A bill banning the cage keeping of laying hens passed its first reading in the Riigikogu

At today’s sitting, the Riigikogu passed an Act and concluded the second reading of six Bills and the first reading of four bills. Among them, a bill intended to ban the cage keeping of hens intended for laying from 2035 passed its first reading.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Environmental Supervision Act and Other Acts (expansion of the right of the Environmental Board to apply direct coercion) (811 SE), initiated by the Government. It gives the Environmental Board the right to use gas weapons, cut-and-thrust weapons (primarily telescopic truncheons), and handcuffs in addition to physical force when exercising state supervision in emergency situations. With the expansion of powers, environmental inspectors will receive additional training which will include both basic and follow-up courses.

The purpose of the amendment is to ensure the safety of environmental inspectors working at the Environmental Board and to enable them to use sufficient tools to respond to violations that cause serious harm to the environment, for example, to stop the burning of hazardous waste or the discharge of wastewater into water or the release of hazardous substances into the soil. According to the explanatory memorandum, inspectors must be able to respond adequately, stop the violation, and, if necessary, detain the offender.

Currently, the Environmental Board has the right to use firearms in emergency situations in the supervision of poaching and fishing. The amendments do not expand the right to use firearms, and this will continue to be limited solely to state supervision exercised under the Hunting Act, the Forest Act, the Fishing Act, and the Aviation Act. Gas weapons and cut-and-thrust weapons may be used if other measures do not produce results.

60 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and five were against it.

Six Bills passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure Implementation Act and the Police and Border Guard Act (exchange of information between European Union member states and with Europol)  (784 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will transpose the directive on the exchange of information between the law enforcement authorities of EU countries or the “Swedish directive”.

According to the directive, all law enforcement authorities of EU Member States must exchange relevant information for the purpose of preventing, detecting, or investigating criminal offences. Information exchange generally takes place through single points of contact operating around the clock. The Bill provides that law enforcement authorities of other EU Member States and Europol will have to be guaranteed access to crime-related information equivalent to that of Estonia’s national authorities in order to detect and prevent crimes and to conduct criminal proceedings and anti-crime operations.

In addition, with the bill, the rules on the exchange of information on terrorism will be aligned with EU rules on the protection of personal data.

The Bill on Amendments to the Military Service Act (language requirement for conscript service)  (825 SE), initiated by the National Defence Committee, passed the second reading. According to it, all call-up selectees entering conscript service will have to have at least B1 level of proficiency in Estonian from 2027. If a call-up selectee has not acquired education in Estonian or their language skills cannot be determined on the basis of databases, they will have to take a B1-level language examination.

The bill provides that if a call-up selectee does not pass the B1 level exam, they will have to complete a language course organized by the Integration Foundation within a year and then retake the exam. The state will pay for the completion of a first-time language course. Compensation will also be provided for attending the language course and taking the qualification examination. The total costs of taking the language examination and attending the language courses – estimated at EUR 400,000 per year – will be covered from the state budget.

If a call-up selectee repeatedly fails to attend language training or take a qualification examination without a valid reason, the Defence Resources Agency will be able to take administrative coercive measures against them, including suspend their hunting right and right to drive, as well as the validity of their fishing card and weapons-related permits. The same measures can currently be used if a person, repeatedly and without reason, fails to participate in an assessment of the state of health or to report for conscript service. At the second reading, an amendment was made to the bill which would raise the upper limit for the non-compliance levy imposed for failure to comply with a precept from EUR 640 to EUR 1,280 in order to ensure that conscripts appear for assessments of the state of health, language training as well as, for example, qualification examinations.

According to the explanatory memorandum to the Bill, completing conscript service requires sufficient knowledge of Estonian to understand orders, follow safety requirements, and participate in training. The amendment will allow the Defence Forces to focus on their primary task which is providing military training.

The National Defence Committee had wanted to set a language proficiency requirement for conscripts with an Act passed last November, but when the president had refused to promulgate it, it had been decided to resolve the issue with a separate bill.

Kalev Stoicescu from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski and Alar Laneman took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Vocational Educational Institutions Act (843 SE), initiated by the Cultural Affairs Committee, passed the second reading. It will specify the regulation concerning beginning teachers.

The Bill will allow vocational educational institutions to enter into fixed-term employment contracts of up to three years with persons who are hired as vocational teachers and are acquiring teacher certification, and with teachers of general education subjects who are studying for teacher training at a higher education level or are acquiring or hold a master’s degree or equivalent qualification. According to the bill, as with teachers who meet the qualification requirements, the minimum wage for teachers will also apply to them.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the Bill will allow schools to be more flexible in recruiting beginning teachers in a situation where there are no candidates meeting the qualification requirements. This will support the emergence of new vocational teachers and help mitigate the risks arising from the ageing of teachers and from labour shortages.

The Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act (specification for sectors with labour shortages) (785 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. Its aim is to alleviate the shortage of qualified labour which is limiting the competitiveness of Estonian companies and holding back economic growth.

Forecasts by the Estonian labour and skills needs monitoring and forecasting system (OSKA) show that Estonia lacks around 1,400 top specialists and 700 skilled workers every year and this need is not covered by graduates of the Estonian education system. The bill will replace the specification for short-term employment with a specification for sectors with labour shortages which will allow companies to recruit foreign labour more flexibly. In such sectors, no immigration quotas will apply, no permission from the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund will be required, and the salary criterion will be set at 80 percent of the average gross monthly salary in Estonia.

The list of sectors experiencing labour shortages will be compiled taking into account OSKA forecasts, the share of exports, and the average wage level in the sectors. According to a preliminary analysis, the greatest need is in the manufacturing industry, and transportation and warehousing, but the list will be updated according to changes in the economic environment, and the government will establish it for up to five years.

In order to maintain a balance between the needs of the labour market and the absorption capacity of society, an annual volume limit will be established for residence permits issued on the basis of the specification which will depend on the state of the economy: up to 0.2 percent of the permanent population, or approximately 2,600 permits, during growth periods, and up to 0.1 percent of the permanent population, or approximately 1,300 permits, under other circumstances. The assessment of the state of the economy will be based on the Ministry of Finance’s forecast for real GDP growth for the current year.

During the second reading of the bill, an amendment was introduced to update the conditions of the specification established for growth companies.

 Evelin Poolamets and Jaak Valge from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Pipi-Liis Siemann from the Reform Party Group, Lauri Läänemets from the Social Democratic Party Group and Helir-Valdor Seeder, Priit Sibul and Lea Danilson-Järg from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Kalle Grünthal and Peeter Ernits also took the floor.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, the Social Democratic Party Group, Isamaa Parliamentary Group, and the Centre Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the motion was not supported. 27 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation but 41 were against.

The Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and Other Associated Acts (single permit)  (786 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will transpose into Estonian law a European Union directive that regulates the right of residence and work of third-country nationals and ensures equal treatment of foreign workers.

In the future, during the period of validity of a temporary residence permit issued for employment, it will be possible to change employers without applying for a new residence permit, and it will be sufficient for the new employer to register the change of employment with the Police and Border Guard Board. When working for a new employer, the usual employment requirements will apply, such as salary criteria and permission from the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund.

In the future, a foreign employee may be unemployed for up to three months if their residence permit has been valid for less than two years, and for up to six months if their residence permit has been valid for at least two years, on the basis of a residence permit issued for employment. In exceptional cases, the period of unemployment may extend to up to nine months. In the event of unemployment lasting longer than three months, the person will have to provide evidence of having sufficient financial resources to maintain themselves in Estonia.

According to the bill, people staying in Estonia while working on a long-term visa will be entitled to several social security benefits, such as parental benefit and work ability and pension allowances, if they actually work in Estonia and meet the general eligibility conditions. Family benefits will not extend to foreign workers.

Considering the increase in the number of violations in the employment of foreigners in recent years and the fact that fine rates date back to 2010, the bill will also update the fine rates for legal entities and provide that fines of up to EUR 100,000 may be imposed in cases of significant violations in the future.

Evelin Poolamets, Helle-Moonika Helme and Mart Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Helir-Valdor Seeder from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Pipi-Liis Siemann from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Kalle Grünthal and Peeter Ernits also took the floor.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group, the Centre Party Group, and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the motion was not supported. 17 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension but 43 were against.

 The Bill on Amendments to the Political Parties Act and the Credit Institutions Act  (585 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the second reading. It will expand the investigative powers of the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee. Among other things, a possibility will be created to obligate political parties, election coalitions, members of political parties and people running as candidates in the lists of political parties and election coalition as well as independent candidates, affiliated organisations of political parties and third parties to submit documents, information, and explanations to the committee.

The bill will specify the definition of a donation and the catalogue of prohibited donations and will amend the consequences applicable to the acceptance of a prohibited donation. At the second reading, an amendment was made to the bill as a result of which people who have the permanent right of residence or the status of a long-term resident in Estonia would no longer be allowed to donate to political parties. It was also specified that funds intended for exercising the mandate of a Member of the European Parliament or a member of the Riigikogu and for supporting the activities of European-level political parties and political foundations would not be donations from legal entities but it would be prohibited to use them for election campaigns and if they would be used for that purpose this would be regarded as a prohibited donation.

According to the Bill, a deadline will be included in the Act – 30 days from the date of receipt of a donation – within which it will be possible for the recipient of the donation to transfer the prohibited donation back to the person who has made the donation. Upon expiry of the deadline, the prohibited donation will have to be transferred to state revenues. Prohibited donations made from the funds of the European Parliament will constitute an exception and will have to be returned to the European Parliament.

The bill will also expand the definition of an affiliated organization of a political party, so that being an affiliated organization will no longer depend solely on whether the political party is a founder or member of the foundation or non-profit organization. According to the bill, regional and nationwide membership associations of political parties, and other legal entities recognized as affiliated organizations by political parties will also be considered affiliated organizations.

The Bill will also specify the reporting obligations of political parties and will provide that political parties will also have to disclose the expenses of surveys and data harvesting under the expenses of political activities in the future. The bill will establish the period of active election campaigning in order to distinguish between the period between elections and the campaign period. In addition, the Bill will eliminate the upper limit for obligations arising from loan agreements for political parties which is currently 25 per cent of the amount allocated to political parties from the state budget.

Varro Vooglaid from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group, Lauri Läänemets from the Social Democratic Party Group and Helir-Valdor Seeder and Priit Sibul from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Centre Party Group and Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the motion was not supported. 13 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation but 51 voted against it.

Four Bills passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the State Cultural Awards and Culture Grants Act and the Sport Act (824 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its first reading in the Riigikogu. It will streamline the system of awards and grants awarded in the areas of culture and sports.

As regards cultural awards, a maximum number of awards will be provided in the Act instead of a specific number. According to the Bill, in the future, up to three awards for long-term outstanding creative activity (lifetime achievement awards) and up to five awards for outstanding works that have reached the public in the preceding calendar year (annual awards) will be given for outstanding creative achievements in the field of culture. The Minister of Culture will decide on the number and amount of the awards to be granted.

According to the Bill, the Government will establish the categories of sports awards and the procedure for granting them, and the minister in charge of the policy sector will determine the amounts of awards. For both types of awards, the minister in charge of the policy sector will submit candidates to the Government according to proposals of committees. The Minister of Culture, instead of the Government, will appoint the members of the Cultural Awards Committee in the future.

Under the Bill, the existing athlete scholarships will be abolished, and their funds will be reallocated. It will be possible to apply for athlete grants from the Estonian Olympic Committee instead of athlete scholarships.

The original Bill also provided for the abolition of culture grants. The Cultural Affairs Committee as the lead committee did not agree with that and sent the amended version of the Bill to its first reading. According to the amended text, grants will remain, but their purpose and target group will change.

Currently, culture grants are intended for students; however, since there are numerous grants and scholarships for acquiring education both in Estonia and abroad, according to the Bill, culture grants will be restructured so that young creative persons who are up to 35 years of age and have already obtained a higher education degree could apply for the grants to support them in launching their professional careers in their field, in their professional development, and in establishing international contacts.

It will also be easier to apply for culture grants in the future, as it will no longer be necessary to do so through artistic associations. Grants will be awarded on the basis of a regulation of the minister. According to the explanatory memorandum, the planned amount of the culture grant will be EUR 10,000 instead of the current EUR 2,300 and a total of EUR 50,000 per year will be allocated for culture grants.

The Bill on Amendments to the Higher Education Act, the Republic of Estonia Education Act and the Medicinal Products Act (849 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its first reading. It will amend the organisation of higher education in order to increase the flexibility of study opportunities, strengthen the sustainability of the financing of higher education institutions, and improve the conformity of studies with labour market needs.

The Bill will provide universities with additional opportunities to attract private funding. Higher education institutions will be able to charge tuition for one-year Estonian-language master’s study programmes. Currently, higher education institutions in Estonia have 30 master’s study programmes lasting less than two years, but universities wish to open new programmes as well.

It will also be possible to charge tuition from third-country nationals who come here for doctoral studies. Aliens account for 40 per cent of doctoral students, and three-quarters of them are from third countries. According to current law, they cannot be charged tuition.

The Bill will also update the pharmacy study programme so that it would better meet the needs of the labour market. In the future, the pharmacy study programme may be organised on the basis of separate bachelor’s and master’s study programmes. Currently it is offered as an integrated programme. After completing a bachelor’s study programme of assistant pharmacist, graduates can start working in general and hospital pharmacies. In order to work as a pharmacist, they will have to complete a master’s study programme, which will enable them to also take up employment as researchers in pharmaceutical industry.

In addition, the Bill will bring the regulation of the Higher Education Quality Agency to the level of law and provide for supervision to be exercised over higher education institutions.

Madis Kallas from the Social Democratic Party Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Health Services Organisation Act and the Medicinal Products Act (886 SE), initiated by the Social Affairs Committee, passed the first reading. According to it, health care professionals will be given the right to prescribe medicinal products subject to medical prescription to themselves in exceptional circumstances for routine treatment of minor illnesses and for continuation of the treatment of previously diagnosed chronic diseases. The Act currently in force allows health care professionals to prescribe medicinal products subject to medical prescription only for the treatment of other persons.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the amendment is based on the presumption that, even when treating themselves, healthcare professionals must act professionally on the basis of the treatment guidelines in place, the regulations governing medicinal products, and the requirements of professional ethics. Health care professionals will have to assess the limits of their competence as objectively as possible even when treating themselves and, if necessary, turn to another health care professional as a patient.

The Bill will include a provision delegating authority in the Medicinal Products Act under which the minister will establish by a regulation the list of active substances of medicinal products that health care professionals will be able to prescribe to themselves as patients on a restricted basis or will be prohibited to prescribe to themselves as patients.

The Bill on Amendments to the Animal Protection Act (828 SE), initiated by 18 members of the Riigikogu, also passed the first reading in the Riigikogu. It is intended to ban the cage keeping of hens intended for laying from 2035.

The aim of the bill is to improve the welfare of laying hens, as cages restrict their ability to move and their natural behavioural patterns. According to the initiators, the welfare of farm animals and poultry is increasingly influencing people’s purchasing behaviour and there is a growing demand for eggs from cage-free hens. “Therefore, banning the keeping of laying hens in cages will be a major step forward to improve outdated practices of keeping hens,” the explanatory memorandum to the bill states.

According to the explanatory memorandum, entrepreneurs need a transition period to reorganize their activities because they will have to restructure their production and switch to alternative methods of keeping laying hens. Poultry farming currently accounts for approximately five percent of Estonia’s total agricultural production.

As another amendment, the bill will provide that, starting from 2027, animal keepers who begin keeping laying hens may not build or put into use cages. This means that entrepreneurs starting egg production will have to build and equip the production system to be put into use in such a way that it would be possible to keep laying hens cage-free.

Tiit Maran from the Social Democratic Party Group, Andrei Korobeinik from the Centre Party Group, Toomas Uibo from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Mait Klaassen from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

A draft Resolution was dropped from the proceedings

The Riigikogu rejected the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to develop measures to improve the availability of hobby education” (826 OE), submitted by the Social Democratic Party Group. It was intended for the Government to develop measures to enable better access to children’s hobby education.

According to the proposal, the Government should have created measures to increase the availability of hobby education for children from less well-off families and children living outside county centres. It would also have been necessary to increase the participation of 16–19-year-olds in hobby education, so that at least twice as many young people of that age would take part in at least one hobby group, and language-based hobby education would be transformed into interest-based hobby education in order to help reduce segregation.

 Helle-Moonika Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group and Madis Kallas from the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

33 members of the Riigikogu supported the draft Resolution in the final vote. A majority of the votes of the membership of the Riigikogu, that is, at least 51 votes, would have been needed for the Resolution to be passed.

The sitting ended at 10.45 p.m.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

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

Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
[email protected]
Questions: [email protected]