The European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) discussed Estonia’s positions on the legislative proposals of the EU climate package Fit for 55 at its video sitting today and decided to approve the positions as well as to amend them, taking partially into account the opinions of the Environment Committee and the Economic Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu.

The Committee discussed the system for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading, the Effort Sharing Regulation, the proposals for regulations on aviation, land use, land use change and forestry, and CO₂ emission performance standards for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles, as well as the positions of the Government first on 17 December. Today, the Committee continued the discussion on amending the positions of the Government.

Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Siim Kallas said that the Government was generally very pragmatic in its positions, standing for the interests of Estonia and leaving room for negotiations. “The Committee still wished to amend the positions. In the clauses we have added, we underline that the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable living environment should proceed at a wisely chosen pace,” Kallas said.

“In particular, we wanted to point out that greenhouse gas reduction must be based on impact assessments. This was also noted in the opinions of the thematic committees of the Riigikogu, the Support Group for the Protection of Estonian National Interests in the European Union Climate Package and the interest groups that expressed their views to the Committee,” the Chairman added.

“The Committee thinks that the achievement of the target and the impact on society need to be monitored in order to adjust the targets and the burden of emissions reduction between sectors, if necessary,” Kallas said. “We also supplemented Estonia’s positions by a clause which says that in the event of economic damage, there must be a possibility to consider granting state aid to the most affected sectors. We also underlined the necessity of regional support measures and ensuring food security.”

The Committee also complemented the position on the Emissions Trading Scheme by emphasising the need to modernise the scheme and to introduce additional measures to this end. “The Emissions Trading Scheme is no longer cost-effective and has shown instability, which does not allow private and commercial consumers to predict their expenses,” Kallas noted.

Deputy Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Raimond Kaljulaid pointed out that the package was an initiative that had a serious impact on both Europe and Estonia, which inevitably influenced also the Estonian economy, and through it, the employment and prices, as well as the investment capacity and international competitiveness of the Estonian companies.

“In the case of Fit for 55, we have to take into account that most probably its impacts will be more felt mainly in rural regions, where the working places of many people employed in the agriculture and forestry sector are located. Also, it will be more complicated for the people living further away from the centres to find alternative solutions for heating. Increase of transport expenses and growth of food prices are understandably a greater problem for households with smaller income,” Kaljulaid said. He added that there was also the question of how the negative effects would be compensated to the people, as the planned social fund is not sufficient as a mitigation measure.

The European Union Affairs Committee also instructed the Government to keep members of the Riigikogu and stakeholders informed about further negotiations on the package and to include them in discussions on the national sectoral distribution of emission reduction.

With the Fit for 55 climate package proposals, the European Union has set itself a target of reducing emissions in Europe by at least 55% in comparison to 1990 by 2030, and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. It is an extensive package that includes 13 initiatives that concern several sectors. The Government formulates its positions on the proposals, which have to be approved by the European Union Affairs Committee on the basis of the opinions of the thematic committees.

Since the beginning of the Autumn Session, the European Union Affairs Committee has been holding parliamentary discussion to get an overview of the Fit for 55 initiative. On the European Union Affairs Committee’s initiative, the issue of green transition was also debated as a matter of significant national importance in the plenary of the Riigikogu in November. Together with the five initiatives discussed today, the European Union Affairs Committee has by now developed a position on 11 initiatives. The Committee still has to take a position on two more initiatives, and it will do this in January.

Minister of the Environment Erki Savisaar and representatives of the Minister of the Environment, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Finance participated in today’s session via a video bridge and replied to the questions of the members of the Riigikogu.

Photos of the sitting (Erik Peinar, Chancellery of the Riigikogu)

Comments of the Chair and the Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee in Estonian (Erik Peinar, Chancellery of the Riigikogu)

Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
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