Today, the Riigikogu concluded the second reading of one Bill and the first reading of four Bills. The plenary rejected four Bills at their first reading.

The Bill on Amendments to the Atmospheric Air Protection Act, the State Fees Act and the Industrial Emissions Act (568 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. Its aim is to prevent illegal trade in fluorinated greenhouse gases (F-gases). In order to restrict the illegal market, the Bill provides for more effective surveillance measures and higher fine rates.

The Bill will amend the provisions regulating the issues relating to non-refillable containers for F-gases: the transfer, intermediation, acquisition and possession thereof will be prohibited. Most of the illegal F-gases are marketed precisely in non-refillable containers.

According to the Bill, it will be possible to conclude transactions for the purpose of monitoring compliance as a specific measure of state supervision. This will give the Environmental Board and the Tax and Customs Board more opportunities to detect violations relating to fluorinated greenhouse gases. As regards finding non-refillable containers that are already on the market, with transactions for the purpose of monitoring compliance it is easier to identify the providers of containers and to confiscate the containers before they reach end-users.

According to the Bill, the rates of the fines provided for violations for legal persons will also increase. The maximum fine rate will be from 50,000 to 400,000 euro in the future. The rates will be increased in view of the environmental impact of the violation and making the fine rates sufficiently effective to prevent the activities. In the Industrial Emissions Act, the fine rates for legal persons in the case of activities that can significantly impact the environment will be increased. The maximum fine rates will range from 200,000 to 400,000 euro in the future.

Four Bills passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Waste Act, the Packaging Act and the Tobacco Act (665 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. Its aim is to reduce the quantity of waste generated, to encourage reuse and to reduce littering and to transpose a relevant EU directive.

The amendments arising from the directive concern the restrictions on the placing on the market of single-use plastic products, marking, consumption reduction, extended producer responsibility obligations, consumer awareness raising, product design requirements and separate collection. The objective is to reduce the impact of single-use plastic products on the environment, in particular the aquatic environment, and on human health, as well as to promote the transition to a circular economy with innovative and sustainable business models, products and materials.

According to the Bill, it will be prohibited to place on the market both single-use plastic products and oxo-degradable plastic products. The prohibition will cover cotton bud sticks, cutlery, plates, straws, beverage stirrers, sticks for balloons and food and beverage containers and cups made of expanded polystyrene.

The Bill sets out how to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic food containers and cups for beverages by 2026. For example, from 1 January 2024, only reusable containers and cutlery will be allowed to be used to serve food and drink at public events.

The Bill will also specify the requirements for separate collection of single-use plastic beverage bottles. By 2029, 90 per cent of such beverage bottles will have to be collected separately. Awareness raising measures will also be provided to incentivise responsible consumer behaviour and to reduce litter from single-use plastic products.

During the debate, Peeter Ernits from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, Aivar Kokk from Faction Isamaa and Erki Savisaar from the Centre Party Faction took the floor.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction moved to reject the Bill at the first reading, but the plenary did not support the motion. 12 members of the Riigikogu supported a rejection and 38 were against.

The Bill on Amendments to the Insurance Activities Act and the Law of Obligations Act (647 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will increase the floors for the Minimum Capital Requirement for insurance undertakings and the thresholds for the definition of the size of a policy holder who is an undertaking.

The amendment is based on a notice of the EU regarding the adaptation in line with inflation of the amounts laid down in the Insurance Directive. The thresholds must be revised every five years. During the first revision, the period observed was from 31 December 2015 to 31 December 2020. Member States will have to implement the revised amounts from 19 October this year.

The Bill on Amendments to the Security Act (629 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction and Member of the Riigikogu Raimond Kaljulaid, passed the first reading. It will eliminate the restriction under which people of 18 years of age cannot work as security guards and guards. Under the current Act, security guards and guards must be at least 19 years of age.

The explanatory memorandum notes that the growth of security firms is limited by labour shortage which is aggravated by the minimum age limit for operating as a security guard or guard. According to the initiators, the amendment of the Act will enable firms in the sector to better recruit labour.

The Security Activities Bill (638 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the first reading. It will establish a new consolidated text of the Act. The aim of the Bill is to ensure better the quality and reliability of security activities and the protection of the fundamental rights of persons who come into contact with security activities.

The Bill is also intended to promote the cooperation between security firms, state agencies and local governments to create a safe living environment. The Bill will update the entire current security business regulation and eliminate the shortcomings that have occurred in practice, interpretation problems and unreasonable restrictions.

The Bill will create an umbrella term “security officer”, which will cover guards, security guards and security managers, who will need to hold relevant qualifications, in so far as a person without qualifications cannot be a security officer. A security officer can be both a sole proprietor who is a security firm and an employee of a security firm. As a new possibility, the Bill will create the bases for involving security firms in the performance of law enforcement duties of local governments. According to the Bill, a security officer will have to be at least 18 years of age.

It is also planned to establish a regulation for ship protection. The task of a maritime security guard will be to guard and protect the ship, the crew members onboard it and the property on board the ship against attacks from outside in a region of heightened risk. The Estonian state has set an objective that more cargo ships would sail under the Estonian flag and the existence of a legal regulation for the use of maritime security guards would increase the competitiveness of the Estonian shipping sector.

Four Bills were rejected

The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and the Higher Education Act (612 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction. It was intended to limit the short-term employment of aliens as seasonal workers in Estonia to 183 days within 365 consecutive days.

The Bill would also have amended the requirements for the amount of the remuneration paid to aliens. Under the Bill, employers would have had to pay a remuneration in the amount at least equal to the annual average salary in Estonia as last published by Statistics Estonia, multiplied by a coefficient of 1.5. The Bill also provided that a fixed-term residence permit for employment would be issued only for full-time employment. The initiators wished to provide for a requirement of two-year residence in Estonia for an alien who settles in Estonia for study purposes and wishes to invite his or her spouse to reside in Estonia. In addition, the Bill provided for the revocation of the fixed-term residence permit issued for study purposes if the alien fails to perform to a significant extent an obligation arising from the law, including if he or she fails to complete the study program to the required extent or interrupts studies.

Jaak Valge from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction and Margit Sutrop from the Reform Party Faction took the floor during the debate.

34 members of the Riigikogu supported the motion of the Constitutional Committee to reject the Bill and 11 voted against it.

The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and the Higher Education Act (618 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, that would have nudged employers to use local Estonian labour force and to recruit foreign labour primarily to jobs requiring highly qualified labour. For this, the Bill would have increased the salary criterion provided for in law by 1.5 times as a general requirement. The Bill was also intended to organise the application for a residence permit for study purposes, aliens’ settlement in Estonia after their studies, the settlement in Estonia for family members of foreign students, and the payment of scholarships to foreign students.

Leo Kunnas from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction took the floor during the debate.

35 members of the Riigikogu supported the motion of the Constitutional Committee to reject the Bill and 12 were against it.

The Riigikogu rejected the Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and the Higher Education Act (628 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction. It aimed to nudge employers to use local Estonian labour force and to recruit foreign labour primarily to jobs requiring highly qualified labour. For this, the Bill would have increased the salary criterion provided for in law by 1.5 times as a general requirement. The Bill was also intended to organise the application for a residence permit for study purposes, aliens’ settlement in Estonia after their studies, the settlement in Estonia for family members of foreign students, and the payment of scholarships to foreign students.

35 members of the Riigikogu supported the motion of the Constitutional Committee to reject the Bill at the first reading and 12 were against it.

The Riigikogu also rejected the Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and the Higher Education Act (631 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction. It aimed to nudge employers to use local Estonian labour force and to recruit foreign labour primarily to jobs requiring highly qualified labour. For this, the Bill would have increased the salary criterion provided for in law by 1.5 times as a general requirement. The Bill was also intended to organise the application for a residence permit for study purposes, aliens’ settlement in Estonia after their studies, the settlement in Estonia for family members of foreign students, and the payment of scholarships to foreign students.

Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction took the floor during the debate.

31 members of the Riigikogu supported the motion of the Constitutional Committee to reject the Bill at the first reading and 11 voted against it.

The deliberation of two Bills on the agenda was cancelled due to absence of reporters. The first reading of both the Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and the Higher Education Act (636 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, and the Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act and the Higher Education Act (637 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, will be deferred.

The sitting ended at 8.14 p.m.

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
Phone: +372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
E-mail: [email protected]
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