The amounts earmarked for the COVID-19 emergency reserve and their actual spending are shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Performance of contracts entered into and obligations assumed on the basis of the decisions of the COVID-19 reserve
MoEAC – Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, MoES – Ministry of Ministry of Education and Research, MoC – Ministry of Culture, MoFA – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The bulk of the emergency reserve was spent on purchasing and transport of personal protective equipment and for coronavirus testing – by the end of the year, nearly 39 million euros was spent on this purpose, which means that 33 percent of the amount originally planned, i.e. a little over 19 million euros, was unused by the end of the year. The expenditure on personal protective equipment and testing from the emergency reserve is shown in Figure 2.
The main decisions on using the reserve as well as funds in it intended for personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing were made promptly within the three months following the adoption of the Supplementary Budget 2020 Act when around 75% of the spending of the entire year were made.
Figure 2. Performance of contracts entered into for the purchase and transport of personal protective equipment and for coronavirus testing
MoEAC – Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications
The largest contributors to the spending of the emergency reserve were the Ministry of Finance with 18.7 million and the Ministry of Social Affairs with 14.4 million euros. The Ministry of Finance (17.4 million) and the Ministry of Social Affairs (10.1 million) also account for the largest share of expenditure on personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing.
For example, by the end of the year, the Ministry of Social Affairs had spent 8.2 million euros from the COVID-19 reserve for purchasing coronavirus tests and testing itself, and 2.4 million euros on respiratory ventilators and other oxygen supply equipment. The Ministry of Social Affairs spent 1.9 million euros from the COVID-19 reserve on personal protective equipment, while the State Chancellery spent 9.2 million euros. The most prominent of the expenditure of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications were the transportation costs of repatriating Estonian citizens, which amounted to 3.8 million euros. An overview of all the contracts entered into is provided in Table 1 and in detail by personal protective equipment in Table 2.
While the government initially estimated that all expenditure from the COVID reserve should be paid from the Estonian taxpayers’ money received in the state budget, it became clear during the year that a large share of these can be covered with the European Union grants (see Figure 3).
As a result, of the total expenditure incurred by the ministries (58.3 million), 35.1 million euros were paid out from the state budget and 23.2 million from the grants received from the European Union budget. Due to the decrease in the actual need for funds (see Figure 1, unobligated funds in the reserve 26.3 million), the use of the European Union grants (see Figure 3, European Union grants 23.2 million) and covering some of the expenditure with other funds of the state budget (in the amount of 6,5 million), a financial buffer totalling approximately 56 million euros was built by the end of the year, to the extent of which the government could make new decisions in 2021 to cover emergency expenditure.
Figure 3. Actual sources for covering expenditure from the COVID-19 reserve as at 31 December 2020 (in million euros)
MoEAC – Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, MoES – Ministry of Ministry of Education and Research, MoC – Ministry of Culture, MoFA – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Background
The Riigikogu approved the state budget in the amount of approx. 12 billion euros for 2020. This also included the government reserve of 86.4 million that the government could use operatively, spending it at its own discretion. As the COVID crisis broke out, the Riigikogu increased the reserve by establishing a supplementary budget and amending the state budget to 360,8 million euros.
In order for the reserve to be used, the Government of the Republic or an authorised entity, for example a crisis committee, has to establish so-called limits for use for the ministries. While the Riigikogu allocated 360.8 million euros to the Government of the Republic, the government, in turn, decided to allocate 84.6 million to the ministries specifically to cover the primary expenditure of the COVID crisis.
The ministries and the State Chancellery then started to take obligations and enter into contracts for the use of the funds. As a result, 58.3 million were spent as at the end of the year (see Figure 1). The breakdown of specific contracts is given in Table 1 and Table 2. In more detailed a factual overview can be found on the website of the National Audit Office of Estonia. The National Audit Office will present a more detailed overview of the use of the Government of the Republic’s reserve as a result of the audit of the state’s consolidated annual report for 2020.
As there was no overview of the status of using the reserve at the time of the outbreak of the crisis, the National Audit Office decided to publish the main facts about the use of the emergency reserve. Our first paper was published on 5 October 2020 (link), and the topic was discussed at the State Budget Control Select Committee of the Riigikogu on 16 November 2020. Today, the National Audit Office is presenting a brief overview of the use of the funds of the emergency reserve as at 31 December 2020 in the same breakdown of figures. In the text outside the tables, the figures are rounded off for clarity.
Table 1. Allocations from the COVID-19 reserve, contracts entered into and obligations assumed, and performance of contracts and obligations as at 31 December 2020 by areas of government and the State Chancellery in euros
| Allocations according to purpose by areas of government and the State Chancellery | Amount of allocation | Contracts entered into and obligations assumed | Performance of contracts and obligations as at 31 December 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Finance | 34,400,000 | 23,849,746 | 18,697,924 |
| Purchase of special COVID equipment | 4,000,000 | 0 | 0 |
| Arranging the storage of personal protective equipment | 168,000 | 168,000 | 0 |
| Replenishment of the state’s central stock of personal protective equipment for social welfare institutions and storage and distribution of equipment | 2,500,000 | 0 | 0 |
| To the Minister of Public Administration for the purchase of personal protective equipment | 23,432,000 | 19,381,746 | 17,361,066 |
| To the Minister of Public Affairs for enterprise support for Muhu and Saaremaa rural municipalities | 300,000 | 300,000 | 300,000 |
| To commercial enterprises for proportional rent support measure | 4,000,000 | 4,000,000 | 1,036,858 |
| Ministry of the Interior | 8,857,680 | 8,544,648 | 6,884,009 |
| To the Minister of the Interior for expenditure of the emergency situation | 8,700,000 | 8,436,018 | * |
| To the Minister of the Interior for use by the Police and Border Guard Board and the Defence League in Saare County | 125,000 | 75,950 | * |
| To the Police and Border Guard Board to increase patrols in Ida-Viru County | 32,680 | 32,680 | * |
| State Chancellery | 10,193,454 | 9,443,184 | 9,443,454 |
| For organising the campaigns “Stay home” and “Stay healthy” | 169,454 | 169,184 | 169,454 |
| For carrying out the population survey | 24,000 | 24,000 | 24,000 |
| For purchasing personal protective equipment | 10,000,000 | 9,250,000 | 9,250,000 |
| Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications | 6,185,200 | 4,206,999 | 6,141,260 |
| For bringing Estonians home (expenditure on the Sassnitz-Paldiski route, booking two emergency trips on the route Tallinn-Helsinki-Tallinn, which include the transport of passengers, vehicles and goods, as well as booking tickets and organising the sale) | 3,823,200 | 957,000 | 3,833,724 |
| To the Minister of Economic Affairs for compiling a code of conduct for store chains | 20,000 | 20,000 | 4,545 |
| To the Minister of Economic Affairs for making bus line service more frequent in Ida-Viru County | 270,000 | 270,000 | 100,391 |
| To the Minister of Economic Affairs for an information campaign on the prevention of cyber threats | 72,000 | 59,999 | 59,999 |
| To the Minister of Economic Affairs for transport related to personal protective equipment | 2,000,000 | 2,900,000 | 2,142,601 |
| Ministry of Social Affairs | 22,128,000 | 19,760,258 | 14,352,807 |
| To the Minister of Social Affairs for the purchase of personal protective equipment | 4,000,000 | 2,100,525 | 1,919,949 |
| To the Minister of Social Affairs for the purchase and carrying out of tests | 11,960,000 | 11,510,000 | 8,214,963 |
| To the Minister of Social Affairs for purchasing respiratory ventilators and other necessary equipment for maintaining the oxygen content in the patient’s blood at an optimal level | 3,750,000 | 3,750,000 | 2,443,700 |
| For the ICT expenditure of the social and health domain in relation to the emergency situation (incl. expenditure related to the temporary suspension of funded pension payments) | 1,395,000 | 1,395,000 | 1,079,953 |
| Development costs of the Social Insurance System (SKAIS) related to changes in unemployment during the accounting period of parental benefit | 63,000 | 63,000 | 0 |
| For emergency costs of infection-related instructions in nursing homes, and costs of victim support, psychological crisis counselling and serological surveys | 960,000 | 941,733 | 694,242 |
| Ministry of Education and Research | 1,800,000 | 1,800,000 | 1,800,000 |
| Ministry of Culture | 850,000 | 850,000 | 850,000 |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | 200,000 | 200,000 | 179,724 |
| TOTAL | 84,614,334 | 68,654,835 | 58,349,178 |
* Not possible to outline by contracts.
Table 2. Contracts and payments related to the purchase and transport of personal protective equipment and coronavirus testing using the COVID-19 reserve as at 31 December 2020 by areas of government and the State Chancellery in euros
| Procurement No. | Content of the contract | Value of contracts related to personal protective equipment and virus testing | Payments according to contracts related to personal protective equipment and virus testing as at 31 December 2020 | Difference of contracts and payments | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Finance | 19,549,746 | 17,361,066 | 2,188,679 | ||
| Arranging the storage of personal protective equipment | 168,000 | 0 | 168,000 | Contract is in progress | |
| To the Minister of Public Administration for the purchase of personal protective equipment | |||||
| 221403 | Purchase of disinfectants | 910,857 | 910,857 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 221436 | Purchase of surgical face masks | 1,020,000 | 17,510 | 1,002,490 | Contract terminated |
| 221513 | Purchase of surgical face masks | 1,590,000 | 1,510,500 | 79,500 | Contract completed |
| 221559 | Purchase of personal protective equipment (gloves) | 65,910 | 65,744 | 166 | Contract completed |
| 221623 | Purchase of medical personal protective equipment | 10,424,524 | 10,065,991 | 358,533 | Contract completed |
| 221712 | Purchase of face masks | 1,072,000 | 1,091,107 | -19,107 | Contract completed |
| 221945 | Purchase of medical face masks and coveralls | 599,105 | 8 | 599,097 | Contract completed. The majority of the items in the contract were paid for by a private person |
| 221955 | Purchase of surgical masks | 380,000 | 380,000 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 223175 | Purchase of smock-overalls and coveralls | 3,225,000 | 3,225,000 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 223177 | Purchase of plastic aprons | 58,800 | 58,800 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 223410 | Purchase of smock-overalls and coveralls | 35,550 | 35,550 | 0 | Contract completed |
| State Chancellery | 9,250,000 | 9,250,000 | 0 | ||
| 221526 | Purchase and delivery of FFP3 respirators | 9,250,000 | 9,250,000 | 0 | Contract completed |
| Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications | 2,900,000 | 2,142,601 | 757,399 | ||
| 222864, 221741 | International logistics service for personal protective equipment | 2,900,000 | 2,142,601 | 757,399 | Contract completed |
| Ministry of Social Affairs | 13,610,526 | 10,134,913 | 3,475,613 | ||
| To the Minister of Social Affairs for the purchase of personal protective equipment | |||||
| 221731 | Purchase of respirators and surgical masks (Health Board) | 631,200 | 631,200 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 221403 | Purchase of disinfectants (Ministry of Finance) | 607,161 | 607,161 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 221300 | Purchase of FFP3 respirators (Health Board) | 182,000 | 182,000 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 221131 | Purchase of 3-layer surgical masks (Health Board) | 120,000 | 120,000 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 220722 | Purchase of FFP3 respirators | 20,020 | 20,020 | 0 | Contract completed |
| Joint procurement by the EU | Purchase of FFP2 respirators | 540,144 | 359,568 | 180,576 | Contract is in progress |
| To the Minister of Social Affairs for the purchase and carrying out of tests | |||||
| 223116 | Testing for coronavirus and notification of results (Health Board) | 54,318 | 54,318 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 222655 | Taking coronavirus samples and testing (Health Board, taking samples) | 837,532 | 837,532 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 222655 | Taking coronavirus samples and testing (Health Board, testing samples) | 927,828 | 927,828 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 221967 | Purchase of DNA/RNA extraction robot and accessories (Health Board) | 63,814 | 63,814 | 0 | Contract completed |
| To the Ministry of Social Affairs for the purchase of tests | 1,181,868 | 426,307 | 755,561 | Contract is in progress | |
| 221537 | Taking coronavirus samples and testing (Health Board, taking samples) | 635,900 | 635,900 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 221537 | Taking coronavirus samples and testing (Health Board, testing samples) | 1,865,028 | 1,865,028 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 223408 | Taking coronavirus samples and testing (Health Board, taking samples) | 1,566,111 | 1,566,111 | 0 | Contract completed |
| 223408 | Taking coronavirus samples and testing the samples (Health Board, testing samples) | 827,602 | 827,602 | 0 | Contract is in progress |
| To the Ministry of Social Affairs for the purchase of 50,000 Cepheid Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 tests | 3,000,000 | 651,200 | 2,348,800 | Contract is in progress | |
| Monitoring study | 450,000 | 259,324 | 190,676 | Contract is in progress | |
| For the development of COVID-19 drug and finding tests | 100,000 | 100,000 | 0 | Contract completed | |
| TOTAL | 45,310,272 | 38,888,580 | 6,421,692 | ||
