On Wednesday, the Minister of Defence Sven Mikser in the capacity of the Prime Minster explained to the Riigikogu the strategy of the Government on citizenship policy.

After the question of the Member of the Riigikogu Jaak Allik, Sven Mikser gave an overview of the steps the Government is planning to take in regard to the people living in Estonia on the basis of a permanent residence permit.

“Reproduction of statelessness has to be ended,” said Mikser at Question Time of the Riigikogu, and continued, “The children of two parents with undefined citizenship who are born in Estonia must automatically get Estonian citizenship, and not have to express the wish for it.” According to Mikser, Estonia will transfer from the so-called applying procedure to waiver procedure.

“We have also decided to simplify in some ways the procedure of applying for citizenship for over 65 year old persons, and also solve the problem that was much talked about recently, when it was decided to deprive a minor, who had already been given Estonian citizenship and who had also declared her wish to be a citizen of Estonia, of her Estonian citizenship for certain bureaucratic and legal reasons,” said Mikser.

According to the minister, the most important thing is that the “body language” of the state of Estonia would not say that we are completely indifferent and neutral about whether the stateless people living here would one day become the citizens of Russia or Estonia.

At Question Time, the members of the Government also replied to the questions of the members of the Riigikogu about the situation in the country, problems of ground water in Ida-Virumaa, foreign trade and social cohesion.

The verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian).