And it was unanimously blessed: 114 MPs voted in favour, 16 abstained, and only one Peasant, Valius Ąžuolas, was against.
However, the ruling party was far from happy. The previous government had drawn up the draft, so the current coalition had little time to adjust it.
Most of it has been consumed by efforts to find ministers supposedly delegated by Nemuno Aušra and internal disagreements.
For their part, the Peasants in the opposition, many of whom abstained from voting, were angry that the new Government could only start implementing its programme after a year, as it would now have to pick up the Conservatives' legacy.
„The budget is so bad that the ruling party has hesitated to adjust. It is probably hopeless to do so. All that is left now is to approve the situation but then have a major rethink in the middle of the year,“ said Mr Ąžuolas.
So, what do we have? In short, we will have to live at the expense of future generations because we will have to keep borrowing. Falling interest rates make it both cheaper and easier to do so.
Next year's budget will have revenues of EUR 17.98 billion and expenditures of EUR 23.1 billion. The original draft foresaw the same revenue but a slightly lower expenditure of EUR 23.02 billion.
Parliamentarians also proposed additional appropriations of around EUR 2 billion, but as is traditionally the case, these proposals were sifted out one after the other.
According to Finance Minister Rimantas Šadžius, if the proposals were approved, the 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) budget deficit limit of the Maastricht criteria would be significantly exceeded.
The only approved proposals were to increase funding for the Ministry of Justice, raise the salaries of the Seimas Chancellery staff, and allocate an additional EUR 250,000 to this institution for the 35th anniversary of the restoration of an independent Lithuania.
Even before the vote in the Seimas, it was almost apparent that even the Conservatives would support the budget.
Both former Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė and former Finance Minister Gintarė Skaistė explained that the amendments were microscopic, so everything was going according to the previously planned schedule.
However, not everything is. The funding for national defence in the previous draft (EUR 2.6 billion) has remained the same. Still, the new majority has decided to increase the public borrowing limit by as much as EUR 0.8 billion for this purpose. If these funds were borrowed and used, the volume of defence funding could reach as much as 4% of GDP.
Unsurprisingly, President Gitanas Nausėda did not favour the previous majority and immediately praised the decision: „Unfortunately, the last Government talked a lot about Lithuania's security but had even planned to cut the defence budget.
It is not words but deeds that make us love the country, and I think we are on the right track“.
For ordinary citizens, this budget does not bode well either.
More than EUR 6.721 billion is earmarked for social protection and almost EUR 3.416 billion for education.
Around EUR 801 million is earmarked for raising the incomes of the working population, of which EUR 38.6 million is for raising the minimum monthly wage (MMA). In 2025, the MMA will increase by 12.3% to EUR 1,038, or EUR 777 per hand.
Teachers' salaries are set to increase by EUR 394 million, while doctors' salaries are set to increase by EUR 230 million.
As much as EUR 616 million will be allocated to increase old-age pensions, affecting 637,000 people. In 2025, the average old-age pension will rise by EUR 81 to EUR 721 for those with the required length of service, an increase of as much as EUR 321 from 2020.
However, it is not yet clear how higher incomes will affect the national economy. Of course, it also means paying more tax.
However, according to the Bank of Lithuania's analysis, although households have more money, they are not in a hurry to spend it on consumption but are instead trying to save. So, this money is not yet stimulating domestic consumption, at least.
The budget also foresees EUR 3.6 billion in investments in Lithuania's future: EUR 1.7 billion for green transformation, EUR 263 million for educational innovation, EUR 206 million for science, business, and innovation, and EUR 147 million for digital transformation.
Lithuanian roads will receive EUR 804 million, including EUR 583.2 million for the Road Maintenance and Development Programme.
The previous Government was criticised for significantly underfunding roads, but the current Government has been unable or unwilling to make substantial adjustments to these figures.
If industry, exports, and domestic consumption grow even faster in the first half of 2025, if the country's GDP rises, and if tax collections are higher than projected, the budget will likely be revised in the spring.
However, substantial changes can only be expected in the autumn.
Especially as the budget projections for 2026 and 2027 have been adopted together with this year's budget.
According to these projections, state revenues will grow to EUR 32.177 billion in 2026 and EUR 33.972 billion in 2027. However, they will still not catch up with expenditures, which are projected at EUR 35.985 billion and EUR 36.567 billion, respectively. So, life in debt will continue.
