Riigikogu passed Act concerning pension supplement of mission soldiers
The Riigikogu passed with 73 votes in favour the Act with which one per cent for every participation in an international military operation will be added to the military pension of servicemen who have participated in international military operations. The Act which is currently in force does not provide for such a possibility – upon payment of pension, no specifications are provided for servicemen who have participated in international military operations.
The Act will also increase the pensions for incapacity for work paid to injured servicemen and survivor’s pensions paid to the families of servicemen who died, in order to ensure sufficient feeling of security for the injured persons and the families of the deceased. At present, the pension for incapacity for work is calculated on the basis of the extent of the loss of capacity for work due to the performance of duties determined for the active serviceman or a person who has been in active service, and the average on the salary scale of the last post of the person which was valid on the day from which the pension for incapacity for work was granted. The new Act will increase the basic amount of the calculation of the pension for incapacity for work, and it will be made dependent on the average gross monthly salary in a calendar year published by Statistics Estonia, multiplied by 1.5.
The aim of the Bill on Amendments to the Defence League Act, the Military Service Act and Other Acts (579 SE) is to implement the Estonian veteran policy and to ensure payment of the single compensation as a lump sum to servicemen and members of the Defence League. The current regulation of payment in parts does not motivate the injured because the better treatment they get, the less compensation they receive. At the same time, the annual determination of the percentage of permanent incapacity for work means additional visits to doctor which is unfriendly in regard to the injured and emotionally exhausting and also burdens the health care system. As a rule, permanent incapacity for work is granted to injured servicemen in the case of very serious injuries.
The Act enters into force on 1 October 2014.
The Bill on Amendments to the Electricity Market Act, the Act on Amendments to and Implementation of the Maintenance of Law and Order Act and the Natural Gas Act (557 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. The Bill harmonises in more detail the European Union (EU) directive on the internal market in electricity. A transmission system operator will be granted the possibility to form a joint undertaking with a transmission system operator certified in another Member State. This will extend the freedom of action of the transmission system operator and will enable to establish a joint undertaking also with a certified independent system operator or a certified independent transmission system operator who are part of the same concern as the undertaking engaged in generation or sale. It is provided that an undertaking engaged in generation and sale may not have a dominant influence over a transmission system operator active in another Member State if the requirement of ownership unbundling of the transmission system operator from the undertaking engaged in generation and sale is applied in that other State. Thereby it is ensured that the undertaking engaged in generation and sale is firmly separated from the transmission system operator, and a conflict of interests between transmission activities and generation and sale is avoided. Also, a wholesale energy market database will be established, the chief processor of which is a national regulatory authority, according to the relevant EU Regulation. In Estonia, the Competition Authority will be the authority.
The verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian).