Today, the Riigikogu concluded the first reading of the Bill, initiated by the Government, which will enhance the supervision of the financing of political parties.

The Bill on Amendments to the Political Parties Act and the Credit Institutions Act (585 SE), initiated by the Government, will expand the investigative powers of the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee. Among other things, provisions delegating authority will be established on the basis of which it will be possible to obligate political parties, election coalitions 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. According to an amendment, 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.

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. The reporting obligations of political parties will also be specified, and it will be provided that political parties will also have to disclose the expenses of surveys and data harvesting under the expenses of political activities in the future. In addition, the Bill will eliminate the upper limit of obligations arising from loan agreements for political parties which is currently 25 per cent of the sum allocated to political parties from the state budget.

During the debate, Varro Vooglaid took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Lauri Laats on behalf of the Centre Party Group, and Andre Hanimägi on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and the Centre Party Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading, but the plenary did not support the motion. 19 members of the Riigikogu voted for rejection but 57 voted against.

Two Bills passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure (493 SE), initiated by the Legal Affairs Committee, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. It will improve the availability of financial aid in civil proceedings so that the rights of the 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 financial aid in the Code of Civil Procedure. According to the Bill, in the future, when granting financial aid, the court will be able to take into account the person’s unavoidable costs of food, medicines, communications, and hygiene supplies.

The Bill provides that, when assessing the economic situation of an applicant for financial aid, in addition to housing and transport costs, other critically unavoidable costs to the extent of up to 75 percent of the current minimum monthly wage will have to be deducted from their income. When deciding on the grant of financial aid, the court will therefore have to assess the unavoidability of the costs in each individual case and determine the amount of the unavoidable costs in the light of the 75 % ceiling.

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

The Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (enhancement of migration proceedings) (548 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the second reading. Its aim is to streamline the proceedings on the stay, residence and work of aliens in Estonia, to strengthen migration control capabilities and to prevent domestic security threats.

According to the Bill, the possibility to communicate with the state electronically and paperlessly, applying the one-stop-shop principle, will be created for foreigners and those inviting them to Estonia, including employers and educational institutions. In order to ensure security and to prevent misuse, it is provided that, upon application for a residence permit for the purpose of employment, the employer must be entered in the Estonian commercial register and must prove at least six months of actual economic activity in Estonia.

For application for a residence permit, the Bill will establish additional bases for refusal where the applicant is found to be linked to foreign security agencies or power structures. In the case of temporary agency work, the requirement of a deposit of one month’s remuneration will be replaced by a requirement of six months of prior actual economic activity, which will increase employers’ accountability and reduce the risk of abuse of the system.

In order to solve bottlenecks, new requirements will be added for application for a residence permit to permanently settle in Estonia, such as mandatory completion of an adaptation programme and at least A2-level Estonian language skills. In addition, the Bill will facilitate the activities in Estonia for film crew members participating in the production of films and series. Upon starting work in growth companies, an expedited procedure for short-term employment will be enabled, which will simplify the engagement of talent.

Non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Jaak Valge and Kalle Grünthal as well as Mart Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

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]