At today’s plenary sitting, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas gave the Riigikogu an overview of the activities of the Government in implementing the European Union policy. Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Raivo Tamm also made a report.

In her speech, the Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that, on 24 February, not only the Ukrainian War of Independence had begun, but we had seen the beginning of the full-scale war for a rule-based world order and for Europe. She stated that Russia would never again be a reliable partner in the eyes of the rest of the world.

“Estonia, together with the other allies of the Eastern flank of Europe, has been at the forefront of Ukraine’s support and international resistance, both in our statements and with personal examples and steadfastness. We don’t know exactly how and when this war will end, but we do know how it won’t. It won’t end with Russia winning,” Kallas said. “Without legal judgment and accountability, there is no hope of a just and lasting peace. Russia must make reparation for the damage caused to Ukraine; war crimes and crimes of aggression must be punished,” the Prime Minister emphasised.

Kallas said that she was proud of the reaction and unity that Europe had shown regarding Russia’s aggression. “The unity and solidarity of the European Union, as well as its leadership, have been key to mobilising the entire Western world against Russia,” she said. Kallas pointed out that joint decisions had been made to abandon Russian energy, to strengthen European defence, to grant the prospect of European Union membership to Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia and to open accession negotiations with North Macedonia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina. Finland and Sweden will also be joining NATO. In her words, none of these decisions would have come about so quickly if it hadn’t been for the war, and this is an aspect that Russia did not take into account. “Russia wanted to subjugate Ukraine and crush European unity. In return, he got a stronger and more united Europe than ever before,” Kallas stated and said that the European Union and Estonia would support Ukraine fully and for as long as necessary.

In Kallas’s words, as a result of this war, the world has entered an era where crises are a new normal. “It is to be feared that it will take quite a few years before the world can once again enter its regular order,” she said. In her speech, Kallas also touched upon the energy issue as part of security, and the addressing of climate change. In her words, inevitably, most of our concerns these days are linked in one way or another to war. “I assure you and the Estonian people that we will continue to be good allies to our partners, and we will not forget our people. We’ll get through these difficult times together. We stand by Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in our thoughts and actions,” Kallas said. She underlined that if Europe is strong, so is Estonia.

When summarising the work of the committee in participating in European Union decision-making processes over the last nearly four years, Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Raivo Tamm said that the committee was engaged in a very wide range of topics and, during this parliamentary term, it had shaped positions on 186 legislative drafts of the European Union and had given mandates for 442 meetings of the Council of Ministers. Then Tamm focused on three key challenges for Europe and Estonia – the war in Ukraine, energy, and the economic situation.

According to the Chairman of the committee, it is very important that the crimes committed by Russia do not go unpunished as the sense of impunity may lead to further crimes. “Estonia is promoting the establishment of an independent and efficient special tribunal for prosecuting the crimes of aggression committed in Ukraine,” Tamm said. The Chairman noted that the European Union supported Ukraine’s economy, society, armed forces, and rebuilding. “According to projections, Ukraine will need around 40 billion euros in financial aid next year. At present, the European Union has been giving financial aid to Ukraine on an ad hoc basis. We should ensure the predictability and regularity of financial support at the first opportunity,” Tamm emphasised. He underlined that increasing contributions would need to be made to rebuilding Ukraine, and Russia who had caused the damages should also pay for it. Tamm added that the European Union also had to support Ukraine in its accession to the Union.

When speaking of the energy sector, Tamm said that, since the second half of last year, energy prices had been rising steeply in the European Union and the whole world. “At the end of this summer, the price of gas was nearly three and a half times higher than it was a year ago. Energy prices continued to rise this year as well. Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine has accelerated it even further,” Tamm stated. “The European Union Member States have taken several joint steps to reduce their dependency on Russia’s energy carriers and to mitigate the energy crisis that has emerged. In March this year, the leaders of the 27 European Union Member States agreed that the European Union would end its dependency on Russian fossil fuels by 2030 at the latest,” Tamm said, emphasizing the importance of increasing the share of local renewable energy and reducing energy consumption.

The Chairman also spoke of the economic situation in the euro area. He admitted that the economic situation was characterised by soaring energy prices, high inflation, growing interest rates, and increasingly pessimistic outlooks for economic growth. He said that the inflation pressure was receding slowly and underlined that monetary and fiscal policy must not counteract each other in curbing inflation. “It is important to support those in our society who are suffering the most because of the rising prices but the national support measures will need to be well-targeted and temporary,” Tamm said.

During the debate, Anti Poolamets took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, Mihhail Lotman on behalf of Faction Isamaa, Enn Eesmaa on behalf of the Estonian Centre Party Faction, Siim Kallas on behalf of the Estonian Reform Party Faction and Raimond Kaljulaid on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Faction.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

The video recording of the sitting will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
(Please note that the recording will be uploaded with a delay.)

Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
Phone: +372 631 6592, +372 510 6179
E-mail: [email protected]
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