Riigikogu Passed the Communication on Labour Migration between Estonia and Finland
At today’s remote-participation sitting, the Riigikogu passed the Communication to the Eduskunta of the Republic of Finland, presented by 29 Members of the Riigikogu.
The text of the Communication:
“The Riigikogu emphasises the importance of cooperation between the two close neighbours and kindred nations in resolving the epidemiological crisis that we are experiencing. Our relations are rooted in a long tradition and together we have overcome difficult obstacles on our paths.
Estonia and Finland have been engaged in a close cooperation throughout the corona crisis, on the foundation of our mutual trust and understanding. Our governments, state officials and experts are in constant professional contact with each other to find solutions to the challenges set by the corona crisis. The Riigikogu thanks Finland for its cooperation and is particularly grateful for the assistance of the Finnish authorities in bringing Estonian nationals home from third countries during the first wave of the virus.
Estonian and Finnish economies are closely interlinked in a number of fields, and this synergy has served both countries. Since 27 January 2021, the Republic of Finland has decided to close its borders to labour migration, save for a very few specified professions. This has had an immediate and significant effect on the normal labour migration between Estonia and Finland. Many Estonian residents who do contractual work in Finland now find themselves in a difficult situation. These thousands of people divide their work and home between the two countries, and this restriction creates great difficulties for them and their families. The Riigikogu has received a petition with 1,002 signatures from concerned citizens who are personally affected by this.
We hope to garner the support of the Eduskunta in finding confidence-building measures that would reduce the spreading of the virus but would enable to restore the cross-border movement of workers between our countries. If the cross-border movement of commuting workers remains impossible to the full extent in the near future, a temporary regime that would enable workers to visit their families and to return to work should be found in cooperation between our two countries.“
During the debate, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski (Centre Party), Helmen Kütt (Social Democratic Party), Jüri Luik (Isamaa), and Henn Põlluaas (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
83 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of adopting the Communication ( 322 PE ).
Full text of the Communication in English and in Finnish
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Riigikogu Press Service
Liisa Johanna Lukk
Phone: +372 631 6456, +372 5331 0789
E-mail: [email protected]
Questions: [email protected]
