The Riigikogu supported the passing of the Bills that had been declared to be a matter of confidence
The Riigikogu passed two Acts and concluded the first reading of one Bill
59 member of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Accessibility of Products and Services Act (511 SE), initiated by the Government. 27 were against.
The Act transposes the relevant European Union directive on the accessibility requirements for products and services.
During the proceedings, 404 motions to amend the Bill were submitted which were not incorporated and were not subject to a vote as the Act had been declared to be a matter of confidence.
The Act provides for assuring every person with special needs that they will not experience difficulties when using products and services but will find alternative formats to use products and consume services. Thereby the aim is to shape a more inclusive society in order to simplify the independent living of people with functional limitations.
The Act provides for the accessibility requirements for products and services falling within the scope of the Accessibility Directive, the obligations of economic operators to ensure accessibility, the assessment of conformity with the accessibility requirements, and the presumption of conformity and the state supervision and liability. It also adopts terms that have not been legally defined so far and that need to be defined in view of the definitions used in the transposition of the directive.
According to the Act, for example, self-service terminals and automated teller machines will have to be made accessible so that they could be conveniently used by people in wheelchairs, as well as children, short adults and the elderly. The amendments provided for in the Act concern economic operators who will have the obligation to meet the proposed requirements. The requirements will not be applied to service providers which are microenterprises, that is, enterprises which employ fewer than 10 persons and which have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 2 million.
Compared to the initial version, two amendments have been included in the Act, according to which the amendments to the Media Services Act are included. The requirement to assess disabled people’s access to audiovisual media services will be brought forward by one year. Under the Media Services Act, post-legislative scrutiny will have to be carried out in 2025 at the latest. According to the Act, it will have to be in 2024 at the latest. The post-legislative scrutiny requirement has already been in place since 2011. Media service providers are required to submit a relevant report to the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority every year. In addition, the deadline for the Minister of Culture to establish the requirements for disabled people’s access to audiovisual media services (e.g., sign language translation, subtitles, etc.) will be brought forward. According to the current procedure, the Regulation of the minister is due to enter into force on 1 January 2026; however, according to the Act, it will have to enter into force on 28 June 2025.
During the debate, Kert Kingo (Estonian Conservative People’s Party Party), Jüri Jaanson (Reform Party), Helir-Valdor Seeder (Isamaa) and Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party Party) took the floor.
55 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the Act on Amendments to the Defence Forces Organisation Act and Other Acts (transfer of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board to the area of government of the Ministry of Defence) (572 SE) and 25 voted against.
The Act creates the legal bases for the transfer of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board to the Defence Forces from 1 January 2023.
During the proceedings, 270 motions to amend the Bill were submitted which were not incorporated and were not subject to a vote as the Act had been declared to be a matter of confidence.
According to the amendments, the Defence Forces will be responsible for creating maritime situational awareness, guarding the maritime border, and detecting and eliminating marine pollution in the Estonian marine area. The Defence Forces will also begin to be responsible for maritime surveillance, including to manage and operate a maritime surveillance system, ensuring among other things the availability of the service to domestic partners such as the Police and Border Guard Board and the Transport Administration. The Police and Border Guard Board will continue to manage marine rescue, involving the Defence Forces in search and rescue at sea as necessary.
In addition, the Defence Forces will exercise state supervision in the territorial sea over the conformity of the equipment of recreational craft, ships with an overall length of less than 12 metres and personal watercraft, provide the marine assistance service, respond to emergencies at sea and provide professional assistance to other agencies, in particular outside the navigation period. For guarding the maritime border and ensuring maritime safety, the Defence Forces are given law enforcement powers and the right to use direct coercion. The Defence Forces are also given law enforcement powers to perform initial procedures for intervention in the event of threats to human life and health in small islands and the marine area.
The aim of the reform is to improve the situational awareness and response capability in the Estonian marine area, including to simplify the chain of command in order to ensure Estonia’s independent defence capabilities and the preconditions for allies to respond to conflicts taking place in the region. The consolidation of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board under the Defence Forces will ensure better performance of national defence tasks with the existing ships both in peace time and in situations of threat. During threat situations, the ships to be transferred will have both a security and a civil role.
Compared to the initial version, three motions to amend have been included in the Act. According to the amendments, it is expressly pointed out that the Defence Forces may apply state supervision only on the decision of the Police and Border Guard Board on the basis of urgent competence. In addition, the Act is brought into conformity with the Act on the harmonisation of special services. At the same time, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, an amendment is made that omits from the State Borders Act the provision restricting the activities of the Defence Forces that would not allow stopping military vessels.
During the debate, Leo Kunnas (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Kaido Höövelson (Centre Party), Mati Raidma (Reform Party), Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Heiki Hepner (Isamaa), Riho Breivel (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Mihhail Lotman (Isamaa), Mart Helme (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) and Minister of Defence Kalle Laanet took the floor.
The Riigikogu concluded the first reading of one Bill
The Riigikogu concluded the first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (619 SE), initiated by 54 members of the Riigikogu.
The Bill provides for raising the child allowance for the first and second child from EUR 60 to EUR 100, that is, to the same level as the child allowance for the third and each subsequent child. According to the Bill, the child allowance will be EUR 100 per month equally for each child.
According to the Bill, the allowance for families with three to six children will be raised from EUR 300 to EUR 700, and the allowance for families with seven or more children from EUR 400 to EUR 900 per month. In order that the allowance for families with many children would continue to be proportional to the rise in the standard of living, and that the amount of the allowance would not need to be changed every year, according to the Bill, the allowance will be indexed by 1 April of each calendar year. The value of the index will depend to the extent of 20 per cent on the annual increase in the consumer price index and to the extent of 80 per cent on the annual increase in the receipt of the pension insurance part of social tax. The index will be expressed to an accuracy of three decimal places. The allowance for families with many children will not be indexed if the value of the index is less than 1.000. This means that the allowance for families with many children will not decrease when the standard of living falls.
The Bill will also amend the system for reducing the allowance for families with many children. According to the Bill, the allowance for families with many children will be paid in the full amount for as long as the family is raising at least three children who are minors. For families with a total of three or more children only two of whom are minors, the allowance for families with many children will begin to be reduced proportionally by one-third.
During the debate, representatives of factions Siim Kallas (Reform Party), Jaak Valge (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Heljo Pikhof (Social Democratic Party), Siret Kotka (Centre Party) and Aivar Kokk (Isamaa) took the floor.
The Estonian Reform Party Faction moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. The result of voting: 32 votes in favour and 56 against. The motion was not supported. The first reading was concluded. The deadline for submission of motions to amend was set at 3 p.m. on 1 June.
The sitting ended at 8.36 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.
(Please note that the recording will be uploaded with a delay.)
Riigikogu Press Service
Gunnar Paal,
+372 631 6351, +372 5190 2837
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