The Riigikogu passed five Acts

The Riigikogu passed five Acts and concluded the second reading of two Bills at today’s sitting.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Code of Criminal Procedure Implementation Act and the Police and Border Guard Act (exchange of information between European Union member states and with Europol)  (784 SE), initiated by the Government. It transposes the directive on the exchange of information between the law enforcement authorities of EU countries or the “Swedish directive”.

According to the directive, all law enforcement authorities of EU Member States must exchange relevant information for the purpose of preventing, detecting or investigating criminal offences. Information exchange generally takes place through single points of contact operating around the clock. Law enforcement authorities of other EU Member States and Europol will have to be guaranteed access to crime-related information equivalent to that of Estonia’s national authorities in order to detect and prevent crimes and to conduct criminal proceedings and anti-crime operations.

In addition, with the Act, the rules on the exchange of information on terrorism are aligned with EU rules on the protection of personal data.

54 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act, four were against and there was one abstention.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the State Assets Act (772 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to streamline the administration of the state’s holding and make the regulation of supervisory boards and internal audit clearer and more flexible.

According to the Act, the ministry as the holding administrator can elect and recall its representative on the supervisory board of a state-owned company without a proposal from the appointments committee. This will reduce the workload of the appointments committee and give the holding administrator greater flexibility. The number of foundations where one member of the supervisory board must be appointed on the proposal of the Minister of Finance will decrease from 59 to 20. This obligation remains only for larger foundations.

The thresholds for the application of the internal audit obligation are significantly raised. The new obligation will arise when the balance sheet total exceeds EUR 15 million or revenues exceed EUR 10 million. Internal auditor may be forgone only in the case when there is no obligation to form an audit committee and the internal audit unit of the administrator of the State’s holding or the person exercising the founder’s rights is used. The number of companies with an internal audit obligation will increase from 18 to 19 and the number of foundations will decrease from 47 to 20.

The role of the holding administrator as a supervisor will be strengthened in order to simplify the assessment of the performance of partially state-owned companies and foundations. Administrators of holdings in companies as well as persons exercising founder’s rights in foundations are given the explicit right to examine the work of supervisory boards and internal audit documents, such as minutes and audit results.

During the second proceedings, an amendment was included in the Act that would allow not only state-owned companies but also their subsidiaries to donate to aid Ukraine under a simplified procedure. The validity of the exemption will be extended by three years, that is, until the end of 2030.

Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart from the Centre Party Group and Reili Rand from the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

52 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and nine voted against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Law of Obligations Act and the Consumer Protection Act (796 SE), initiated by the Government. According to it, it will have be possible to cancel an online purchase within 14 days as easily as making a purchase from an online store. For this, online stores will have to have a withdrawal function, that is, a withdrawal button. According to the Act, terminating a service must also be as easy as subscribing to the service. This means that, once the amendment enters into force, traders will no longer be able to use the practice where, for example, consumers can conclude internet and mobile communications contracts online, but they must visit an office if they wish to terminate their contracts.

As one important amendment, the Act provides for consumers’ right to demand human interaction when conducting business online. If a business has set up communication through a chatbot, consumers will have to have the option to transfer the conversation to a live agent. This is especially important when a financial service product is complex or when the robot’s standard responses remain too general. The consumer must have the opportunity to communicate with a person before concluding a contract in order to ensure that they have correctly understood the terms of the transaction.

The Act transposes into Estonian law the European Union’s directive on the distance marketing of financial services which adapts consumer protection requirements to the usage logic of the digital age where financial services are increasingly being contracted via telephone, online forms, and chatbots. The aim is to provide consumers with sufficient protection in the event of transactions concluded by means of communication. Pre-contractual information will have to be presented clearly and be understandable to the user even on a small screen.

62 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act, seven were against and there was one abstention.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Military Service Act (language requirement for conscript service) (825 SE), initiated by the National Defence Committee. According to it, all call-up selectees entering conscript service will have to have at least B1 level of proficiency in Estonian from 2027.

The Act provides that if a call-up selectee has not acquired education in Estonian or their language skills cannot be determined on the basis of databases, they will have to take a B1 level language exam. If a call-up selectee does not pass the B1 level exam, they will have to complete a language course organized by the Integration Foundation within a year and then retake the exam.

The state will pay for the completion of a first-time language course and compensation will also be provided for attending the language course and taking the qualification examination. The total costs of taking the language examination and attending the language courses – estimated at EUR 400,000 per year – will be covered from the state budget.

The Act also provides that if a call-up selectee repeatedly fails to attend language training or take a qualification examination without a valid reason, the Defence Resources Agency will be able to take administrative coercive measures against them, including suspend their hunting right and right to drive, as well as the validity of their fishing card and weapons-related permits. The same measures can currently be used if a person, repeatedly and without reason, fails to participate in an assessment of their state of health or to report for conscript service. The Act raises the upper limit for the non-compliance levy imposed for failure to comply with a precept from EUR 640 to EUR 1,280. The implementation of administrative coercive measures will help ensure that call-up selectees would not be able to intentionally delay acquiring the required language proficiency and thereby avoid entering conscript service.

According to the explanatory memorandum, completing conscript service requires sufficient knowledge of Estonian to understand orders, follow safety requirements, and participate in training. The amendment will allow the Defence Forces to focus on their primary task, that is, the provision of military training.

The National Defence Committee wanted to set a language proficiency requirement for conscripts with an Act passed last November, but when the President refused to promulgate it, it was decided to resolve the issue with a separate bill.

Mart Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Kalev Stoicescu from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Alar Laneman took the floor on behalf of the Reform Party Parliamentary Group.

76 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act.

The Riigikogu also passed the Act on Amendments to the Act on the Ratification of the Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Republic of Estonia Multi-annual Financing Agreement between the Commission of the European Communities on behalf of the European Community and the Republic of Estonia (829 SE), initiated by the Government. It repeals the provisions for the implementation of the Special Accession Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (SAPARD) which has been concluded by now.

The programme supported agriculture and rural development in candidate countries from European Union funds in 2001–2004. A total of 1.065 billion kroon was allocated to Estonia, of which payments were made amounting to 1.062 billion kroon. By now, the implementation of the programme has been fully completed and the deadlines for reclaiming the support have also passed.

55 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and there was one abstention.

Three Bills passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Planning Act and an Act to Implement the Building Code and the Planning Act (683 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. Its aim is to simplify and speed up planning procedures.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the amendments will enable local governments to respond to developments more quickly and flexibly, to terminate outdated and stalled spatial plans, and to reduce formal and time-consuming obligations. For example, in future, the effect of a detailed spatial plan will automatically expire if no development activity is started on the basis of it within 10 years. If the period of effect still needs to be extended, this can be done without a new public procedure.

The bill will abolish municipal designated spatial plans which have so far been used, for example, in the planning of wind farms and in the future such construction works with a significant impact can be planned on the basis of detailed spatial plans. While the average processing time for a municipal designated spatial plan has been four years, the same result can be achieved in an average of 2.2 years with a detailed spatial plan. At the same time, the stage of approving county-wide spatial plans will be omitted according to the Bill.

Before the second reading of the bill was suspended in March this year, several amendments were made to the bill which, among other things, would allow the authority that organises spatial planning work to set a reasonable deadline for carrying out an operation in spatial planning proceedings if no deadline for carrying out the operation has been provided for in an Act or other legislation. Provisions preparing for the introduction of a new information system of spatial plans on the basis of which the collection and storage of personal data would begin to take place were also included in the bill. The amendments will create the possibility to send mass notifications about the initiation of spatial plans and other procedural operations related to spatial plans to people within planning areas and the impact areas thereof through the information system being established in order to ensure better engagement.

The amendments will give the Land and Spatial Development Board the right to monitor the timeliness of the activities of both local governments and other authorities that organise spatial planning work and authorities, as well as the activities of local governments in conducting spatial planning proceedings by requesting information and, if necessary, issuing precepts to eliminate wrongfulness and unjustified delays.

In addition, the amendments will specify the obligation to take into account utility lines and civil engineering works in both comprehensive spatial plans and detailed spatial plans and provide for the setting of a deadline for making decisions to bring detailed spatial plans into effect or to refuse to do so, as well as for including the possibility of amending detailed spatial plans. Among other things, the amendments that were planned to abolish the obligation to publish notices concerning spatial plans in newspapers of nation-wide circulation and county newspapers are omitted from the Bill.

When the second reading was continued, four more motions to amend were introduced into the Bill which would leave the arrangement of the creation of national designated spatial plans and county-wide spatial plans within the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and provide that the upper limit for the non-compliance levy upon failure to comply with a precept issued by the Land and Spatial Development Board in the course of administrative supervision would be EUR 9,600. In addition, the discretionary power of the local government when issuing design specifications will be expanded and the date of entry into force of several provisions will be specified.

Evelin Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Tarmo Tamm from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Granting International Protection to Aliens (831 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will transpose into Estonian law the European Union’s reform of international protection and migration management, specifically the updated legislation of the Common Asylum System. The aim of the reform is to strengthen the protection of the EU’s external borders, speed up international protection and return procedures, and ensure a functioning and balanced solidarity mechanism between Member States.

Due to the large volume of amendments, a new consolidated text of the Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens has been drafted and the current Act will be repealed. The bill will improve control over immigration, and illegal entry from the EU’s external border and unauthorized movement within the Schengen area will become more difficult. As a significant innovation, the bill will provide for the implementation of a border procedure which will allow decisions to be made at the border. Applicants will not become entitled to stay in Estonia during the procedure, and it will be possible to return a person more quickly if protection is not granted.

The bill will also make procedures in the EU more uniform. Member States will start to mutually recognise each other’s acts in order to avoid situations where asylum applications are lodged successively in different countries. Additionally, an EU-wide migration information system will be created which will improve data collection and exchange and help streamline procedures.

The bill will also specify the obligations of asylum seekers and provide for clearer consequences for non-compliance therewith. For example, if necessary, it will be possible to restrict applicants’ freedom of movement, including by requiring them to live in an assigned place or to register regularly. At the same time, the legal protection of applicants will be strengthened by allowing for free legal assistance from the very beginning of the procedure.

In addition, a permanent solidarity mechanism will be launched in the EU, through which countries will be able to support one another in the event of migration pressure by providing financial assistance, deploying experts and equipment, and, if necessary, relocating people.

During the second reading, an amendment was incorporated into the bill that expanded the definition of a refugee’s family member. This spring, the Supreme Court ruled that the current Act was unconstitutional insofar as it did not recognize as a family member of a refugee a de facto partner who lived with the refugee in a de facto cohabitation prior to their arrival in Estonia, with whom marriage or registration of a partnership was legally impossible in the refugee’s country of origin regardless of the partners’ will.

Anti Poolamets, Evelin Poolamets and Siim Pohlak from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Helir-Valdor Seeder and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the plenary did not support the motion. 13 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation but 44 were against.

The Bill on Amendments to the Social Tax Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (860 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the second reading. It will amend the rules for the taxation of remunerations where a service is provided on the basis of a contract under the law of obligations entered into between private individuals.

The current procedure provides that if a private individual purchases services, such as housing maintenance and repair services and childcare services, on the basis of a contract under the law of obligations from another private individual, they must enter the person providing the service in the employment register, submit an income tax and social tax declaration, and pay social tax and social insurance contributions on the remuneration.  The bill will eliminate these obligations for the payer of the service fee and impose the obligation to pay social tax and social insurance contributions, similarly to income tax, on the recipient of the service fee.

The burden on non-resident employers will also be reduced by exempting them from registration and tax obligations if their employee is staying in Estonia for a short period and the employer does not have a permanent place of establishment here. The amendments are primarily aimed at digital nomads, as well as short-term performers, trainers, athletes, and film crew members.

Anti Poolamets, Martin Helme and Arvo Aller from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Aivar Kokk and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill but the motion was not supported. 13 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension but 44 voted against it.

The second reading of a Bill was suspended

The Riigikogu suspended the second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (837 SE), initiated by the Government. The aim of the bill is to simplify the rules for the employment of minors so that minors can be employed more flexibly than before and have better opportunities to gain early work experience and develop work habits. Early work experience helps improve young people’s starting position in the labour market and thereby helps prevent their long-term unemployment in the future.

Under the Bill, young people will be allowed to work more during school holidays. Under the rules currently in place, a young person may work for half of their school holiday but in the future they will be able to work for up to two months during their summer holiday; they will be able to work for five days during a one-week school holiday and for ten days during a two-week school holiday.

While currently young people, depending on their age, may work in family businesses only in the fields of culture, art, sports, and advertising, according to the bill, this restriction will disappear and young people will be able to work in family businesses in any field. The period for processing the Labour Inspectorate’s permit required before hiring a minor aged 7–12 will also be shortened to allow, for example, the organizer of a youth work camp to quickly hire a young person on the camp’s waiting list if a young person who has been accepted into the camp withdraws from participation in the camp immediately before the work begins. The annual basic leave for minor employees will also be brought in line with that of adults—it will be 28 calendar days.

The content of the bill had been significantly expanded ahead of the second reading. In addition to simplifying the conditions for the employment of minors, the bill had been amended by including extensive and fundamental changes to labour law, including the transposition of EU directives, a regulation on wage transparency, and the creation of a wage comparison tool as a new national digital solution. Therefore, the Riigikogu suspended the second reading of the bill on the proposal of the Social Affairs Committee

Four drafts were dropped from the proceedings

The Riigikogu did not adopt the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “On Strengthening the Competitiveness of the European Union and the Need to Reform the Emissions Trading System (ETS)” (858 AE), submitted by 24 Members of the Riigikogu. It was intended to make a proposal to the European Commission and the parliaments of the member states to initiate a thorough reform of the emissions trading system, so that the EU’s climate and energy policy would support, in a balanced way, the achievement of environmental goals as well as the competitiveness of European industry, energy security, and people’s livelihoods.

Tiit Maran from the Social Democratic Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group and Yoko Alender from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

15 members of the Riigikogu supported the adoption of the Statement but 41 voted against it and there was one abstention. Thus, the draft Resolution did not receive the necessary support to be adopted as a statement.

The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Bill on Amendments to the Traffic Act (regulation of personal light electric vehicles, light mopeds and cycles) (840 SE), initiated by the Centre Party Group. It would have given local governments the right to limit the number of personal light electric vehicles, light mopeds and cycles for rent and lease within their territory. The bill would also have given municipalities more rights to regulate cooperation with rental companies.

According to the initiators, the amendments would help reduce the number of accidents involving personal light electric vehicles and light mopeds and ensure a city space where it would be safe for pedestrians as well as those riding bicycles, light mopeds and personal light electric vehicles to move around.

Mario Kadastik from the Reform Party Group and Vladimir Arhipov from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.

The Reform Party Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 39 members of the Riigikogu supported the rejection, and 10 were against it.

The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Act on the Temporary Reduction of the Excise Duty on Diesel Fuel (868 SE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group. It was intended to lower the excise duty on diesel fuel to the European Union minimum rate, which is EUR 330 per 1,000 litres, for three months. According to the initiators, a temporary reduction would help mitigate the impact of the sharp rise in fuel prices.

Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.

The Finance Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 36 members of the Riigikogu supported the rejection, and 10 were against it.

The Riigikogu also rejected at the first reading the Bill on Amendments to the Gambling Tax Act and Other Acts (823 SE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group. It was intended to repeal the legislative amendments providing for a phased reduction in the gambling tax. The initiators stated in the explanatory memorandum that tax reductions for online casinos were unjustified and harmed public finances.

Aivar Kokk from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Finance Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 34 members of the Riigikogu supported the rejection, and seven were against it.

The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Atmospheric Air Protection Act (839 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, was cancelled at today’s sitting due to the absence of the presenter.

A plan to form the Estonian Cinematography Support Groupon the initiative of Member of the Riigikogu Anti Poolamets was announced at the beginning of the sitting.

The sitting ended at 9.11 p.m.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

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

Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
[email protected]
Questions: [email protected]