Prime Minister Alexander Stubb has called for rapid action to slow down Finland's growing national debt. According to Stubb, all political parties must seriously consider the Finance Ministry's report released on Thursday calling for tough measures to control Finland's growing state debt.
The ministry says that the next government must slash public spending by six billion euros by 2019. Its austerity plan calls for the state budget to be shrunk by four billion euros and municipal spending by two billion -- through a reduction in local authorities' responsibilities.
"I'm very concerned about Finland's public finances. We are on the road to being overly in debt. This raises the question of whether we will be able to offer education, health care and help to everyone in the future," said Stubb in a statement on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Antti Rinne did not support his ministry's report and said on Thursday that, "such dramatic cuts carried out so quickly could further harm health and social welfare reforms that are underway."
Stubb also expressed concern that the message about necessary action had not been received by all of the political parties.
"There still seems to be the view that we're not in a rush, and that by slightly modifying our current framework we'll survive. That's not the case," said Stubb. "Fast action is needed to correct the situation," he added.