Submission of Bills and draft Resolutions and interpellations and the raising of points of order continued in the Riigikogu
In the Riigikogu, the submission of Bills and draft Resolutions and interpellations and the raising of points of order continued at the plenary sitting that started at 2pm on Wednesday and lasted until Thursday morning. Therefore, no agenda could be approved and no items on the agenda could be deliberated.
The delivery of Bills and draft Resolutions and interpellations in large numbers and the raising of numerous points of order began already on Monday. Members of the Riigikogu submitted a total of 64 interpellations and 63 Bills and draft Resolutions at the sitting that lasted from 3 pm to midnight. The sitting that lasted from 10am to 1pm on Tuesday had been spent on points of order.
Members of the Riigikogu also continued to raise points of order concerning Bills and draft Resolutions as well as the opening of the sitting and the application of the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act throughout Wednesday’s sitting. A total of 154 interpellations and 56 Bills and draft Resolutions were delivered at the sitting.
During the sitting, several members of the Riigikogu drew attention to the need to look for a compromise between the coalition and the opposition that would enable to end the obstruction and to restore the parliament’s ability to work. President of the Riigikogu Lauri Hussar admitted that the submission of interpellations and Bills and draft Resolutions in large numbers had put the Riigikogu in a new situation. “This issue has been under discussion in the Council of Elders of the Riigikogu and different solutions regarding procedures will definitely be proposed here in this respect and hopefully some agreements will be reached as well,” he said.
The Council of Elders consisting of the members of the Board of the Riigikogu and chairmen of the parliamentary groups will convene to discuss the situation this afternoon.
As the opening of the sitting has not yet been concluded, the plenary has not been able to approve its agenda for the working week or to begin to discuss the topics included in the agenda. According to the draft agenda, first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act and to the Act on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act, the Family Law Act and the Employment Contracts Act (17 SE), initiated by the Government, should have taken place this week. Also, the Minister of Social Protection was supposed to reply to the interpellations concerning the reduction of benefits to large families (No. 6) and the means-tested basis of family benefits (No. 8), submitted by members of the Riigikogu.
Thursday’s sitting of the Riigikogu will be held today from 10am to 1pm. An additional sitting has been convened for tomorrow which will start one hour after the end of the sitting of the European Union Affairs Committee but no earlier than at 3 pm and will last until 9 pm on Saturday at the latest. The agenda for the sitting includes the first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act and to the Act on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act, the Family Law Act and the Employment Contracts Act (17 SE), initiated by the Government.
The sitting ended at 9.30am.
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
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
[email protected]
Questions: [email protected]
