Stenbock House, 7 March 2018 – the government decided to begin working on the strategy “Estonia 2035”. This includes setting the main development objectives of the state and reducing the amount of development plans and bureaucracy.
According to Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, the goals of the state must be understandable and measurable. “We need to identify the main long-term challenges, agree on goals, and plan funds for longer than four years. At the same time, we have to reduce state bureaucracy and explain to every person, ministry, and company the direction where we are heading. To do this, the goals of the state must be easily understandable and the amount of planning documents reasonable,” said Prime Minister Ratas.
The government decided that one of the goals of the “Estonia 2035” must be reducing the amount of government-level development plans and bureaucracy. The implementation of the strategy should reduce the workload related to the preparation, implementation, and reporting of development plans.
The purpose of preparing “Estonia 2035” is to organise the state’s strategic planning more efficiently and transparently. According to the current plan, the strategy will be adopted in spring 2020 and it should give a clear picture of the state’s main goals in all major areas for the next 15 years – what the state wants to achieve and what issues need to be addressed proactively. It will also make the long-term development goals and activities of the state more understandable to the people.
The 15-year perspective allows for long-term trends to be considered, as well as reducing the amount of different strategies and development plans and the resulting fragmentation. Most of the current development plans will end in 2020 and it is important for the planning of short-term follow-up strategies to consider the long-term development needs and goals of Estonia.
According to Henry Kattago, Strategy Director of the Government Office, the development of the strategy “Estonia 2035” is a process that includes broad-based involvement and thorough analysis. “In essence it is the follow-up strategy for the Estonian competitiveness plan “Estonia 2020” and it also includes the planning of the next period of the EU Structural Funds. During the process social partners, politicians, officials, and experts are consulted. A more detailed action and engagement plan will be completed in May, when it will be re-introduced to the government,” explained Kattago.
The Government Office in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance is responsible for the preparation, implementation, and updating of the strategy “Estonia 2035”. Reviewing it every year allows taking into account the impact of international trends and reacting promptly and flexibly to changes to support the achievement of the goals of the Government of the Republic.
According to the agreed time schedule, the final version of “Estonia 2035” will be sent to the government in April 2020 for approval before submission to Riigikogu for discussion.
Background
- Nearly half of the sectoral development plans of the state will end in 2020 and many follow-up strategies will be initiated by the ministries. “Estonia 2035” will help avoid the fragmentation of sectoral development strategies and prevent any inconsistencies, as the strategy will include an agreement on cross-sectoral goals and duties.
- The cross-sectoral competitiveness strategy “Estonia 2020” will end in 2020. The plan needs a follow-up strategy, which is “Estonia 2035”.
- In 2020, the current financial period of the European Union will end and in 2021, the following period will start; “Estonia 2035” will help distribute its resources more efficiently. New Estonia's European Union policy will be created as a part of the strategy “Estonia 2035”.
- From 2020, the state will start using activity-based budgeting; the prerequisite for its successful implementation is the consolidation of the state’s finances and the strategic planning framework.
Additional information
Government Communication Unit
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