taavi Veski-magi, the country has the capability to take on obligations that accompany 70 percent of the European Union's subsidies, the daily Eesti Paevaleht reported. But several billion kroons will be transferred to next year, in addition to the 6.1 billion kroons of foreign aid already written into the 2005 budget. "My aim is not to spend as much money as possible at all costs, but to do it expediently," Veskimagi said.
