The Riigikogu concluded the first reading of three Bills

Three bills passed their first reading at today's plenary sitting of the Riigikogu.

The Bill on Amendments to the Vocational Educational Institutions Act and the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act (830 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will specify the regulation of admissions, exclusions, and sanctions at schools.

According to the Bill, when admitting students to upper secondary schools and vocational schools, the student candidates’ preferences for school and specialty may be asked and taken into account. This voluntary option will have to be provided for in the school’s admission conditions and procedures in order to use it. Schools will be able to decide whether and to what extent they will take preferences into account and how they will relate to other admission criteria, such as interviews, tests, and exam scores.

In the case of vocational education institutions, it will be specified that student candidates will be able to apply to up to three curricula in one school during the main admission period in order to limit excessive applications. Once the main admission is over, there will be no such restriction during the additional admission.

The bill will also amend the regulation on exclusion from school. Under the bill, an adult upper secondary school student may be excluded from school due to lack of academic progress if over a half of the course grades the student receives are “poor” in more than two subjects over the academic year. Moreover, in the future, the grounds for exclusion will be provided solely by law, and it will not be possible to establish additional grounds for exclusion from school in the rules of procedure of upper secondary schools.

Schools will be able to retrieve data on graduation from basic school and graduation certificates directly from the Estonian Education Information System. Until now, student candidates have had to submit their graduation certificates to schools themselves. The amendment will reduce bureaucracy, save time and resources, and constitute a proportionate infringement on the learner’s privacy as it will be possible to request only the data that is absolutely necessary, namely the fact of graduation from basic school and the grades on the graduation certificate.

Discussion of the student’s behaviour with the student in the teachers’ council will be omitted from sanctions. The bill will provide that only the head of the school or a person authorized by the head of the school will decide on the imposition of sanctions. Currently, the teachers’ council can decide on sanctions in certain cases.

During the debate, Kadri Tali took the floor on behalf Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Tõnis Lukas on behalf Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas also took the floor.

Two other Bills passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Geographical Indication Protection Act, the Trade Marks Act and the Statutory Fees Act  (813 SE), initiated by the Government, will expand the pan-European system for the protection of geographical indications for craft and industrial products and services to Estonia.

The bill will expand the logic of protected designation of origin which has so far applied to food and beverage products to other products as well, allowing the protection of names, quality, and traditional know-how linked to specific regions. One of the best-known geographical indications is “Champagne” which may be used to label only sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region of France. Currently, Estonian vodka and curd cheese are the Estonian products with a label. The bill will create the opportunity to also protect, for example, Muhu embroidery, Haapsalu therapeutic mud, Setu lace, and Saaremaa blacksmithing in Estonia.

According to the Bill, all producers who operate in defined areas and meet the established requirements will be permitted to use protected indications. An application will first have to be submitted to the Estonian Patent Office in order to obtain a geographical indication. The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority will begin monitoring whether products comply with the specifications.

It was highlighted at the sitting that the use of single geographical indication labels across the European Union empowered our producers and artisans as it helped distinguish whether a product was authentic. It was pointed out that products bearing protected geographical indication labels enjoyed greater sales success, primarily in connection with tourism, and therefore hope was expressed that more products would begin to be registered.

The Bill on Amendments to the Public Service Act and Other Acts (836 SE), initiated by the Government, will harmonise the working conditions, requirements for commencement of employment, and salary administration principles for people working in state agencies, i.e. officials and employees with employment contracts.

The bill will provide that the same salary components and pay guide will extend to employees of authorities as to officials. In public service, the regulation on the probationary period and compensation for overtime work will also be harmonized, and the procedure for development and appraisal interviews will be simplified. Among other things, the requirements of the ethics of officials will begin to apply to employees of authorities.

The bill is also intended to include in the Act the possibility of paying one-time performance bonuses to officials and employees who implement large-scale projects, in order to increase the public sector’s capacity to quickly and effectively implement important projects with a social and economic impact that result in measurable financial savings or benefits for the state.

In addition, the bill will provide that mid-level managers in authorities, such as heads of departments, will be appointed to their posts for five years in the future. According to the bill, the incumbent managers will continue until 1 July 2031 after which the respective posts will be filled by competition.

During the debate, Helir-Valdor Seeder took the floor on behalf of Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Rain Epler on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 15 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 42 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the first reading of the Bill was concluded.

The first reading of a Bill was adjourned

The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Credit Institutions Act and Other Acts (governance and operational requirements for credit institutions) (848 SE), initiated by the Government, was adjourned due to the end of the working hours of the plenary and will continue at tomorrow’s sitting.

The bill will update the governance and operational requirements for credit institutions and investment firms in accordance with the European Union banking package.

The bill will specify the rules for the governance and risk management of banks and establish clearer requirements for the selection of managers and key function holders as well as for compliance. The bill will also streamline the system of committees of banks to make their tasks and the formation of the committees clearer.

In addition, the bill will specify the rules for bank mergers, the transfer of assets, and the establishment of branches of third-country banks and grant the Financial Supervision Authority additional supervisory tools.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Merilin Kruuse
+372 631 6592, +372 510 6179
[email protected]
Questions: [email protected]