The Riigikogu passed the Act reducing the expense allowances of members of the Riigikogu
At today’s sitting, the Riigikogu passed the Act lowering the rate for the expense allowances of members of the Riigikogu and three other Acts concerning the right to bring collective representative actions, the suspension of the procedures for new oil shale mining permits, and identity documents. In addition, the Riigikogu decided to increase Estonia’s holding in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Status of Member of Riigikogu Act (545 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Lauri Hussar, Toomas Kivimägi and Arvo Aller and Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group, the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group, the Estonian Reform Party Parliamentary Group and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group.
The Act lowers the upper limit for the reimbursement of work-related expenses of members of Riigikogu from 30 per cent to 25 percent of the salary of the members of the Riigikogu which is currently EUR 5,979.95. The salary of members of the Riigikogu changes on 1 April every year as a result of indexation.
As a result of the amendment, it will be possible for the state to save approximately 400,000 euro annually. In the opinion of the initiators of the bill, reducing the limit for the reimbursement of work-related expenses of members of Riigikogu by one-sixth is reasonable and the work of the 15th Riigikogu will not suffer as a result. Work-related expenses are reimbursed on the basis of expense receipts.
The Act enters into force on 1 January 2025.
During the debate, Lauri Laats took the floor on behalf of the Centre Party Group, Lauri Hussar on behalf of Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Aivar Kokk on behalf of Isamaa Parliamentary Group.
66 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and one was against. There was one abstention.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure and Other Acts (establishment of the collective representative action procedure) (334 SE), initiated by the Government. It transposes the European Union directive ensuring the availability of collective representative action to consumers in Member States. The Act aims to boost consumer confidence, to promote fair competition and to create a level playing field for undertakings operating in the internal market. It is a new opportunity in the Estonian legal space where competent authorities, and not consumers who have been harmed, can perform procedural acts in judicial proceedings.
Under the Act, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, the Financial Supervision Authority and the Data Protection Inspectorate as well as other qualified entities who will be entered on a list maintained by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications are given the right to bring collective representative actions. In addition, a court may give the right to bring action.
The Act sets the minimum number of consumers to accede to a claim in the case of a collective representative action – 10 people if a consumer association turns to court and 20 people if a state agency files a statement of claim. Collective representative action will be applied only in the event of infringement of collective interests of natural persons. The Act also provides that decisions made in collective representative actions will be made public, as there is a public interest in them due to the large number of consumers.
Qualified entities and organisations designated by Member States of the European Union and entered on the list maintained by the European Commission can bring cross-border representative actions.
69 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and two were against it.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Earth’s Crust Act (435 SE), initiated by the Government. It suspends the procedures for new oil shale mining permits until 1 January 2026.
According to the Act, authorisation procedures will have to be temporarily suspended until the climate impact of oil shale mining and use, and the measures that will help achieve Estonia’s climate objectives, and the needs and options for using oil shale will have been clarified. Suspension of authorisation procedures will not limit the current activities of oil shale companies.
The Act allows for derogations if an extension is to be carried out on an area bordering on an existing mine and a permit therefor already exists. Nor will the state extend the period of validity of the permits for the areas to be extended until 2026. Derogations will only be granted if this will help extract oil shale from the ground more expediently and do so in compliance with environmental requirements.
During the debate, Mait Klaassen took the floor on behalf of the Reform Party Group, Anti Poolamets on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Igor Taro on behalf of the Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Urmas Reinsalu on behalf of Isamaa Parliamentary Group.
55 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 21 were against it.
The Act on Amendments to the Identity Documents Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (497 SE), initiated by the Government, transposes the directive aimed at enhancing cooperation in consular protection for European Union citizens in the third countries in which the Member State is not represented.
The Act transposes the conditions and procedure for issuing the emergency travel document to unrepresented EU citizens in third countries. The EU Emergency Travel Document is a single-journey document allowing a person to return home in the event that their documents have been lost, stolen or destroyed during travel.
In addition, the EU Emergency Travel Document will be issued to Estonian citizens and aliens who reside in Estonia on the basis of a residence permit and who hold an alien’s passport, a temporary travel document or a travel document for a refugee or who are received by the country on the basis of a treaty. The new travel document will be replacing the current certificate of return and permit of return in such cases.
After arriving in Estonia, the emergency travel document will have to be returned to the Police and Border Guard Board which will forward it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for destruction. In order to keep records of returned emergency travel documents and to improve the efficiency of the procedure, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs may process their data in the database of professional acts of a consular officer and diplomatic passports.
67 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and three were against. There were two abstentions.
It was decided to increase Estonia’s holding in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
The Resolution of the Riigikogu “Increasing the Holding of the Republic of Estonia in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development” (542 OE), submitted by the Government, was passed at the sitting. The Riigikogu gives its consent to increase Estonia’s shareholding in the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development by 403 paid-in shares with a total value of EUR 4,030,000, to be paid to the bank within five years.
Implementation of the Resolution will involve an obligation for Estonia to pay for the subscribed shares in an amount of EUR 4,030,000 in equal instalments in 2025–2029. In total, the bank will issue 400,000 paid-in shares with a nominal value of four billion euro.
The purpose of increasing the bank’s paid-in capital is to strengthen the bank’s support for Ukraine both during the Russian aggression and later during the country’s recovery. According to the Bank’s estimates, the volume of these investments in Ukraine may grow to three billion euro a year in 2027–2032. The bank has invested more than 4.5 billion euro in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.
61 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Resolution and six were against it.
A Bill passed the second reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Adult Education Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (465 SE), initiated by the Government , passed the second reading . It will provide for the bases for carrying out micro-qualification instruction and make amendments to improve the quality of continuing education.
The Bill will amend the Adult Education Act by including the regulation on micro-qualifications. It will provide a definition of micro-qualifications, establish the workload of studies, determine the entities to carry out the instruction, and establish the requirements for micro-credentials.
According to the Bill, the workload of micro-qualification studies will be between five and 30 credits, and graduates will be awarded micro-credentials which will be registered in the Estonian Education Information System.
Higher education institutions may also designate a micro-qualification they offer as a micro-degree if at least half of the workload of the micro-degree curriculum is made up of degree-level subjects. Students will be able to apply for their micro-degree to be counted towards their formal studies when they continue their studies.
Under the Bill, the requirements for micro-qualification studies will be implemented from 1 September 2025.
Two Bills passed the first reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Medicinal Products Act (hospital exemption) (532 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. Its purpose is to ensure better availability of medicinal products made by way of the hospital exemption. ‘Hospital exemption’ means the making and use of a custom-made advanced therapy medicinal product, e.g. gene therapy, for the treatment of an individual patient where the usual authorised medicinal product is not available or there is no suitable clinical trial.
In 2022, the hospital exemption regulation was established which sets strict restrictions but a need to relax the restrictions has appeared in practice. The bill is intended to amend the conditions of the hospital exemption, allowing the preparation of advanced therapy medicinal products for a wider range of patients and removing the limit on the number of manufacturers and patients. It will also reduce administrative burden and shorten the terms for issuing permits. The hospital exemption promotes treatment options for patients with rare diseases and supports innovation and the development of high-technology therapies.
During the debate, Irja Lutsar took the floor on behalf of Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group.
The Bill on Amendments to an Act to Implement the Building Code and the Planning Act, the Environmental Charges Act and the Planning Act (acceleration of the deployment of renewable energy) (541 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. The amendments concern the provisions aiming to promote the deployment of renewable energy through various measures.
The amendment to an Act to Implement the Building Code and the Planning Act is linked to the amendments to the Planning Act proposed in this Bill. The amendment will regulate how the amendments to the procedure for creating a national designated spatial plan will apply to pending procedures. The amendment will mainly affect the authorities arranging the creation of national designated spatial plans.
The proposed amendments to the Environmental Charges Act are related to the charge for the production of electricity from wind energy.
The proposed amendments to the Planning Act are related to the legal provisions regulating the procedure for creating a national designated spatial plan and a municipal designated spatial plan. The amendments will specify the existing legal provisions, ensure the legal clarity of procedural provisions and facilitate the carrying out of the planning procedure. The amendments will mainly affect the authorities arranging the creation of national and municipal designated spatial plans. The purpose of the amendments to the planning procedure is to make the procedure related to renewable energy projects clearer and faster.
Mart Maastik took part in the debate on behalf of Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Evelin Poolamets on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Igor Taro on behalf of Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group. Minister of Climate Yoko Alender also took part in the debate.
Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 10 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 47 were against.
The sitting ended at 5.00 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
Maiki Vaikla
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