The Riigikogu concluded the second reading of the amendments to the updated Churches and Congregations Act

At Wednesday’s sitting of the Riigikogu, the amended Act on Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act which the President had refused to promulgate in April, passed the second reading.

The Riigikogu made amendments to the Act on Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act (570 UA), initiated by the Government. The prohibition on being guided by a person of significant influence located in a foreign country will be omitted from the Act, as that wording could be interpreted too widely in the President’s opinion. The transitional period was also extended from two months to six months to allow for the necessary changes to be made.

On the basis of a proposal by the lead committee, parliament amended the wording  of the Act to the effect that a church, congregation,  association of congregations or monastery may not be linked on the basis of its statute or another document that is the basis for its activities, or economically, to a religious association, spiritual centre, governing body or spiritual leader located in a foreign country who poses a threat to the security or the constitutional or public order of the Estonian state. An amendment will omit from the provision the prohibition on a religious association to be guided by a person or association located in a foreign country and having significant influence that poses a threat to the security or constitutional or public order of the Estonian state.

The Riigikogu also specified what a potential threat meant. According to the amended wording, a threat to the security or the constitutional or public order of the Estonian state may occur, among other things, when a spiritual centre, governing body, religious association, or spiritual leader incites, supports or finances activities aimed at violently changing the independence, territorial integrity or constitutional order of Estonia, supports or has supported military aggression or has called for war, a terrorist crime, or otherwise unlawful use of armed force or violence. The phrase “incites, supports or finances activities aimed at violently changing the independence, territorial integrity, or constitutional order of the Republic of Estonia” was added.

The Riigikogu adopted the Act on 9 April. Among other things, the Act is intended to ensure that religious organisations operating in Estonia cannot be used to incite hatred or violence. According to the explanatory memorandum, Estonia stands up for freedom of religion and everyone has the freedom to choose whether to follow a religion and which religion to follow. However, in addition to respecting freedom of religion, belief, and association, the state must also take into account the challenges that threaten national security and the security of society.

The Act also specifies who can serve as a minister of religion or be a member of the management board of a religious association in Estonia. A person who is not allowed to reside or stay in Estonia cannot be a minister of religion or a member of the management board of a religious association. In addition, the requirements for the statutes of a religious association are specified and the possibility is created to leave a church whose activities, statutes, or membership of the management board do not meet the requirements established. For this,  the congregation or monastery will have to adopt new statutes and after that it will be possible to enter the amendments complying with the requirements into the register without the approval of the governing body of the church, in so far as obtaining such approval may not be realistic.

The President did not promulgate the Act on 24 April, considering that the restriction on religious freedom and freedom of association it created was not proportionate. He saw it necessary to discuss the Act again and to bring it into conformity with the Constitution. On 14 May, the plenary of the Riigikogu decided that it would not pass the Act again without amendments but would begin to amend it.

Aleksandr Tšaplõgin, Vladimir Arhipov, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Estonian Centre Party Group, Varro Vooglaid from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Ando Kiviberg and Kalev Stoicescu from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Priit Sibul and Helir-Valdor Seeder from Isamaa Parliamentary Group as well as non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Kalle Grünthal and Peeter Ernits took the floor during the debate.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and the Estonian Centre Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. 14 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 62 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.

The Riigikogu passed three Acts

The Act on the Accession to the Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft (587 SE), initiated by the Government, improves the possibilities for aircraft crew members to deal with unruly passengers on board aircraft and, if necessary, deliver them to the authorities at the destination. The purpose of the Protocol is to give the states the right to deal with unruly passengers on the aircraft landing on their territories regardless of the country of origin of the aircraft.

Accession to the Montreal Protocol will allow Estonia to implement the Convention more effectively. At present, it is difficult for aircraft crew to take action if, for example, a passenger causes disruption, disturbs others, or disobeys orders on board aircraft. The amendment, which aims to improve the safety of air travel, is important because the number of offences on board aircraft has increased and many such cases remain unprosecuted because the aircraft is not registered in the country where it lands.

Non-attached Member of the Riigikogu Peeter Ernits took the floor during the debate.

67 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act. There was one abstention.

The main aim of  the Act on the Ratification of the Instrument for the Amendment of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation (ILO)  (590 SE), initiated by the Government, is to change the membership of the Governing Body of the ILO and the process of the appointment of the Director-General of the organisation and the amendment of the Constitution.

According to the law, the ILO Governing Body will now consist of 112 members instead of the current 56. The aim is to make the membership more representative to take into account the various geographical, economic, and social interests of the representatives of governments, workers, and employers. The Governing Body is the main decision-making executive body of the ILO.

The Act provides that, in order to make the process for appointing the Director-General of the ILO more inclusive, the Director-General will be appointed by the Governing Body which will forward the decision to the ILO General Conference for approval. In the future, changes to the most important principles of the ILO Constitution will require greater support from ILO members than before – fundamental changes, such as changing the organization’s founding principles or the appointment of the Director-General, will require the support of 3/4 of ILO members. Ratification of the amendments to the ILO Constitution does not require changes to Estonian legislation.

The amendments to the ILO Constitution will enter into force when two-thirds of the ILO member states, including five member states of chief industrial importance, will have ratified them. So far, 127 out of 187 member states, including states of chief industrial importance India and Italy, have ratified the amendments to the Constitution.

The ILO is an international organisation whose objective is to promote standards and fundamental principles at work and to guarantee decent employment.

62 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the passing of the Act and four voted against.

The purpose of the Act on the Ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Botswana for the Elimination of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance and its Protocol (641 SE), initiated by the Government, is to eliminate double taxation and to prevent tax evasion and avoidance. The agreement defines how taxing rights are divided between countries, ensures equal treatment, and establishes obligations for the exchange of information on income.

The agreement is based on the OECD Model Agreement but has been adapted to the needs of Estonia and Botswana. The agreement was concluded in 2021 and signed in September 2024 in New York.

According to the agreement, the source country of dividend income may tax up to five percent of the gross amount of dividends and 7.5 percent of the gross amount of interest income. Interest remains tax-free for certain institutions and funds. Upon taxation of royalties, up to five per cent may be withheld on the amount paid for the use of technical equipment and 7.5 per cent on other fees. Estonia uses an exemption or offset method, depending on the type of income, to eliminate double taxation.

As of April 2025, Estonia has such agreements with 63 countries.

67 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act.

15 other Bills passed the second reading

The Riigikogu concluded the second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Competition Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (609 SE), initiated by the Government,  which had been adjourned due to the end of the working hours of the sitting on Tuesday. The Bill will transpose the directive organising the procedure for processing infringements of competition law, using the structures of existing law.

The Bill will establish competition supervision proceedings under administrative law and sanctions will be imposed in misdemeanour proceedings similarly to other areas where administrative fines should be applied under European Union law. The Competition Authority will conduct competition supervision proceedings and will do so pursuant to administrative procedure. District courts will impose fines for committing competition infringements constituting misdemeanours in misdemeanour proceedings.

In competition supervision proceedings, it will be provided that evidence gathered can be transferred to misdemeanour proceedings which has so far been one of the main concerns in competition supervision and in proceedings on competition offences. Also, in the future, competition infringements will no longer be criminal offences, and this will eliminate the need to choose between criminal and misdemeanour proceedings.

The bill replaces the bill withdrawn by the Government at the end of March this year, which contained administrative fine regulations and self-incrimination provisions that led to many objections from legal specialists. Then the Government decided to fundamentally amend the bill and to propose an approach based on existing procedures for competition infringements.

At the proposal of the Economic Affairs Committee, the Riigikogu introduced a number of amendments to the Bill during the second reading, based on feedback received      from the Estonian Bar Association, the Competition Authority, and other stakeholders.

Riina Sikkut and Lauri Läänemets from the Social Democratic Party Group and Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart from the Estonian Centre Party Parliamentary Group as well as non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Jaak Aab and Peeter Ernits took the floor during the debate.

The Social Democratic Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. 17 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 55 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.

The Bill on Amendments to the Simplified Business Income Taxation Act and the Income Tax Act and the Repeal of the Security Tax Act (645 SE), initiated by the Government, plans to repeal the security tax which was planned to be in effect until the end of 2028. Instead of a security tax, the bill proposes raising the general income tax rate to 24 per cent and the corporate income tax rate to 22 percent from 2026 to ensure stable financing of the state’s defence spending and long-term strengthening of defence capabilities. The VAT rate increase to 24 percent from July 2025, which will become indefinite, will also remain in effect.

According to the explanatory memorandum, a simple, uniform, and more business-friendly income tax will apply to companies, where income tax is to be paid only on distributed, not current, profits. The explanatory memorandum points out that the amendment is also positive for the Estonian people, especially for less well-off taxpayers, as income tax is applied after the deduction of tax allowance. The current solution would have resulted in a two percent tax liability starting from the first euro.

The implementation of the security tax required the development of several services by the Tax and Customs Board, which would no longer be necessary once the Bill is adopted. IT development costs would have been estimated at EUR 950,000 this year, EUR 735,000 next year and EUR 525,000 in 2027. The introduction of the security tax also required IT developments in the Social Insurance Board, the Estonian Health Insurance Fund, and the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund, which would also no longer be necessary once the Act enters into force.

Aleksandr Tšaplõgin, Andrei Korobeinik, Vladimir Arhipov and Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart from the Estonian Centre Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Tiit Maran and Riina Sikkut from the Social Democratic Party Group, Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Maris Lauri from the Estonian Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski and Kalle Grünthal also made speeches.

The Estonian Centre Party Group, the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, and Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. 37 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 48 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.

The Bill on the State’s Supplementary Budget for 2025 (651 SE), initiated by the  Government, will increase state budget revenue by EUR 26.6 million, expenditure by EUR 46.5 million and investments by EUR 32.5 million. The main objective of the supplementary budget is to support the reinforcement of comprehensive national defence.

Of the expenses and investments, EUR 44.2 million will go to comprehensive national defence projects aimed at increasing crisis resilience, which will be implemented later this year. The money will be used to increase internal security, to improve the robustness of the medical system and the crisis response capacity of the Foreign Service, as well as to ensure the continuity of digital governance and the media sector.

The supplementary budget will also provide for additional expenditure and investment, which will be covered mainly by external funds and additional revenues from the state’s economic activities. The explanatory memorandum notes that only new activities will be added with the supplementary budget and revenue-dependent expenditure projects will not be reviewed in their entirety.

Although the total volume of the state’s financing transactions will not change, the draft supplementary budget includes EUR 25 million in financing operations for the placement of the investment fund and for contributions to the share capital of Eesti Energia and Tallinn General Hospital. Therefore, the loan commitment will be increased by the same amount, which will also entail an interest cost of EUR 0.4 million.

With an amendment made to the Bill during the proceedings, EUR 12 million will be allocated to the investment budget of the Transport Administration, including ten million euro to the consolidated project for national roads for the construction and rehabilitation of roads, and two million euro to acquire land necessary for the construction of national roads. To this end, the budget will be redirected within the areas of government for the investments and operating expenses the cost of which will not be incurred until next year.

The Ministry of Social Affairs will reallocate EUR 1.9 million, the lion’s share of which will go to the Health and Welfare Information Systems Centre for various programme activities to cover the shortfall in the maintenance costs of the social protection information system SKAIS and the social benefits data register STAR.

The Bill also includes motions to amend submitted by the areas of government, the need for which has become apparent after the preparation of this year’s state budget, and which will not change the overall size of the budget. According to the state budget adopted last December, this year, state revenues will amount to EUR 17.7 billion, expenditure to EUR 18.2 billion, investments to EUR 873 million and financing transactions to EUR 679 million.

Heljo Pikhof, Helmen Kütt, Reili Rand, Riina Sikkut, Madis Kallas, Anti Allas, Tiit Maran and Lauri Läänemets from the Social Democratic Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu and Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Lauri Laats, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Estonian Centre Party Parliamentary Group as well as non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Peeter Ernits, Züleyxa Izmailova, Andre Hanimägi and Ester Karuse took the floor during the debate.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group and the Estonian Centre Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. 34 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 48 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the second reading of the Bill was concluded. The deadline for submission of motions to amend is 4 p.m. on 13 June.

The purpose of the Bill on Amendments to the Law of Obligations Act and Amendments to Other Acts arising therefrom (613 SE),  initiated by the Government, is to allow people to use their bank cards in certain shops, petrol stations and pharmacies in an emergency, even if the internet service is interrupted.

Under the Bill, the banks selected as critical entities will also have to offer customers offline card payment options: the bank will have to set an offline individual limit on the chip of the customer’s bank card, and merchants’ payment terminals will have to be able to process offline card payments. This will ensure that people can buy critically important essential goods such as food, fuel, and medicines even if the merchant’s payment terminal fails and is not connected to the bank’s payment system.

Five banks have been designated as critical entities in Estonia: SEB Bank, Swedbank, Luminor Bank, LHV Bank and Coop Bank. Among fuel retailers, Alexela, Olerex, Circle K, Neste Estonia, Terminal, Premium 7 and Jetoil are critical entities. No critical entities have yet been selected for grocery stores and pharmacies.

The Bill will also change the regulation for opening and closing a private individual’s payment account with basic features, i.e. the account used for making the most essential payment transactions. Among other things, it will provide clear grounds for when a bank can close a consumer’s bank account. For example, this will be possible in the event of reasonable suspicion of money laundering or if the consumer has used the account for illegal activities.

The Bill will also specify the payment of state fees in cash and will provide that the authority to which a state fee is paid may decide that it can also be paid in amounts greater than ten euro in cash.

In addition, the Bill will amend the competences of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority and the Financial Supervision Authority in misdemeanour and supervisory proceedings related to the financial sector.

The purpose of the Bill on Amendments to the Payment Institutions and E-money Institutions Act and the Payment and Settlement Systems Act  (634 SE), initiated by the Government, is to give payment and e-money institutions access to settlement systems that enable instant payment services.

Currently, only banks offer instant payment services, as only they have access to the necessary current accounts at the Bank of Estonia. The Bill also provides for the possibility for other payment institutions and e-money institutions to participate in the settlement system, so that they can also participate in the instant payments market. An instant payment means a payment where money moves from the payer’s account to the payee’s account within a few seconds.

The regulatory change will increase competition in the payment services market. It can also lead to new and innovative payment solutions, such as mobile payment applications, and increase competition in cross-border payments. In order to participate in a settlement system, a payment or e-money institution must meet certain requirements to ensure the stability and integrity of settlement systems.

The bill will transpose the amendments to the Payment Services Directive and the Settlement Finality Directive and ensure the proper national implementation of these directives. Under the Bill, the Financial Supervision Authority will have the right to verify compliance with the requirements of the regulation.

The Bill on Amendments to the Health Services Organisation Act, the  Act on Amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts, and the Work Ability Allowance Act  (604 SE), initiated by the Government, will create the opportunity for people to opt out of life-prolonging healthcare services.

Under the Bill, the right to draw up an advance healthcare directive will be given to adults with active legal capacity and capacity to exercise their will, as well as people with limited active legal capacity if a doctor considers them competent to make decisions about their health. Mandatory consultation with a doctor will ensure that the decision is thoroughly considered. The person can amend or withdraw their advance directive later if they wish. An advance directive will be submitted digitally in the health information system, exceptionally also on paper if the person is not digitally competent. In such a case, a health care professional will enter the data.

According to the Bill, a person can specify in their advance directive which healthcare services they want at the end of their life or which they prohibit from being provided. In an advance directive, a person can opt out of all life-prolonging healthcare services, such as resuscitation, artificial respiration, tube feeding, dialysis, antibiotic treatment, chemotherapy, and surgery. The opting out will be linked to the onset of a medical condition described in the person’s advance directive which will be recorded by a doctor and will be a prerequisite for implementing the directive. It will not be possible to request euthanasia or assisted suicide by an advance directive.

The Act is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2027 to ensure sufficient time for IT developments to be completed, doctors to be trained and the public to be informed.

Priit Sibul and Riina Solman from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Margit Sutrop from the Estonian Reform Party Group, Riina Sikkut from the Social Democratic Party Group, Diana Ingerainen from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Lauri Laats from the Estonian Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Radiation Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (573 SE), initiated by the Government , will introduce into the Act very low risk radiation practice as a practice of a new risk level and in the case of it registration of the practice will be required instead of a radiation practice licence. At the second reading, the Riigikogu amended the Bill by adding a provision that will allow the Environmental Board to issue a registration after the entry into force of the Act, if the requirements are met, even if the application was submitted for a radiation practice license before the entry into force of the Act.

The plenary also supported other motions to amend that the lead committee had submitted for the second reading. For example, the regulation for determining the risk levels of radiation practices will be specified and it will be clearly provided that the Environmental Board will determine the risk level of a radiation practice within the framework of the proceedings for the issue of a permit or registration, guided by the procedure established by a regulation of the Minister of Climate.

During the proceedings, the Riigikogu also decided to abandon the amendment of the requirements for appointing a radiation safety specialist. Thus, the current wording of the Radiation Act remains in force, according to which the designation of a radiation safety specialist is mandatory in the case of a high-risk radiation practice or if the holder of a radiation practice licence has more than ten exposed workers.

The Bill will also specify the recognition of radiation practice licences issued in the European Economic Area and make amendments based on the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure that the legislation is in line with international standards.

The Bill on Amendments to the General Part of the Environmental Code Act and Other Acts (611 SE),  initiated by the Government, will simplify the administrative proceedings connected with services relating to environmental protection permits in order to reduce the administrative burden for economic operators and individuals. The aim of the amendments is to improve the environmental protection permits system so that the impact of an activity on the environment would be better balanced with the administrative burden relating to the permit.

The Bill contains amendments according to which it will no longer be necessary to issue environmental permits for minor activities, and in some cases, minor activities will no longer need to be registered. For example, road and bridge builders will no longer have to apply for registration of activities that pose a risk to the aquatic environment, such as the construction of a bridge or culvert as part of a road or railway. The amendment will help speed up the completion of important developments in the construction of, for example, the Defence Forces training areas and Rail Baltic.

Schools, kindergartens, and other legal entities will no longer have to apply for a registration as waste handler if they want to compost their bio-waste on site and the amount is less than one tonne per year. The Bill will also define the obligations of the parties involved in the protection of the environment more clearly, reduce the frequency of fulfilling the obligations, clarify monitoring processes and link environmental requirements, such as permit obligations and the application process, more fairly to the potential environmental impact of the activity.

In the course of the second reading, the Riigikogu made an amendment to the bill according to which consent for cutting layers of trees and shrubs in water protection zones can be applied for through the   environmental decisions information system. This will reduce the administrative burden, consolidate information into one system, and give the Environmental Board a better overview of environmental activities. In some cases, the applicant will receive consent as an automatic decision, in which case the activity can begin immediately.

In addition, the parliament introduced an amendment to the bill which will include a derogation in the Waste Act that will exempt farmers from the obligation of a digestate storage security if the digestate is used for soil treatment in agriculture. If the farmer wishes to handle waste digestate in another way, for example to compost it with other waste, this is classic waste handling, and the security derogation will not apply.

The Riigikogu also made an amendment to the bill which will abolish the special rules            concerning the Supervisory Board of the Foundation Environmental Investment Centre. In the future, general requirements will apply to the supervisory board of the foundation according to which the founder appoints and recalls the members of the supervisory board by his or her decision and he or she appoints one member on the proposal of the Minister of Finance. The mandates of members of the Riigikogu as members of the Supervisory Board of the Environmental Investment Centre will expire on 31 August 2025.

Anti Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group took the floor during the debate.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. Seven members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 42 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.

At the sitting, the Riigikogu continued the second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Planning Act and Other Acts (acceleration of the deployment of renewable energy) (541 SE), initiated by the Government, which had been suspended on the motion of the lead committee in May.

The purpose of the bill is to promote the deployment of renewable energy. The amendments are intended to facilitate the processing of national designated spatial plans and municipal designated spatial plans planning wind farms and to ensure legal clarity in this process. To this end, the current provisions and procedural rules for the transfer of the funding of the creation of designated spatial plans will be specified. The procedural provisions concerning cooperation and invitation to participate as regards national designated spatial plans, including the initial positions for pre-selecting a location and the strategic environmental assessment programme, will also be amended.

The Bill will also specify the provisions on the payment of the charge for the production of electricity from wind energy in order to ensure legal clarity and the payment of the charge and the distribution thereof to residents at a fair rate and to give local governments greater flexibility in deciding on the details of the payment of the charge. To this end, it will specify the commencement of the payment of the charge for the production of electricity from wind energy which will be the time of the commencement of the construction of the wind power plant and the production of electricity from wind energy.

An interim payment period will be established for the charge for the production of electricity from wind energy. The interim payment period will be the period when a wind power plant is already producing electricity from wind energy, but the wind power plant does not yet have a permit for use. During the new charge period, the charge will be paid in the amount of 70 per cent of the charge for the production of electricity from wind energy. The provisions on the fees paid by municipalities to residents will also be specified, taking into account issues that have arisen in practice. The bill will untie the establishment of   local government rates from the beginning of the fiscal year. In the future, the rate will enter into force six months after adoption.

During the second reading, an amendment was introduced to the bill to repeal the requirement for resolutions to approve the detailed solutions for municipal designated spatial plans and amendments to the Electricity Market Act were introduced to adjust the regulation on renewable energy reverse auctions.

On 7 May, on the proposal of the Economic Affairs Committee, the Riigikogu decided to suspend the second reading of the bill and to set a deadline of five working days for motions to amend. Ten motions were included in the list of motions to amend which, for example, specify that if the pre-selection of the location of a designated spatial plan is suitable, a separate decision will no longer be made, and the plan can be directed directly to bringing into effect. Therefore, the conditions that are the basis for issuing design specifications and a superficies licence will also be provided for in the pre-selection of the location. Other specifications were made to the Bill to increase legal clarity.

Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Anti Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Lauri Laats from the Estonian Centre Party Group and Mario Kadastik from the Estonian Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. 12 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 45 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.

The Bill on Amendments to the Liquid Fuel Act (622 SE),  initiated by the Government, will promote the use of sustainable aviation fuels in commercial air transport and bring the Act into line with the  European Union regulation on ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport.

The EU regulation aims to encourage the expansion of sustainable aviation fuel production opportunities and to avoid a fragmentation of the Union air transport market, possible competitive distortions, and unfair refuelling practices. The Bill will specify the requirements for the supply and reporting of sustainable aviation fuels, designate the Environmental Board and the Transport Administration as the competent authorities in Estonia, and provide for rules related to supervision and liability.

The EU regulation applies only to the refuelling of aircraft used for commercial air operations in civil aviation. In Estonia, this will most affect Tallinn Airport Ltd which will have to ensure the availability of sustainable aviation fuels at the airport, and this will also affect aviation fuel suppliers to Tallinn Airport as well as airlines refuelling in Estonia.

 Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Anti Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group took the floor during the debate.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. Six members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 42 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.

The Bill on Amendments to the Sport Act (518 SE), initiated by the Government, will update compliance with the rules of sports ethics, the requirements for the organization of sports events and the threshold for the allowance paid to volunteer referees.

In addition to the anti-doping rules, the rules against match-fixing and abuse, as well as other rules of sports ethics laid down by international sports organisations, the National Olympic Committee and sports federations will have to be followed in the future. Along with athletes, referees and background staff will also have to follow the anti-doping rules. The Bill will also provide for the bases for reclaiming paid-out amounts from those who have violated the rules of fair sport.

The Bill will specify the list of sports for which it is necessary to apply for a permit from the local government when organizing competitions. According to an amendment, it will not be necessary to apply for an organisational permit from the local government for sports that do not have problems in practice but currently require application for a permit. At the same time, in the future, a permit will have to be applied for organising motor sport events where there have been problems with safety and where risks are higher.

According to the Bill, the threshold for the allowance of volunteer referees will increase from EUR 20 to up to EUR 45 per day. The rate of the fine for legal persons for violation of requirements for the organisation of sports events will be increased from EUR 2,000 to EUR 20,000.

At the second reading the Riigikogu introduced an amendment to the Bill that will allow the provider of the coach’s labour cost subsidy to process data on the disabilities of children and young people in order to control the size of the training group. The aim is to allow young people and children with disabilities to be counted in training groups with a double coefficient, which means that, for the labour cost subsidy to be allocated to a coach, the training group can be smaller than that provided for in the regulation. This will help to better enrol young people and children with disabilities in exercise groups, to improve their training opportunities and to increase their physical activity.

The Riigikogu also supported an amendment according to which it will be possible to apply for a seasonal permit to organize sports events for up to one year if a competition takes place in the same location, for the same target group and with the same security requirements. The aim is to reduce the administrative burden on competition organizers.

Madis Kallas from the Social Democratic Party Group and Tõnis Lukas from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Organisation of Research and Development and Innovation Bill (554 SE), initiated by the Government, will provide for the first time the general principles and obligations of research ethics at the level of law, as well as the tasks of the Estonian Research Council in the organization thereof. A research ethics committee will be set up at the Research Council to coordinate, for example, the conduct of human research.

The bill will streamline public funding for research. The current baseline funding will be transformed into activity support which will be divided into baseline funding and performance funding. When granting baseline funding, the last three years’ funding of the institution will be taken into account, while for performance funding, the results of the institution will be taken into account. As an important amendment, the payment of activity support will be divided between two ministries in the future. The Ministry of Education and Research will continue to pay the activity support for state and public research and development institutions, while the payment of the activity support for private sector research and development institutions will be transferred to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. During the procedure, the Bill was amended by adding a provision providing that the institution’s research and development support budget would be divided into baseline funding to the extent of at least 70 percent and performance funding to the extent of up to 30 percent.

All research and development institutions must be positively evaluated in order to receive activity support and national research grants. In the future, the evaluation of the quality of the research work of evaluated universities and institutions of professional higher education will be carried out within the framework of institutional accreditation in order to reduce the burden and bureaucracy related to the evaluations of educational institutions.

The strategic management of research and development and innovation will be updated. Innovation policy will be brought more clearly to the desk of the Research and Development Council which advises the government. A supra-ministerial steering committee on research, development and innovation will be set up to replace the   Research Policy Committee and the Innovation Policy Committee advising the ministers responsible for research and development and innovation. The Government Office will be given the task of coordinating public sector innovation activities. The tasks of ministries in planning, organizing, and financing research and development activities and innovation activities in their areas of ​​government and in transmitting the relevant information to the Ministry of Education and Research will also be specified.

The Centre for Applied Research will be provided for as a new actor in the national organisation of research and development.

During the second reading, the terms of innovation, research and development actors, researchers, as well as generally accepted standards of research ethics and good scientific practice were also amended. According to the amendment regarding the entry into force, the Act is scheduled to enter into force on 1 October.

Tiit Maran from the Social Democratic Party Group and Tõnis Lukas from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act, the Code of Administrative Court Procedure  and the State Fees Act (challenging of decisions regarding visas) (603 SE),  initiated by the Government,  will establish the right of decisions to refuse to issue a visa to be challenged in court. At present, the applicant has no right to apply to the courts in the event of refusal to issue a visa. The European Court of Justice ruled in a 2017 case that Member States must provide for a procedure whereby decisions to refuse to issue a visa could be challenged in court. Infringement proceedings have been initiated against Estonia and the Commission referred Estonia to the Court of Justice of the EU on 29 January. In addition, in its decision of 22 January 2025, the Supreme Court declared the Aliens Act unconstitutional in the part that it precludes the filing of an appeal with the administrative court for the issuance of a visa in a situation where the applicant was in Estonia during the visa procedure. Instead of the current two-stage challenge proceedings, the Bill will establish mandatory one-stage challenge proceedings after which decisions on visas and decisions on challenge can be appealed in administrative court. The rate of the state fee for reviewing an appeal will be increased from EUR 80 to EUR 160.

Helir-Valdor Seeder from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Anti Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Ando Kiviberg from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. Five members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 41 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.

The main objective of the  Bill on Amendments to the State Secrets and Classified Information of Foreign States Act, the Public Procurement Act and the State Fees Act (623 SE),   initiated by the Government, is to update the State Secrets and Classified Information of Foreign States Act so that applying for Facility Security Clearances would be more flexible than before.

The bill will improve the quality and consistency of the authorisation to assess the trustworthiness and reliability of legal entities and to handle state secrets. The explanatory memorandum notes that, in the changed security situation, allied countries are expecting ever closer scrutiny of Estonia’s legal entities and supply chains so that our credibility would be ensured. Therefore, a clear and effective legal framework must support the competitiveness of Estonian economic operators abroad.

The aim of the Bill is to establish a regulation that would prevent Estonian economic operators from perceiving the requirements regarding the handling of classified information as an inconvenient obligation and would give them the desire and motivation to meet the conditions set out.

At the second reading, the Riigikogu amended the Bill by adding a provision according to which the Minister of Defence would establish the classification levels and the terms for classification for items for military purpose separately for each item of military purpose, so that the information could be protected as a state secret if necessary.   The parliament also introduced an amendment into the Bill to amend the Public Procurement Act with exceptions concerning the defence and security sector.

The Bill on Amendments to the Courts Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (enhancing court administration) (632 SE), initiated by the Government, will reform the administrative organisation of  the courts of first and second instance so that it would be clearer, more efficient, and  autonomous.

At present, the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, the Council for the Administration of Courts, chief judges, directors of court and, to a certain extent, the Supreme Court are engaged in court administration. Such dispersed responsibility fragments the system and makes it difficult to manage.

According to the Bill, most of the court administration tasks will be transferred from the ministry to the courts themselves. To organise the administration and development of courts, a Council for the Administration and Development of Courts will be set up, following the restructuring of the current Council for the Administration of Courts. While the current body is more advisory and coordinating, the Council for the Administration and Development of Courts will be the highest decision-making body in court administration. It will guide the development of courts and organize administrative decisions at a strategic level. Thus, judges’ decision-making power over both support services and the direction of development of the courts will increase significantly.

A Court Administration Service will also be established, which will provide day-to-day support services to the courts, such as translation, archiving, and financial and asset management. The Court Administration Service will take over the current tasks performed in court administration in the ministry and by directors of court. The service will be headed by a director appointed for a term of five years whose activities will be monitored by the Council for the Administration and Development of Courts.

In the course of the second reading, the Riigikogu made amendments to the Bill. For example, taking into account the feedback of interest groups, the timetable for the entry into force of the act was adjusted so that there would be more time than before for the transition to the new court administration model.

Madis Kallas from the Social Democratic Party Group and Toomas Uibo from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

Referring to the remarks of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the bill. 41 members of the Riigikogu supported the motion and there was one abstention. Thus, the motion was supported, and the second reading of the Bill was suspended. The deadline for submission of motions to amend is 5.15 p.m. on 30 June.

Two Bills passed the first reading

 The Bill on Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act and Other Acts (602 SE),  initiated by the Government, is at the first reading. Its aim is to enable employers and employees to make flexible working time agreements. Under the Bill, part-time employees will be able to work additional hours if they wish, up to full-time working hours. The Bill is intended to discourage employers from entering into contracts under the law of obligations, such as a contract for services or an authorisation agreement, which do not provide employees with adequate social guarantees and the necessary employment protection.

The bill will also establish requirements for flexible working time agreements: an employee may refuse to work extra hours; the agreement will have to be concluded in writing and the employee’s hourly wage will have to be at least 1.2 times the minimum hourly wage. An employee will have to be employed at least quarter-time, meaning they will have to work at least ten hours a week. Thus they will be able to work up to 30 hours on a flexible basis. At the end of the calculation period, the employee will have to be provided with a schedule that clearly outlines the agreed hours of work, additional hours, and overtime during that period.

The Bill also regulates the question of how much consecutive rest an employee must get per week. It provides for the principle that, once a week, an employee will have to be guaranteed 48 hours of consecutive rest time in the case of calculation of usual working time and 36 hours in the case of calculation of the summarised working time.

During the debate, Vladimir Arhipov took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Centre Party Group and Tanel Kiik on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.

The Estonian Centre Party Parliamentary Group and the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 16 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 33 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the first reading of the Bill was concluded.

The Song and Dance Celebration Bill (598 SE),initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group, is intended to provide for the status and the procedure and principles for the organisation of the General Song and Dance Celebration and the Youth Song and Dance Celebration, and to determine the financial and organisational obligations of the state and local authorities in ensuring the viability of the tradition of song and dance celebrations. The aim of the Bill is to preserve, develop and pass on to future generations the tradition of the Song and Dance Celebration.

During the debate, Tõnis Lukas took the floor on behalf of Isamaa Parliamentary Group.

The sitting ended at 4.39 a.m. on Thursday.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording of the sitting 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]