At today's sitting, the Riigikogu heard the report by Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur on the implementation of the long-term national development strategy “Estonia 2035”, granted consent to increasing the quota of Estonia in the International Monetary Fund and ratified the agreement between Estonia and Qatar for the elimination of double taxation.

The Riigikogu passed the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Grant of Consent to Increasing the Quota of the Republic of Estonia in the International Monetary Fund”  (440 OE), submitted by the Government. According to it, Estonia’s quota will increase by 121.8 million Special Drawing Rights (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), or about 150 million euro, after the quota review. In total, Estonia’s quota will be 365.4 million SDRs, or about 450 million euro.

At the same time, the contribution to increase the quota will mark the end of the 164-million-euro loan agreement between Eesti Pank and the IMF, which has not been used by the IMF. Thus, the volume of financial obligations to the IMF will not change significantly for Estonia, but the form of financial obligations will change.

The quota increase will be paid to the IMF by Eesti Pank. As long as Estonia does not need a loan from the IMF, the quota increase will not affect Eesti Pank’s balance sheet. The size of a country’s quota determines the country’s right to vote as well as the size of the loan it can request from the IMF in the event of a crisis.

68 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Resolution and nine were against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on the Ratification of the Agreement between  the Government of the Republic of Estonia and  the Government of the State of Qatar  for the Elimination of Double Taxation  with respect to Taxes on Income  and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance  and its Protocol  (450 SE), initiated by the Government. It ratifies the agreement between the Governments of Estonia and Qatar for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance and its protocol.

The agreement for the elimination of double taxation is broadly in line with the Model Convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The agreement prohibits the source state from taxing certain types of income, imposes a lower-than-usual tax rate or requires the residence state to introduce tax exemptions or deductions.

As at the beginning of May, Estonia has agreements for avoidance of double taxation in force with 63 countries. The purpose of the conventions is to facilitate investments between countries.

71 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act.

Minister of Defence made a report on the implementation of “Estonia 2035”

At the sitting, the Riigikogu heard the report by Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur on the implementation of the long-term national development strategy “Estonia 2035”. Prior to the report, the Riigikogu held a moment of silence in memory of the 14 members of the reconnaissance group of the Headquarters Company of the Baltic Peacekeeping Battalion who lost their lives in Kurkse disaster 27 years ago.

In his report, Pevkur said that Kurkse disaster was the greatest loss to the Estonian Defence Forces since the restoration of independence. “Those men sacrificed their lives on a training exercise, preparing to defend the Estonian people and our freedom if necessary. Today, 27 years later, we have to admit that the external threat to our current constitutional order has not been as great since 1991 as it will be in the coming years,” he said. He added that Russia’s year-on-year aggression towards its neighbours had escalated with the attack on Georgia in 2008 and with the attack on Crimea and eastern Ukraine in 2014, and Putin had launched a full-scale invasion in Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

According to the Minister of Defence, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has also made both us and other allies reassess our own defence readiness. “As NATO allies, we have together completely changed the principles of collective defence and have moved from a passive defence model to active defence. That is, that the Alliance has made it clear that we will defend ourselves from the first metre and, if necessary, by destroying the enemy also on enemy territory,” Pevkur said.

According to him, Estonia’s national defence is based on an independent defence capability and collective defence, underpinned by a strong defensive spirit. “Or, as I have defined it before, national defence is based on three pillars:  first, the will to defend, second, defence capability and, third, defence cooperation,” Pevkur noted in his report.

He expressed his conviction that everyone who has a role to play in helping Ukraine should make an extra effort right now to turn the tide of the war irreversibly towards a Ukrainian victory. “Because Ukraine’s victory will be our victory. And our long-term goal is to ensure that all people in Estonia feel confident that Estonia is a secure country with strong alliance relations, where our freedom and our people will endure through the ages,” said Pevkur.

During the debate, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Raimond Kaljulaid from the Social Democratic Party Group, Vladimir Arhipov from the Centre Party Group, Kalev Stoicescu from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group, Mati Raidma from the Reform Party Group and Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group took the floor.

A Bill passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Financial Supervision Authority Act and Other Acts (422 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu.   It will transpose into Estonian law the European Union’s digital operational resilience requirements for financial institutions in order to reduce the risk of disruption to business operations and essential services in the financial sector and the threat to information assets and financial assets that may be posed by cyber-attacks, technical failures as well as other operational errors.

In the future, financial entities will have to report major ICT-related incidents to the Financial Supervision Authority and the Information System Authority as well as to clients when an incident has an impact on their financial interests. Enterprises will have to have action plans so that in the event of attacks and disruptions it would be possible to limit damage and to resume the provision of services quickly. Mitigation of risks ensures the protection of data, clients’ trust, and the continuity of business operations.

Apart from certain exceptions, the Bill will influence the whole financial sector, including banks, insurance undertakings, and investment firms. Some companies will be subject to lighter regulation, and exemptions have been provided for microenterprises. The Bill will ensure conformity between the law regulating the activities of the national financial sector and the EU’s digital operational resilience requirements applicable to financial institutions.

In addition, on the basis of an EU Regulation, the Bill will increase the limits for insurance amounts of compulsory indemnity insurance contracts of insurance intermediaries.

Peeter Tali from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

Four Bills passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Medical Devices Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (grant of competence to the State Agency of Medicines) (448 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. According to it, the competence to engage in the field of medical devices will be transferred from the Health Board to the State Agency of Medicines. According to the Bill, officials who have so far been working in the field of medical devices at the Health Board will also be transferred to the State Agency of Medicines with their tasks.

In addition, the Bill will give the State Agency of Medicines the right to define what products are medical devices. The right of the competent authority to take decisions on the designation of products as medical devices is important both for the exercise of sectoral surveillance and in order that it would be possible to provide economic operators with the necessary clarity on the legal status of such products.

In order to reduce the administrative burden on healthcare institutions, the Bill will repeal the obligation to provide the competent authority for medical devices with documentation on devices manufactured and used in-house. Such devices are most commonly tools used for laboratory analyses, but they can also be a variety of software solutions as well as other tools used by the healthcare institution for medical purposes that they have not been able to obtain from the market as compliant.

In order to ensure the safety and performance of such devices as well, health care institutions must meet the conditions set out in European Union regulations, including to draw up documentation describing the manufacture and characteristics of devices for the majority of devices. According to the Bill, in the future, the competent authority will ask for additional data and documents only if necessary.

In addition, the Bill will give the Health Board access to data in the Health Information System for the exercise of national and administrative supervision. Currently, the Board can obtain the same data by requesting it from the data processor of the information system, but the explanatory memorandum states that it is faster and safer if the Board has direct access for processing the data.

During the debate, Irja Lutsar from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor.

The Bill on Amendments to the Anti-corruption Act (442 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will update the Act that has been in force since 2013 and will specify the regulation relating to procedural restrictions for public officials, in particular by clarifying the list of persons connected to a public official.

According to the Bill, persons close to the official are connected persons. In addition to kinship and kinship by descent, the actual social and emotional bond between people, such as sharing responsibilities, relying on each other, and trust, will have to be taken into account when defining a close relationship. Officials will be prohibited from making decisions and performing acts with respect to such persons and procedural restrictions will apply.

The Bill also specifies that if a public official is a connected person in a legal person to which he or she has been professionally assigned, he or she may not perform acts or make decisions in relation to himself or herself as a natural person, for example in matters concerning his or her own remuneration and benefits.  Under the Bill, a healthcare professional will not have to apply procedural restrictions in respect of a connected person if the provision of healthcare service does not create a substantial undue advantage for him or her or a person connected to him or her.

In addition, the Bill will also provide an obligation for the person submitting a declaration of interests to declare investments in crypto-assets and participations in crowdfunding projects and claims against crowdfunding projects. In the case of crypto-assets, their type and value and, in the case of an investment or claim regarding a crowdfunding project, the crowdfunding service provider and the value of the holding will have to be indicated in the declaration. In addition, under the Bill, the declarer of interests will also have an obligation to enter on the declaration data on whether he or she is a beneficial owner within the meaning of the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act.

The Bill on Amendments to the Waste Act (430 SE),  initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will make mostly technical amendments to the Act which will help understand more clearly the existing rules and will not change the existing principles.

The Bill will make it simpler and clearer to give away tyres. The creation of a single producer responsibility scheme will reduce costs through economies of scale, and, in the future, businesses and consumers will be able to bring unlimited quantities of scrap tyres to collection points free of charge. The Bill will also specify the terms of motor vehicle manufacturer and manufacturer of motor vehicle components. It will also specify the provisions relating to the security and insurance required when applying for an environmental permit for the storage of waste and the management of hazardous waste.

In addition, the formula for calculating the amount of insurance required upon the management of hazardous waste will be updated and the upper limit for the amount of insurance which is currently €320,000 will be abolished. In the case of both the security for the storage of waste and the insurance for operators of hazardous waste, there will be an obligation to regularly assess the adequacy of the amount of security or insurance and to increase it if necessary. In the case of waste storage, the Bill will introduce the possibility to use a deposit, i.e. an amount of security paid into an account designated therefor, as one type of financial security.

The Bill will clearly outline the requirements for the buying up and reception of products of concern to reduce disputes and ensure proper waste management. In addition, the limitation period for misdemeanours concerning violation of the obligation to take back, collect, recover, and dispose of waste generated by products of concern will be extended from two to four years.

During the debate, Riina Solman from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Lauri Laats from the Estonian Centre Party Parliamentary Group took the floor.

The Bill on Amendments to the Earth’s Crust Act (435 SE),  initiated by the Government, also passed the first reading. It will suspend the procedures for new oil shale mining permits for the time when the Climate Act is being drafted, that is, until the end of 2025.

According to the explanatory memorandum, authorisation procedures will have to be temporarily suspended until the climate impact of oil shale mining and use, the measures that will help achieve Estonia’s climate objectives, and the needs and options for using oil shale have been clarified. Suspension of authorisation procedures will not limit the current activities of oil shale companies.

Derogations will be allowed under the Bill 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, Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group and Arvo Aller from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group took the floor.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group and the Centre Party Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading, but the motion was not supported. 11 members of the Riigikogu supported rejection and 43 were against.

Two Bills were dropped from legislative proceedings

The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (329 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group. It was intended to end the grant and payment of parental benefit to people who are staying and working in Estonia under a temporary basis for stay.

The Social Affairs Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 42 members of the Riigikogu supported rejection and six were against it.

The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading  the Bill on Amendments to § 27 of the Preschool Child Care Institutions Act  (319 SE),  initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group. It was intended to lower the maximum rate of participation of parents in nursery fees and to harmonise and improve the situation in different regions of Estonia. In the opinion of initiators, a reduction in the upper limit for nursery fees would have been necessary in connection with the rise in the minimum wage rate and the fact that nursery fees differ by several times.

The Cultural Affairs Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 43 members of the Riigikogu supported rejection and six were against.

The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (388 SE), initiated by the Centre Party Group, and the Bill on Amendments to the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act and the Vocational Educational Institutions Act (404 SE), initiated by the Centre Party Group, was cancelled at the sitting due to the absence of the presenter.

The sitting ended at 8.06 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]