The Riigikogu passed amendments to the Media Services Act
The Riigikogu passed two Acts.
The Act on Amendments to the Media Services Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (327 SE), initiated by the Government, transposes into Estonian legal space the European Union Audiovisual Media Services Directive.
According to the Act, the scope of application of the Media Services Act also includes video-sharing platforms and social media channels, such as YouTube, Vimeo and Dailymotion. In order to provide a service, it is necessary to submit a notice of economic activities to the register of economic activities and to set out the procedure for blocking illegal content in the terms and conditions.
The Act adjusts the regulation of the Act, including the activity licence system, to correspond to the new audiovisual media services, for example the web television of larger news portals. Providers of the service must apply for an activity licence, submit reports on the programme structure and disclose their ownership structure.
The Act harmonises the rules applicable to the television service and the on-demand audiovisual media service in order to ensure the protection of minors and morality and legality. This concerns for example Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, as well as domestic videos-on-demand. In order to improve access to audiovisual media services for persons with disabilities, service providers are obliged to draw up accessibility action plans.
Holders of a temporary television licence do not have to draw up an accessibility action plan in so far as it is drawn up for four years at a time.
The Act reduces the volume of mandatory news programmes, that is, the obligation of television and radio service providers to broadcast news is reduced from six days to five days a week, and the share of news programmes in the programme from five per cent to two per cent.
The Act provides that media services must not incite hatred, violence or discrimination based on any group characteristic, e.g. because of citizenship, gender, race or age if this causes a threat to the life, health or property of a person.
The Act also makes other amendments, for example, a quota for European works is set for on-demand audiovisual media service providers that must be at least 30 per cent of the catalogue of programmes. Audiovisual media service providers will have an obligation to disclose their ownership structure. The Ministry of Education and Research will be responsible for the promotion of media competence. The time limit for submitting replies to assertions made in programmes broadcast on television or radio is extended to 30 days from the current 20 days. It is emphasised that the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority as the national supervisory body for the media sector is independent in the performance of its functions, and the conditions necessary for the exercise of supervision are created. Among other things, the time limits for preserving the recordings of programmes are extended to 30 up to 90 days from the current 20 days, depending on the type of the activity licence necessary to provide the television or radio service.
The amendments proposed with the Act mainly affect the Estonian audiovisual media service providers, around a couple of dozen undertakings.
During the debate, Jaak Juske (Social Democratic Party), Heidy Purga (Reform Party), Jaak Valge (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Üllar Saaremäe (Isamaa) and Aadu Must (Centre Party) took the floor.
75 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act, one was against and there were two abstentions.
The Act on Amendments to the National Defence Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (417 SE), initiated by the Government, creates better preconditions for the use of civil resources in ensuring independent defence capability and in hosting allies, and comprehensively updates the regulation of national defence duties.
The national defence tasks provided for in the Act are intended for organisation of increased defence readiness, mobilisation and demobilisation and handling of a state of war, and supporting such situations.
Among other things, the Act updates the regulation of national defence duties. For example, the imposition of the duty to grant use of things and the expropriation of things is clarified and the relevant powers are granted to the Defence Resources Agency and the Defence Forces or an agency of executive power authorised by the Government.
A similar authority is given to the Government of the Republic where it is necessary to expropriate or impose the duty to grant use of things in the case of unavoidable necessity before declaration of increased defence readiness in order to organise an additional reservist training or to participate in international military cooperation. The current National Defence Duties Act is repealed, and the issues relating to the duties are set out in the National Defence Act.
Leo Kunnas (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor during the debate.
81 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act.
The Riigikogu concluded the second reading of seven Bills:
The Bill on Amendments to the Population Register Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (494 SE), initiated by the Government, will amend the Population Register Act, the Vital Statistics Registration Act, the Consular Act and the State Fees Act. The purpose of the amendments is to automate services, to change the system of issuing of data from the population register and to find solutions to the problems that have emerged in practice.
The main amendments in the Bill on amendments to the Population Register Act, the Vital Statistics Registration Act, the Consular Act and the State Fees Act relate to creating a legal framework for enabling automatic decisions in certain proceedings under the Population Register Act and the Vital Statistics Registration Act (e.g., registration of place of residence and registration of birth) and changing the system of competences in issuing of data from the population register. Automatic entries are entries made without the intervention of an official. For example, in some cases, if the data on the place of residence are submitted in a safe online environment, it will be possible to make an automatic entry of registration of place of residence, which means that, in the case of certain data submitted through electronic services, an official will no longer have to intervene in the proceedings and the entry into the population register will be made automatically.
The problems that have emerged in the course of daily practice and the solution of which requires amendment of the Act will also be solved. For example, after the registration of the birth of a child, it will also be possible to submit applications on admission of paternity in a notarised form. At the same time, a legal basis will be provided for paying a state fee for issuing of data from the population register.
The Bill on Amendments to the Creative Persons and Artistic Associations Act and the Work Ability Allowance Act (517 SE), initiated by the Government, will make amendments to the Act in order to continue the payment of the support for creative activity on mitigated conditions until the end of 2022 to creative people engaged in liberal professions.
Due to the conditions of the COVID-19 crisis, in 2020, mitigations were made in the application for the supports for creative activity and the mitigations were continued in 2021. The restriction to the effect that creative persons who had already received the support would not be granted the support again during two years was temporarily suspended. At the same time, the persons were temporarily allowed to earn income to the extent of up to one minimum wage in a month besides the support for creative activity. The Bill will extend the mitigations until the end of 2022.
The Bill will also make permanent amendments to the conditions for application for and payment of the support for creative activity. For example, the definition of the support, and the size of income that is taken into account when deciding on the grant of the support for creative activity will be specified. According to the Bill, application for support for creative activity will be open to a creative person who is engaged in a liberal profession and whose income subject to income tax received in the month preceding the application for the support for creative activity and in each month over the period of the payment of the support for creative activity does not exceed half of the minimum remuneration. In addition, the Bill will specify the bases for refusal to pay the support for creative activity where the Ministry of Culture pays the support.
In order to receive the support for creative activity, the creative person will have to have been active in the corresponding artistic field over the last three years, and published works. The Bill will provide for a mitigation to the effect that, if a creative person engaged in a liberal profession has been on parental leave, received parental benefit or been in conscript service within the past three years, the three-year period will be extended by the period when the person received parental benefit or was on parental leave or in conscript service.
The Bill will also specify the bases for termination of the payment of the support for creative activity. According to the Bill, a support for creative activity paid without basis can also be reclaimed in a situation where the creative person does not meet the requirements for application for support for creative activity, in addition to the situation where false information has been submitted.
Support for creative activity is a support in an amount of the minimum remuneration paid over six months for people engaged in cultural activities who operate in irregular or non-standard forms of work and have temporarily lost their income. Besides ensuring the minimum wage, support for creative activity ensures health insurance and other benefits arising from regular social tax payments.
The Bill on Amendments to the Study Allowances and Study Loans Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (420 SE), initiated by the Government, will reform the doctoral studies so that doctoral students would be starting researchers who do research at universities or with their employers. In addition, the conditions of the state-guaranteed student loan will be made more favourable for students and the grant of the basic allowance in vocational educational will be made more flexible.
The new regulation is intended to ensure new generations of young researchers and to create an industrial PhD that promotes cooperation between research institutions and companies. In addition, career options for doctoral students will widen and the current rigid academic career model will become more diverse and flexible.
In respect of doctoral studies, amendments will be made as a result of which the majority of doctoral students will be contractual research staff at universities, research and development institutions and companies. Their work will essentially be research and development in the area related to their doctoral thesis in accordance with the study and research programme of the doctoral student.
The working conditions and environment of doctoral students will be transformed to enable the tasks related to doctoral studies to be specified and remunerated clearly and uniformly in order thereby to increase the effectiveness of doctoral studies. The Bill will eliminate the doctoral allowance, which will be replaced by the remuneration of junior research fellow.
The employment contract relationship enables to ensure social guarantees to doctoral students, such as the annual paid leave, the possibility to receive sickness benefit, and the application of occupational health requirements.
The conditions for completion of doctoral studies will be changed. In the future, the exact duration of a student’s doctoral studies will be agreed on in his or her study and research programme, which will generally remain between three and eight years and which is the maximum period of study today.
The regulation relating to the state guaranteed study loan will be amended so that the conditions for a study loan would become more favourable to students. The number of the sureties required upon securing a study loan will be reduced to one instead of the current two. The possibility to secure a study loan with a mortgage placed on an immovable situated in Estonia will remain in place.
The explanatory memorandum notes that the motivation for drafting the Bill was the inefficiency of the current doctoral studies, and the low rate of completions and doctoral theses defended. Compared to OECD countries, in 2016, Estonia had an average of eight people with a doctoral degree per 1000 working-age people while the average indicator for the OECD was ten people and the indicator for Finland was 12.6 people. Although the number of doctoral theses defended and the proportion of academic staff has increased somewhat, the number of doctoral graduates in Estonia still remains low and insufficient to change the economic structure and to meet the needs of society.
During the debate, Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), Margit Sutrop (Reform Party) and Ülle Rajasalu (Reform Party) took the floor.
The Bill to Implement the European Union Cohesion and Internal Security Policy Funds for 2021–2027 (487 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic (487 SE), initiated by the Government, will establish a national regulation for the achievement of the results planned in the Operational Programme for the Investment for Growth and Jobs and the European Territorial Cooperation and the European Union Cross-border Cooperation programmes under the Cohesion Policy of the EU budget period 2021–2027. The implementation of the external support provided for the implementation of the objectives in the areas of EU migration, external borders and internal security will also be regulated.
The Bill will provide for the implementation system institutions and the procedure for the designation of the institutions, as well as the powers to establish the conditions for the grant and use of the support. The Bill will regulate the informing of the public about the grant of the support, the control and audit of the grant and use of the support, the monitoring of the performance of the projects and the specifications for filing and processing challenges.
The Bill has been drafted based on the directly applicable EU Regulations regulating the use of the supports. The Bill is proposed as an implementing Act for these EU Regulations.
During the second reading, the lead committee made amendments to the Bill that will allow tax authorities to disclose information subject to tax secrecy also under subsection 8 (4) of the Foreign Relations Act and to the body implementing the support measures under the Act to Implement the European Union Cohesion and Internal Security Policy Funds for 2021–2027 to identify compliance with the conditions for the support.
During the debate, Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), Riina Sikkut (Social Democratic Party), Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party), Mihhail Lotman (Isamaa), Henn Põlluaas (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Andres Metsoja, Aivar Kokk (Isamaa) and Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
The Faction Isamaa moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. The result of voting: 22 votes in favour and 55 against. The motion was not supported. The second reading was concluded.
The Bill on Amendments to the Land Valuation Act, the Land Tax Act and Other Acts (406 SE), initiated by the Government, proposes amendments to Acts that are necessary for carrying out the next mass valuation of land in 2022. The amendments will update the value of land, bringing the land tax into conformity with the principles of the market value of land. The amendments do not concern the current tax exemption on the land under homes.
The Bill will make changes to the principles of mass valuation of land. In the future, the Land Board will carry out mass valuation mainly on the basis of the data contained in national databases. Upon mass valuation of land, in the future, the value zones that are used by local governments to calculate the value of each particular plot of land will no longer be determined, but the taxable value of each plot of land will be determined as a result of valuation.
The last mass valuation of land in Estonia took place in 2001, and in nearly 20 years, the value of land has increased by seven times on the average. The taxable value obtained as a result of mass valuation of land will be the basis for determining land tax, payments for tolerating utility networks and use fee under different usufruct contracts.
According to the Bill, the next mass valuation of land will take place in 2022, and after that, valuations will be carried out every four years. The results of the mass valuation of land will be implemented from 2024.
The Bill will reduce the maximum land tax rates that local governments can impose. For example, the maximum tax rate will be 0.5 per cent of the taxable value of the land instead of the current 2.5 per cent on residential land and forest land, and 1 per cent on commercial land. The lowering of the maximum tax rates will prevent land tax from becoming too high. In order to ensure a smooth transition to the new price level for the taxpayer, a 10 per cent limit will be imposed on the annual increase in the land tax amount.
The tax exemption on the land under homes will be extended to the full extent on the lands where one of the intended purposes is residential land. For example, if there are business premises on the ground floor of an apartment building and the intended purpose of the plot of land is therefore partly commercial land, the apartment owners residing in the same building cannot enjoy tax exemption to the full extent. According to the Bill, they will be able to do that from 2024. This amendment will affect nearly 9700 homes.
The Bill will also provide that, in the future, changes to land tax rates will have to be established at least six months before the beginning of the taxation year. At present, land tax rates are established by 1 February of the taxation year.
As the value of land has increased after the last mass valuation, the payments for tolerating utility networks will also increase by 3.5 to 4 times on the average once the new taxable values of land will be implemented. The payment for tolerating will change gradually during three years, in 2024–2026, each year by one third of the difference between the new and the present payment for tolerating.
During the second reading, the lead committee decided to make amendments to the Bill. One amendment concerns the methodology of mass valuation of land. In addition, the provision concerning the entry into force of the Bill will be amended, according to which the Bill will enter into force on 15 March if it is passed.
During the debate, Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), Aivar Kokk (Isamaa), Aivar Sõerd (Reform Party), Riina Sikkut (Social Democratic Party), Andres Metsoja (Isamaa), Heiki Hepner (Isamaa), Jürgen Ligi (Reform Party), Mihhail Lotman (Isamaa), Toomas Järveoja (Reform Party) took the floor.
The Faction Isamaa moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. The result of voting: 7 votes in favour and 48 against. The motion was not supported. The second reading was concluded.
The Bill on Amendments to the International Sanctions Act and the Law of Ship Flag and Registers of Ships Act (492 SE), initiated by the Government, will specify the obligations of the persons having specific obligations in order to ensure, in the case of international sanctions, application of due diligence measures that are similar to the ones provided for in the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act, taking into account the risks typical of financial sanctions. The Bill is intended to ensure that persons having specific obligations would also handle the risks relating to financial sanctions systematically.
Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor during the debate.
The Bill on Amendments to the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act and Other Acts (507 SE), initiated by the Government, is connected with the Crowdfunding and Other Investment Instruments and Virtual Currencies Bill that will establish a comprehensive legal framework for virtual currency service providers.
The purpose of the Bill is to mitigate the risks of the money laundering, terrorist financing and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction committed in the area of virtual currencies.
The provisions concerning the requiring of additional reporting of virtual currency service providers in addition to the annual report were omitted from the Bill. The Bill will increase the share and equity capital requirement for virtual currency service providers from 12,000 euro to 100,000 euro and, depending on the field of activity, to 250,000 euro.
The Crowdfunding and Other Investment Instruments and Virtual Currencies Bill will transfer the supervision exercised over virtual currency service providers to the competence of the Financial Supervision Authority, and will establish additional requirements, in particular with a view to ensuring greater protection of investors.
In addition, the Bill contains amendments associated with the establishment of the database of beneficial owners that will enable banks to submit banking secrets to the database where necessary, and the registrar to impose fines in the event of submission of false information or failure to submit data. The Financial Intelligence Unit will be given the right to carry out background checks in respect of its employees and officials.
The regulation concerning having a qualifying holding and supervision fee will be omitted from the Bill and the deadlines for entry into force and implementation of the Act will also be amended. According to a motion, the Act will come into force on 1 March 2022. Virtual currency service providers will have to bring their activities mostly into conformity and submit documents by 15 June 2022. In addition, the time of the extraordinary audit of own funds will be postponed from 15 August 2022 to 1 January 2023.
Representatives of 25 stakeholders participated in the deliberation of the Bill and their positions were incorporated through the motions to amend made in the course of the proceedings.
During the debate, Ruuben Kaalep (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
The sitting ended at 7.56 p.m.
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Video recordings of the sittings of the Riigikogu can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/riigikogu.
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Riigikogu Press Service
Gunnar Paal,
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