The Riigikogu passed six Acts
The Riigikogu adopted six Acts at today’s sitting, among them an amendment to the Constitution to restrict the right to vote.
Members of the Riigikogu Diana Ingerainen and Stig Rästa took their oath of office at the beginning of the sitting.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia (536 SE), initiated by 61 Members of the Riigikogu. It revokes the right to vote in local elections for third-country nationals residing in Estonia, and from the next elections after the coming elections, for stateless persons as well.
Deputy Chair of the Constitutional Committee Ants Frosch made a report at the third reading of the Bill amending the Constitution. Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Eerik-Niiles Kross from the Reform Party Group, Ando Kiviberg from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group, Helir-Valdor Seeder from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Lauri Läänemets from the Social Democratic Party Group and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.
Initially the Bill provided that Estonian citizens and stateless residents as well as citizens of the European Union and NATO countries would be allowed to participate in municipal council elections. As a resolution of the plenary, a motion to amend submitted by 55 members of the Riigikogu was included in the Act today according to which the right to vote in municipal council elections would be revoked for third-country nationals residing in Estonia and, from the next elections after the coming elections, for stateless persons as well.
According to an amendment, stateless persons will still be allowed to vote at this year’s local elections. According to the initiators of the proposal, this will allow stateless persons sufficient time to apply for Estonian citizenship if they so wish and to participate as Estonian citizens in the next local elections after the coming elections. In addition, an amendment omits from the Act the right to vote for the citizens of NATO member states.
Thus, citizens of Estonia and the EU and stateless residents will be allowed to participate in the elections this year, and only the citizens of Estonia and the EU will be allowed to participate from the next elections after the coming elections.
The second motion to amend, which was submitted by 26 members of the Riigikogu, did not receive sufficient support in the plenary assembly. With that, both the third-country nationals residing in Estonia and stateless persons would have had their right to vote revoked already from the local elections taking place in October this year.
Under the current Act, in addition to Estonian and EU citizens, the right to participate in local elections extends to aliens who reside in Estonia on the basis of a long-term residence permit or the permanent right of residence, who have attained 16 years of age by the election day and whose permanent place of residence is located in the corresponding rural municipality or city.
The Centre Party Group moved to suspend the third reading of the Bill, but the motion was not supported. Seven members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation but 92 were against.
The Riigikogu decided to support the motion of the Constitutional Committee to amend the Constitution as a matter of urgency. 92 members of the Riigikogu supported the amendment of the Constitution as a matter of urgency and seven were against it. The resolution on the manner of amending the Constitution required a four-fifths majority of the members of the Riigikogu attending the sitting, meaning that, for the resolution to be made, the number of the members attending the sitting voting for it had to exceed by at least four times the number of the members voting against.
At the final vote, 93 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and seven were against. A two-thirds majority of the votes of the members of the Riigikogu, that is, at least 68 votes, were needed for the Bill to amend the Constitution to be passed.
Five other Acts were passed
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Penal Code and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (violations of sanctions) (441 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to make the proceedings on violations of sanctions more efficient. The amendment is connected with implementation of European law. The EU has imposed wide-ranging sanctions on Russia in connection with its military activities in Ukraine, the implementation of which must be resolved domestically. The Act is also linked to a directive defining violations of sanctions.
Currently, the Estonian Internal Security Service processes all violations of sanctions punishable under the Penal Code. According to an amendment, the task of pre-trial investigation of violations of the ban on import and export of goods is given to the Tax and Customs Board. According to the explanatory memorandum, violations of trade sanctions are similar to smuggling cases which are processed by the Tax and Customs Board and most of the violations of trade sanctions are detected by the Tax and Customs Board at border crossings.
67 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act, and there were two abstentions.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure (493 SE), initiated by the Legal Affairs Committee. It will improve the availability of financial aid in civil proceedings so that the rights of the people who take legal action would not be left unprotected due to their economic situation.
The amendment is motivated by the proposal of the Chancellor of Justice to bring the Code of Civil Procedure into conformity with the Constitution. The plenary assembly of the Riigikogu supported the proposal in June last year and, consequently, the Legal Affairs Committee initiated a Bill to amend the regulation on financial aid in the Code of Civil Procedure. According to an amendment, in the future, when granting financial aid, the court will be able to take into account the person’s unavoidable costs of food, medicines, communications, and hygiene supplies.
The Act provides that, when assessing the economic situation of an applicant for financial aid, in addition to housing and transport costs, other critically unavoidable costs to the extent of up to 75 percent of the current minimum monthly wage must be deducted from their income. When deciding on the grant of financial aid, the court will therefore have to assess the unavoidability of the costs in each individual case and determine the amount of the unavoidable costs in the light of the 75 % ceiling.
Financial aid is aid by the state for covering case costs in civil and administrative court proceedings. For example, by way of financial aid, the court can decide to exempt a person partially or fully from the state fee or bail or from bearing other costs or allow them to be paid in instalments.
72 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and there was one abstention.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Building Code, the Administrative Co-operation Act and the Water Act (531 SE), initiated by the Government. Its purpose is to reduce bureaucracy and to shorten the time for the application for building permits for certain drilled wells.
According to the Act, in the future, the Environmental Board will only approve the projects of drilled wells and boreholes the construction, remodelling and demolition of which involve greater risks for groundwater. In ordinary circumstances, if a drilled well for a detached house or a geothermal borehole is being constructed, the approval of the municipality will be sufficient. In the course of the proceedings, an amendment was incorporated into the Act under which the minister would have the right to also establish requirements for the construction of drilled wells and boreholes and the drilling methods used, in addition to the remodelling and demolition of drilled wells and boreholes.
The amendments made by the Act also concern agglomerations which will be approved by the Director General of the Environmental Board instead of the minister in the future. The right to organise the evaluation of persons responsible for water sampling is given from the Ministry of Climate to competent legal persons in private law under contracts under public law.
Andres Metsoja from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Jüri Jaanson from the Reform Party Group took the floor during the debate.
55 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act, 10 voted against and there was one abstention.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Aliens Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (enhancement of migration proceedings) (548 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to streamline the proceedings on the stay, residence and work of aliens in Estonia, to strengthen migration control capabilities and to prevent domestic security threats.
According to the Act, the possibility to communicate with the state electronically and paperlessly, applying the one-stop-shop principle, is created for foreigners and those inviting them to Estonia, including employers and educational institutions. In order to ensure security and to prevent misuse, it is provided that, upon application for a residence permit for the purpose of employment, the employer must be entered in the Estonian commercial register and must prove at least six months of actual economic activity in Estonia.
For application for a residence permit, the Act establishes additional bases for refusal where the applicant is found to be linked to foreign security agencies or power structures. In the case of temporary agency work, the requirement of a deposit of one month’s remuneration is replaced by a requirement of six months of prior actual economic activity, which will increase employers’ accountability and reduce the risk of abuse of the system.
In order to solve bottlenecks, new requirements are added for application for a residence permit to permanently settle in Estonia, such as mandatory completion of an adaptation programme and at least A2-level Estonian language skills. In addition, an amendment will facilitate the activities in Estonia for film crew members participating in the production of films and series. Upon starting work in growth companies, an expedited procedure for short-term employment is enabled, which will simplify the engagement of talent.
60 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and three were against it.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Maritime Safety Act and Other Acts (549 SE), initiated by the Government. It updates the regulations related to the operation of the Estonian State Fleet which began work in July 2023, including the pilotage service. Among other things, an amendment will allow the State Fleet to offer new paid services to the private sector.
The Act provides for the basis for the establishment of a register of bunker suppliers in the Estonian Maritime Document Exchange and the requirements for the operation thereof. It also increases the rates of the fines for violation of maritime safety requirements which, according to the explanatory memorandum, have remained unchanged for nearly 20 years.
65 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act.
Two Bills passed the second reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and the Economic Zone Act (strengthening maritime security) (565 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. Its aim is to strengthen maritime security in the Estonian maritime area. For this, the tasks of the Defence Forces and the use of direct coercion and military force will be specified.
The bill will ensure that the Defence Forces have sufficient flexibility to operate at sea, so that the Defence Forces would be ready to respond quickly to threats arising from the sea. According to the Bill, the Defence Forces will be given the right to respond to threats directed against the infrastructure ensuring the resilience of essential services in the Estonian maritime area, as well as national defence objects, ports and other civil engineering works and equipment.
The Bill will also specify the measures that the Defence Forces can use in the performance of its tasks in the Estonian economic zone. Currently, the state supervision tasks of the Defence Forces in the Estonian maritime area are primarily related to guarding the state border.
The Bill on Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act (570 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the second reading. It is intended to ensure among other things that religious organisations operating in Estonia cannot be used to incite hatred or violence.
The Estonian state 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 challenges that threaten national security and the security of society. According to the Bill, which was specified during the procedure, a church, congregation or monastery operating in Estonia may not be guided in its activities by a person or association located in a foreign country and having significant influence. Nor may it be linked by statute, contract or other documents, or economically, to a religious association, spiritual centre, governing body or spiritual leader located in a foreign country if they pose a threat to the security or constitutional or public order of the Estonian state. Such a threat may occur, among other things, when a spiritual centre, governing body, spiritual leader, person or association supports or has supported military aggression or has called for war, a terrorist crime or otherwise the unlawful use of armed force or violence.
The Bill will also specify 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 will be specified. It will be provided that if a congregation or monastery wishes to leave a church whose activities, statutes, or membership of the management board do not meet the requirements to be established, it will be possible to do so by adopting new statutes and to enter the amendments complying with the requirements into the register without the approval of the governing body of such church, insofar as obtaining such approval may not be realistic.
According to the Bill, churches and congregations that will need to bring their statutes, the membership of their management board, or their activities into line with the Act will have two months from the entry into force of the Act to do so.
Aleksandr Tšaplõgin, Aleksei Jevgrafov and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group, Varro Vooglaid from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Priit Sibul and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Peeter Tali from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Jaanus Karilaid also made a speech on behalf of Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Jaak Aab on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group.
The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and the Centre Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the plenary did not support the motion. 15 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension but 69 voted against it.
The sitting ended at 7.20 p.m.
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
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]
