The Bill on next year’s state budget passed the first reading in the Riigikogu
At its sitting today, the Riigikogu passed the legislative amendments regulating the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras and concluded the first reading of the State Budget for 2026 Bill.
Parliament adopted the Act on Amendments to the Police and Border Guard Act (670 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Peeter Tali, Ando Kiviberg, Anti Haugas and Mati Raidma. It regulates the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras in the work of the Police and Border Guard Board. The amendments provide for the bases for the use of automatic number plate recognition cameras and for the processing and storage of and access to their data so that cameras would be used on the basis of a clear and understandable mandate under parliamentary control.
According to the Act, images taken with cameras and data identified from them, such as the registration number and the time and place of taking the image, may be used in the prosecution of crimes, as well as in identifying and eliminating a heightened or significant threat or eliminating a disorder that contains such a threat, and in determining the location of wanted persons. According to the Act, the photos will have to be deleted after 45 days, and it will have to be possible to exercise supervision over the viewing of the photos.
While the Bill originally provided for access to the data of automatic number plate recognition cameras only for the Police and Border Guard Board and security authorities, according to an amendment made during the proceedings, the relevant data can also be used by the Tax and Customs Board, which has had access to the data so far as well.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart from the Centre Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Varro Vooglaid from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Peeter Tali from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Andres Hanimägi made a speech on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.
At the final vote, 49 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 16 voted against it.
The 2026 State Budget Bill (737 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading in the Riigikogu. The deliberation had been adjourned due to the end of working hours at the sitting on Tuesday. According to the budget, next year, the volume of the revenues of the state budget will be EUR 18.6 billion and the expenditure will be 19.6 billion. The budget foresees EUR 1.3 billion in investments. Compared to this year, revenues will grow by EUR 843 million or 4.7 per cent and expenditure by EUR 1.15 billion or 6.3 per cent. The total volume of investments will grow by EUR 305 million, or 32 percent, over the year.
According to the Bill, next year the planned general government deficit will be 4.5 percent of GDP which will remain within the limits of the exemption granted by the European Union for rapid increases in defence spending. Next year’s debt burden will grow by EUR 1.7 billion to 25.9% of GDP.
The government highlights the increase in defence spending to five percent of GDP as the largest increase in spending, which will require an additional EUR 844.5 million next year. The government is planning to invest EUR 276.8 million in road infrastructure, including 65 million from motor vehicle tax, and 684.2 million in railway, among other things to ensure the completion of Rail Baltic by 2030.
According to the Bill, state revenues will decrease by EUR 780 million as a result of the introduction of a uniform 700-euro income tax exemption and the cancellation of the planned two-percentage-point increase in income tax. The tax burden in Estonia will fall from 36.6% to 35.2%.
Previous cuts in operating expenses will also apply. The total cuts in the budgets of the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Culture will amount to EUR 94 million next year, to which the Ministry of Education and Research will add another EUR 18 million through a budget revision. EUR 28.9 million will be allocated for salary increase in the area of government of the Ministry of the Interior which will allow front line rescue workers, police officers, rescue coordinators, and lecturers at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences to receive a salary increase of nearly 10 percent.
The average pension is forecast to grow by 5.4 percent, and the budget includes EUR 210 million for this purpose. The motor vehicle tax reduction for families with children and the taxation of 8-9-seater M-category vehicles similarly to the N-category vehicles, which will come into effect in 2026, will reduce the amount of motor vehicle tax to be collected by EUR 14 million. To achieve budget neutrality, 48 million from motor vehicle tax will be allocated to the consolidated project for national roads.
The bill will raise the subsistence allowance limit by EUR 20 to EUR 220 and the subsistence allowance limit for each minor child in a family will be raised to EUR 264 for which an additional EUR 4 million will be allocated from the budget.
While Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi presented the bill at yesterday’s sitting, today, Chairman of the Finance Committee Annely Akkermann gave a presentation and answered questions from members of parliament. Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group, Riina Sikkut from the Social Democratic Party Group, Õnne Pillak from the Reform Party Group, Toomas Uibo from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group, Aivar Kokk from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Rain Epler from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
Four parliamentary groups – the Centre Party Parliamentary Group, the Social Democratic Party Group, Isamaa Parliamentary Group and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group – moved to reject the Bill at the first reading, but the plenary did not support the motion. 32 members of the Riigikogu supported rejection but 44 were against. Thus the Bill passed the first reading.
Motions to amend the Bill for the second reading can be submitted until 5.15 p.m. on 22 October. To be adopted, the 2026 State Budget Act must also pass the second and third readings in the Riigikogu.
Seven other Bills passed the first reading
The Bill on the Accession to the Convention on the International Organization for Marine Aids to Navigation (663 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading in the Riigikogu. According to the Bill, Estonia will accede to the Convention establishing the International Organisation for Marine Aids to Navigation which will transform the current sectoral association into an intergovernmental organization.
Accession to the Convention will give Estonia full membership status and enable it to continue participating in the work of the organization, including the creation and updating of standards, recommendations, and guidelines related to marine aids to navigation. The Transport Administration has participated in the organization’s activities as a national member representative since 1994.
The Bill on Amendments to the Health Insurance Act and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (717 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. Its aim is to encourage people to return to work and improve access to health insurance.
According to the Bill, a person who has been on sick leave may return to adjusted work on the 31st day instead of the current 61st day. According to the explanatory memorandum, the amendment will promote a return to work earlier and support the restoration of working capacity.
The bill will also change the procedure for calculating sickness benefits for pregnant women, prevent the simultaneous payment of sickness and unemployment insurance benefits, and expand the possibilities for concluding voluntary health insurance by eliminating the current restrictions on concluding contracts.
Riina Solman from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
The Bill on Amendments to the Chemicals Act (701 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will specify the requirements for hazardous and major-accident-hazard establishments arising from the European Union directive in order to eliminate the shortcomings in the transposition of a directive referred to in European Commission infringement proceedings.
The bill concerns the obligation to inform the public, including neighbouring establishments, and the duties and cooperation of authorities in investigating major accidents. According to the explanatory memorandum, the Bill will not add any new requirements, but the Act will be made clearer.
In addition, the Bill will reduce the administrative burden on hazardous and major-accident-hazard establishments, as in the future all documents required under the Chemicals Act will be submitted electronically in the information system of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority.
The Bill on Amendments to the Planning Act and Other Associated Acts (683 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. Its aim is to simplify and speed up planning procedures.
According to the explanatory memorandum, the amendments will enable local governments to respond to developments more quickly and flexibly, to terminate outdated and stalled plans, and to reduce formal and time-consuming obligations. For example, in future, the effect of a detailed spatial plan will automatically expire if no development activity is started on the basis of it within 10 years. If the period of effect still needs to be extended, this can be done without a new public procedure.
The bill will abolish municipal designated spatial plans which have so far been used, for example, in the planning of wind farms and in the future such construction works with a significant impact can be planned on the basis of detailed spatial plans. While the average processing time for a municipal designated spatial plan has been four years, the same result can be achieved with a detailed spatial plan in an average of 2.2 years. At the same time, according to the Bill, the stage of approving county-wide spatial plans will be omitted and the requirements for announcing plans will become more flexible.
During the debate, Rain Epler took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Jaak Aab made a speech on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.
The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading, but the plenary did not support the motion. Five members of the Riigikogu supported rejection but 45 were against.
The Bill on the Accession to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (681 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. According to it, Estonia will accede to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance which was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2006.
Accession to the Convention will enable Estonia, together with other States Parties, to combat more effectively enforced disappearance as a serious crime that restricts a person’s right to liberty. According to the explanatory memorandum, accession to the convention will demonstrate Estonia’s willingness and readiness to prevent cases of enforced disappearance and to assist potential victims of this crime by guaranteeing them the right to reparation and justice.
Estonia has supported the development of the convention and participated in this process. The purpose and content of the convention are also close to Estonia, given Estonia’s historical experience with repression. According to the explanatory memorandum, combating impunity is one of the priorities of Estonian foreign policy, and accession to the convention is consistent with this.
The Bill on Amendments to the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (penal law jurisdiction and destruction of undersea infrastructure) (656 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It is aimed at better protecting undersea energy and communications infrastructure.
The aim of the bill is to increase liability for damage to critical undersea infrastructure and increase the penalties provided for such acts in order to deter potential criminals and ensure more effective prosecution of perpetrators.
According to the Bill, it will be possible to punish criminals who damage infrastructure related to Estonia in the economic zone and on the continental shelf of Estonia… The bill will also increase penalties for crimes related to damage to critical undersea infrastructure, criminalize so-called commissioned vandalism, and allow for surveillance in criminal cases involving a significant degree of property damage to better combat hybrid attacks by hostile foreign states.
In addition, the Bill will extend the applicability of criminal law to offences committed on the premises of Estonian diplomatic missions and to acts committed outside Estonia that violate the requirements for the protection of state secrets and classified foreign information.
The Bill on Amendments to the Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure (695 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the first reading. It will bring Estonian law into line with four European Union directives in respect of which the European Commission has initiated infringement proceedings against Estonia.
The Bill, among other things, more clearly highlights the exceptional nature of the grounds for refusal to provide information on the deprivation of liberty of a person, supplements the Act with the right of a minor suspect or accused person to receive information about the general course of the proceedings, and provides for more frequent mandatory detention checks in cases where a person is accused of committing a crime as a minor.
Three drafts were dropped from the proceedings
The Riigikogu rejected the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to develop a plan to increase competition in the mobile communications market and accelerate number portability” (658 OE), submitted by the Centre Party Group. The draft Resolution requested that the government develop proposals on how to shorten the time for transferring a mobile phone number from one communications company operating in Estonia to another, enable real-time number portability in the future, and ensure more transparent pricing and fair competition in the communications services market. According to the presenters, the current pricing and number portability arrangements in the Estonian communications market do not ensure sufficient transparency or a level playing field for consumers.
Andres Metsoja from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
At the final vote, 17 members of the Riigikogu supported the draft Resolution and there was one abstention while at least 51 votes would have been needed for the Resolution to be passed.
The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Bill on Amendments to the Value-Added Tax Act (661 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group and Members of the Riigikogu Jaak Aab, Ester Karuse, Tanel Kiik, Andre Hanimägi and Züleyxa Izmailova. It was intended to lower the VAT rate on basic foodstuffs, i.e. vegetables, dairy, meat, cereal and fish products, and eggs, from 24 to nine percent as of July 1 of next year. According to the initiators, the amendment would help curb the impact of rising food prices, support people on lower incomes, stimulate consumption, and strengthen food security and the competitiveness of the agricultural sector.
Züleyxa Izmailova took the floor behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group in the debate. Rain Epler from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group also made speeches.
The Finance Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 37 members of the Riigikogu supported the rejection and 21 were against it. Thus, the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
The Riigikogu also rejected at the first reading the Bill on Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Tax Act (625 SE), initiated by the Centre Party Group. It was intended to exempt people with disabilities from annual motor vehicle tax. According to the initiators, the amendment would help reduce the tax burden on people with disabilities and support their daily livelihoods.
The Finance Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 40 members of the Riigikogu supported rejection and 10 were against. Thus, the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
The Riigikogu heard the report of the Minister of Social Affairs
At today’s sitting, Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller gave the Riigikogu an overview of the implementation of the long-term national development strategy “Estonia 2035”. According to her, she manages two very large areas of responsibility: health and welfare. According to her, the Ministry of Social Affairs is taking decisive steps to better integrate the health care and social systems.
According to Joller, the goal set in the health sector is to increase the average life expectancy and average number of years lived in good health in Estonian people and to reduce inequality in health. In the area of welfare, the goal is to ensure that people in Estonia are cared for, that inequality and poverty are reduced, and that everyone is supported in having a long and high-quality working life.
The minister highlighted healthcare financing as one of the most important issues in the near future. According to her, the budget deficit of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund for the coming years has been significantly reduced through both improved social tax collection and internal efficiency improvement. “We will continue to use the reserves of the Health Insurance Fund, but significantly less than planned, and these reserves will not be completely depleted by 2029,” Joller said. According to her, this will help maintain the availability of healthcare services over the next four years when the necessary changes will be implemented.
According to Joller, further steps will include streamlining the hospital network, eliminating duplication, harmonizing the quality of primary care, and increasing the use of online consultations. “We are also preparing proposals for sustainable healthcare financing and for strategic purchasing of services to ensure the impact of health insurance funds. An analysis of the current situation of healthcare financing and options for ensuring sustainability is also underway. It is important that the solidarity-based healthcare system is preserved,” she emphasized.
In the area of welfare, according to Joller, in addition to raising subsistence benefits, there are plans to monitor people in particularly vulnerable situations, for example, to reduce the risk of poverty for children growing up in single-parent families. “We pay a survivor’s benefit that does not depend on, for example, the pension or previous salary of the deceased parent,” Minister of Social Affairs said. She added that the system for supporting people with disabilities would also be reviewed. In addition, she mentioned the construction of the information system SKAIS2 of the Social Insurance Board so that benefits and services could be modernized in the future if necessary.
Eero Merilind from the Reform Party Group, Riina Solman from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart from the Centre Party Group, Helle-Moonika Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Stig Rästa from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Tanel Kiik made a speech on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.
Following the session, the Estonia-Tunisia Parliamentary Friendship Group is planned to be formed on the initiative of Member of the Riigikogu Timo Suslov.
The sitting ended at 12.30 a.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
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Questions: [email protected]
