In addition, the Riigikogu deliberated Bills concerning plant propagation and plant variety rights and civil proceedings today.

The Act on Amendments to the Government of the Republic Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (reorganisation of the Land Board into the Land and Spatial Planning Board) (457 SE), initiated by the Government, was passed. It consolidates the structural units engaged in land and spatial planning in various agencies into a single entity. The Land and Spatial Planning Board will provide help with issues relating to services regarding land, planning, construction as well as architecture.

The explanatory memorandum states that the Act will resolve the issue of the fragmentation of activities in the spatial sector and the lack of a central implementation unit which has persisted for years. The knowledge, competence and data concerning the living environment and   the land and spatial sector will be consolidated in one place which will create an opportunity make better spatial decisions, to use resources better and to save costs. More professional spatial creation will help adapt to climate change, reduce forced commuting, prevent segregation, preserve the environment, and improve people’s mental and physical health.

Besides the current tasks of the Land Board, the following will be consolidated to the Land and Spatial Planning Board: the activities of the e-Construction platform from the Construction and Living Environment Department of the Ministry of Climate ; implementation tasks in spatial planning from the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture ; land improvement sector  tasks from the Agriculture and Food Board;  services relating to the maintenance of unimproved state real estate, land consolidation and land improvement provided to the Ministry of Climate from the Ministry of Finance ; as well as tasks in the area of activity of strategic space creation.

According to the Act, the Land and Spatial Planning Board will start operating on 1 January 2025.

Madis Kallas (Social Democratic Party), Mart Maastik (Isamaa) and Igor Taro (Estonia 200) took the floor during the debate.

On the final vote, 59 members of the Riigikogu supported the Act, 12 were against and there was one abstention.

A Bill passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Plant Propagation and Plant Variety Rights Act and the Forest Act (473 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. Its purpose of is to solve the bottlenecks that have arisen due to the development of the field and to create more flexible solutions for undertakings by establishing exceptions.

According to the current Act, the seed and propagating material to be marketed must comply with the established requirements, and the seed and propagating material of a variety that is to be included in the variety list and to be marketed must be certified. The Bill will establish an exception, according to which seed and propagating material of old varieties marketed in small quantities may be produced, certified and packaged differently from what is required by law. In doing so, care will have to be taken not to spread dangerous plant pests. The amendment will encourage the production and marketing of seed and propagating material of old varieties.

The Bill will also re-establish the possibility of including known varieties of fruit and berry crops in the variety sheet on the basis of a variety description that meets the requirements. Thus, suppliers will also be able to propagate and market the propagating material of known varieties of fruit and berry crops that have not yet been included in the variety list. It will also create the possibility for seed potato suppliers to print their own labels on seed potato packages which is a faster and more flexible solution for suppliers.

In addition, it will establish an obligation to notify the Environmental Board of an intention to carry out trials on cultivation material for the purposes of breeding tree crops or conducting scientific research or to determine whether the production of forestry material from the cultivation material would be economically viable.

A Bill passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure and the relating Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure and the Code of Enforcement Procedure Implementation Act (493 SE), initiated by the Legal Affairs Committee, passed the first reading. Its aim is to improve the availability of procedural assistance in civil proceedings so that the rights of people who take legal action would not be left unprotected due to their economic situation.

The Bill is motivated by the proposal of the Chancellor of Justice to bring the Code of Civil Procedure into conformity with the Constitution. The plenary assembly of the Riigikogu supported the proposal in June this year and, consequently, the Legal Affairs Committee initiated a Bill to amend the regulation on procedural assistance in the Code of Civil Procedure. According to the Bill, in the future, when granting procedural assistance, the court will be able to take into account a person’s essentially unavoidable expenses for food, medicines, communications and hygiene supplies.

Procedural assistance is assistance by the state for covering procedural expenses in civil and administrative court proceedings. For example, by way of procedural assistance, the court can decide to partially or fully exempt a person from the state fee or bail or from bearing other costs or allow them to be paid in instalments.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Maris Meiessaar
+372 631 6353, +372 5558 3993
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