Riga Mayor Viesturs Kleinbergs criticized the new model of financial equalization for municipalities proposed by the Ministry of Finance. In his opinion, the reform will not allow the capital to develop at a faster pace, and therefore increase its contributions to the Financial Equalization Fund. Kleinbergs emphasized that Riga does not oppose the principle of solidarity and is ready to help other municipalities. However, he stated that the largest city in the country must simultaneously receive tools for its own growth. "We are ready to participate in financing, but give us the opportunity to develop faster so that we can contribute even more to the fund if necessary," the mayor said during the broadcast of Latvian Television's program 'Morning Panorama'. In his opinion, the new system will become less transparent. While it is currently possible to understand which municipalities contribute to the fund and which receive support, after the reform, Kleinbergs believes it will be significantly more difficult to determine this balance. According to him, in a few years, the Riga City Council may no longer be able to accurately answer how much money the city has contributed to the fund and how much it has received back. Importantly, the dispute is not about the principle of financial equalization itself, but about how resources should be distributed among regions. The Ministry of Finance proposes to make the system more solidarity-based and predictable, while Riga believes it should simultaneously stimulate economic growth in the largest cities. Kleinbergs also called for providing Riga and the municipalities of the metropolitan region with more opportunities to attract funding from European Union funds. In his opinion, this would allow for the joint development of transport infrastructure, water supply systems, and other major projects in the Riga agglomeration. The mayor emphasized that he is concerned not only about the reform itself but also about the approach to the country's development as a whole. According to him, if Latvia aims to significantly increase gross domestic product per capita, achieving this without accelerated development of Riga will be extremely difficult. The Ministry of Finance, for its part, states that the goal of the bill is to create a fairer, more transparent, and predictable financial equalization system based on the principles of solidarity and budget balance, which are also applied in other European Union countries. The proposed model has already been opposed by the association of municipalities 'Riga Metropolitan Area', which includes Riga and adjacent municipalities. They believe that the reform will increase the financial burden on the metropolitan region and may negatively affect the country's economic development. According to preliminary estimates by the association, the net contributions of some municipalities will increase by several million euros per year after the reform comes into effect.