At its plenary sitting on Wednesday, the Riigikogu heard the overview of the administration of courts, by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Villu Kõve, passed two Acts and concluded the second reading of 13 Bills. The second reading of the Bill raising child benefits was adjourned due to the end of the working hours and it will continue at the sitting beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

Kõve said before the Riigikogu that the administration of justice was ensured in Estonia, it was impartial, court cases were generally adjudicated within reasonable periods of time, and everyone could have recourse to the courts to protect his or her rights. At the same time, in his words, there are also worrying tendencies and problems that remain unsolved.

Kõve pointed out the overall growth in the number of court cases, because of which courts were finding it increasingly challenging to manage their workload. At the same time, the pace of court proceedings is slowly but steadily declining. “The main point of concern that I would like to highlight here is connected with the internal concerns of the judicial system: an overload of courts, a generational shift among judges and the problems with legal education,” he said.

In his words, in recent years, some steps have indeed been taken to mitigate the situation, for example, more positions of judges have been created and cases have been reallocated on a one-off basis, but this is still too little. “In judges’ opinion, it will still be necessary to significantly increase the number of judges and the funding of the judicial system. I also noted already last year that, in addition, a transition to overall nation-wide allocation of court cases could be considered. A review of the courts network could result in financial saving. There are also opportunities to economise in the optimisation of proceedings,” Kõve said.

In addition, in Kõve’s words, judges think there should be more social guarantees: the judge’s work ability allowance should be reintroduced, and long-serving judges would also be motivated by additional remuneration depending on the length of service. “The establishment of additional management structures in large courts and the possibility to realise one’s potential thereby might also be an additional motivator and I hope that it will indeed be done. In order to maintain motivation and to improve skills, judges should be allowed to rotate and, in particular, to return to office more extensively and simply between other courts, agencies of executive power, educational institutions and organisations,” Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said.

The Riigikogu passed two Acts

The Riigikogu passed with 63 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Health Services Organisation Act and Other Associated Acts (569 SE), initiated by the Government, which harmonises the current fragmented databases in order to ensure that the data in the national register of health care professionals, the national register of pharmacists and assistant pharmacists and the national register of activity licences for the provision of health services will be managed uniformly in a new information system. Thus, the essentially intertwined registers will be consolidated into a new health care management information system.

In addition, the Act provides for the possibility of digital registration of health care professionals. The registration of health care professionals will begin to take place on the basis of the Estonian personal identification code on the self-service portal of the Health Board. If the data certifying the qualifications of the person are contained in the Estonian Education Information System, the decision on the registration as a health care professional will be made automatically in the future. Currently, in addition to applications, documents certifying education must be submitted on paper or as photocopies. For people who do not have an Estonian personal identification code, the registration process will remain the same compared to the Health Services Organisation Act.

The Riigikogu passed with 67 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Aviation Act and Other Acts (524 SE), initiated by the Government. It organises the requirements for state aviation, creates a basis for mainly the establishment of geographical zones and temporary geographical zones to restrict the flight of unmanned aerial vehicles, and organises the requirements relating to the use of airspace for national defence purposes.

According to the amendment, the Estonian Air Navigation Services will be assigned national defence tasks: to ensure the provision of the air traffic service, the communication, navigation and surveillance service and the air navigation service. The specific manner in which the Estonian Air Navigation Services will help the Defence Forces will be outlined the airspace control plan established by the Commander of the Defence Forces.

With a view to ensuring aviation safety, it is provided that owners and possessors of open firing ranges and field firing ranges must forward to the Transport Administration the coordinates of the firing range before a firing range is taken into use in order that pilots and remote pilots could take it into account when choosing their routes and flight altitudes.

In addition, the amendments will allow construction works necessary to ensure national security or to resolve emergencies to be established under simplified procedure, that is, faster than usual. A decision on whether a construction works is necessary to ensure national security or resolve emergencies will be made by the Government on a proposal of the minister responsible for the sector which among other things will contain relevant threat assessments.

13 Bills passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Performing Arts Institutions Act and the National Opera Act (419 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. It will make the funding of performing arts institutions clearer and more flexible and will update the working processes of performing arts institutions.

The purpose of the Bill is to better support the diversity of the performing arts institutions sector and the availability of performing arts across Estonia. The Bill will reduce the obligations and administrative burden of performing arts institutions. At the same time, all organisers of public performances and concerts will have an additional obligation to disclose information on the accessibility of performances and concert and their venues to people with special needs. The amendment of the Act will affect all performing arts institutions in Estonia, which number about 50.

In order that it would not become complicated for residents to acquire theatre tickets, performing arts institutions will be supported from the state budget in the future as well, and this will also be done in the case of municipal and private performing arts institutions, besides performing arts institutions operating as foundations established by the state. During the second reading, the Bill was amended to provide that, when granting subsidies to performing arts institutions, the volume of work relating to the creative activity of a performing arts institution will also be used as a reference unit in order to ensure that the subsidies granted to performing arts institutions will be mutually comparable as units. The more detailed description of the funding system will be provided for by a regulation of a minister, in order that it would be easier to keep the regulation up to date.

The list of the objectives for subsidising performing arts institutions was amended as well. According to the Bill, the objective for subsidising municipal performing arts institutions and private performing arts institutions will be to ensure the diversity of the performing arts sector and regional availability of performances. During the second reading, the objective of the promotion of national culture was added. A provision was included in the Bill under which the body granting the subsidy will form a committee for the allocation of the subsidy granted to performing arts institutions from the state budget.

In addition, the Bill was amended by adding a provision that will allow the director of a performing arts institution to be appointed without competition for up to one year if a vacant position of the director of a performing arts institution operating as a foundation cannot be filled under public competition for a good reason.

Indrek Saar from the Social Democratic Party Faction took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Fertilisers Act, the Chemicals Act and the Product Conformity Act (614 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will harmonise and update the manufacturing and quality requirements for fertilizers marketed in the European Union.

The current system based on a list of types of fertilizers will be replaced with a more flexible one. Fertilisers will be divided into product function categories, and raw materials eligible for use in the production of fertilisers will be divided into component material categories. The new requirements for the manufacturing and marketing of fertilizers will mark a transition to an approach based on circular economy. This means that, in the future, by-products of various branches of industry will be allowed to be recovered as fertilising products. As a result of this, it will be easier for manufacturers to combine products based on different component materials, and the range of fertilising products will be expanded.

The Bill on Amendments to the Law of Ship Flag and Registers of Ships Act and the Maritime Safety Act (571 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic, passed the second reading. The Bill will create a legal basis for the adoption of the Ships Information System. The aim of the IT-development will be to update the inspection of ships and issuing of certificate, which up to now has greatly been based on paper documents, and to consolidate the existing registers of containing data on ships.

The new information system will be interfaced with different parties via X-Road in order to ensure up-to-date data, cross-use and exchange of information as well as modern e-services for ships. The aim of the amendment is to contribute to the increase of the competitiveness of the Estonian shipping sector.

The Bill on Amendments to the Natural Gas Act and Other Acts (596 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. The purpose of the Bill is to ensure the resilience of Estonian gas system in the event of prolonged interruptions to gas supply.

The Bill will create a regulation to ensure the continuity of the gas system and to cover the costs relating to the storage of a strategic gas reserve. According to the Bill, from 1 May 2023, the costs of managing the gas reserve will be covered from the stockpiling fee collected from balance providers. The costs of storage for the first year will be covered from the state budget.

The Bill will also specify the obligation to coordinate the conditions for the use and the methodology for calculating the tariffs for the use of LNG terminals. The Competition Act will be amended by adding a regulation concerning the obligation of LNG terminal operators to contribute to the budget of the Competition Authority as regulated persons.

In addition, the amendments will impose an obligation on possessors of wind power stations to pay a charge to local governments and local residents from 1 July next year to facilitate renewable energy generation. According to an amendment, people residing up to three kilometres away from a land-based wind turbine will begin to receive a charge in an amount of up to six months’ minimum wage. In the case of offshore wind farms, the local government whose coastline is closer than 20 kilometres to a wind farm will receive a charge calculated according to a formula. Fishery undertakings will begin to receive a compensation in the case when their catch diminishes because of a wind power station. The obligation to pay a wind turbine charge will not extend to the wind farms that are already operating.

During the debate, Annely Akkermann and Kristen Michal from the Reform Party Faction, Andres Metsoja from Faction Isamaa and Peeter Ernits from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction took the floor.

The Bill on Amendments to the Public Procurement Act (610 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. The amendments to be made will enable the implementation of the sanctions imposed by the EU. Under an EU sanction, it is prohibited to award any public contract to or continue the execution of any public contract with a person who is a citizen or resident of the Russian Federation or an undertaking established there.

The Bill provides that, in the event of doubt, contracting authorities and entities will have the right to require additional data and certificates from the economic operators participating in procurement procedures to check that no sanction is involved. The grounds for exclusion and for rejection of tenders will also be amended by including both international and Government sanctions. In addition, it will be possible to extraordinarily terminate early the contracts already awarded to which subjects of sanctions are parties.

The Bill on Amendments to the Police and Border Guard Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (532 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. It will make the amendments necessary to adopt the Entry/Exit System (EES). The objectives of the EES are to enhance the management of the external borders of the European Union, to reduce irregular immigration and to contribute to the prevention and disruption of terrorism and other serious crime.

The system is established for the recording of the date, time and place of entry and exit of third-country nationals crossing the external borders; the calculation of the duration of the authorised stay of such third-country nationals; and the generation of alerts to Member States when the authorised stay has expired. The EES is also for the recording of the date, time and place of refusal of entry of third-country nationals whose entry for a short stay has been refused, as well as the authority of the Member State which refused the entry and the reasons therefor.

The establishment of the system was provided by a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 2017. Although it is a directly applicable EU legal act, Member States have been given the right to specify the provisions of the Regulation in some issues. So, the Bill specifies authorities’ rights of access to EES data, the rights to enter data into the EES, the tasks of the central access point, the authorisations to access EES data for law enforcement purposes, and issues relating to access to, rectification, completion and erasure of the data in the EES, and restriction of the processing thereof.

The Bill on Amendments to the Law Enforcement Act, the Child Protection Act and the Act on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Precursors thereof (573 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. According to the Bill, a new government committee, a prevention council, will be formed of the Child Protection Council, the Offence Prevention Council and the Government Committee on Drug Prevention for better coordination of cross-sectoral prevention. At present, the prevention of offences and risk behaviour is fragmented, and the resource is directed particularly at the consequences of risk behaviour.

The prevention council will begin to manage cross-sectoral prevention, which will involve the development of purposeful prevention policies and the organisation of cooperation on prevention between ministries and other partners. The function of the council will be to strategically prioritise, set the directions of and coordinate cross-sectoral activities in organising drug, criminal and child protection policies, including advising the Government on these issues.

The Bill on Amendments to the Imprisonment Act and the Probation Supervision Act (580 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. The Bill will specify the provisions relating to the organisation of work of the prison service with a view to organising the work of the prison service more flexibly where necessary. This means, for example, the possibility of organising some of prison’s tasks through a central structural unit or place of service.

The amendments will give the Minister of Justice more opportunities to organise the work of the prison system and to allocate the tasks provided for by law. The Bill will also update the provisions on service law in the Imprisonment Act and eliminate specifications where it is more expedient to follow the Civil Service Act.

The Bill on Amendments to the Criminal Records Database Act, the Penal Code and the Child Protection Act (581 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. The purpose of the Bill is to enhance the control over the people to whom the prohibition on working with children is applied, that is, who are not allowed to work with children because of the offences they have committed.

According to the Bill, in the future, checks on whether a person is allowed to work with children will have to be carried out at the time of hiring, as well as once every 12 months. Systematic failure to comply with the obligation to carry out the checks will be punishable under misdemeanour procedure, and a legal person may be imposed a fine of up to 32,000 euro for failing to carry out the checks. The Bill will also give the legal representatives of children the right to check with a query, without having to pay a state fee, if, for example, the person to be employed as a child carer is allowed to work with children.

The Bill will also update the list of offences in the case of which the names of the persons punished for such offences are not replaced by initials or letter combinations in court decisions, as well as the list of offences in the case of which the persons punished for such offences are not allowed to work with children. Besides that, the Bill will resolve a legal impediment that prevents imposing the supervision of conduct after service of sentence on persons who fail to inform the court of their place of residence.

The Bill on Amendments to the Citizenship Act (582 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will give the Government the right to make a discretionary decision that a person who has acquired Estonian citizenship by naturalisation is deprived of citizenship if he or she enters the public service or military service or a military organisation of a foreign state and if such a service involves a threat to public order or national security. For example, this will enable people who go to fight in Ukraine on the Russian side to be deprived of Estonian citizenship.

According to the Bill, a person who has acquired Estonian citizenship by naturalisation may also be deprived of citizenship by the Government in the case when the person is convicted of crimes against humanity or crimes of aggression.

At the same time, according to the Bill, the Government will have the right to not deprive a person of Estonian citizenship if the person’s service in the foreign country does not endanger Estonia’s security, for example if the person goes to war on the Ukrainian side in order to defend the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the Ukrainian state. At the same time, the state does not recommend Estonian citizens to go to fight for any foreign country, as the state cannot ensure protection of Estonian citizens in areas of military conflict.

The Bill on Amendments to the Government of the Republic Act (595 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the second reading. It will update the regulations relating to the Government. The Bill will organise the restrictions on activities in place for members of the Government for the time they are in office and will explicitly prohibit members of the Government to be members of the management boards and supervisory boards of public limited companies, private limited companies and commercial associations.

Under a new restriction, a member of the Government may not, within half a year after he or she is released from office, act as a member of the management or controlling body in a legal person governed by private law that falls within the area of government of the ministry he or she has been directing if, during his or her term of office, he or she has made decisions with a significant impact concerning the activities of the legal person or if the legal person has contractual relationships with the ministry he or she has been directing.

Under the Bill, no dwelling provided by the employer will be granted to members of the Government anymore. According to the Bill, from 2023, this will be substituted with a possibility to receive a housing expenses allowance to the extent of up to 15 per cent of the salary in the case when a minister is residing outside the municipality that is the location of the ministry or the municipalities bordering on it. Thus, the regulation will become more similar to the compensation of housing expenses for members of the Riigikogu. According to the Bill, the payment of the compensation paid upon termination of the authority of a member of the Government will also change. The Bill will amend the bases in the case of which no compensation is paid and will make the amount of the compensation dependent on the time served as a member of the Government.

In addition, the Bill will specify the tasks of the Government Office, and the employment contracts of heads of administered state authorities entered into for an unspecified term will be made employment contracts entered into for a specified term.

The Bill on Amendments to the Population Register Act (609 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will allow local governments to terminate the validity of the data on residence of a person who has left Estonia if his or her address had been entered in the register to an accuracy of city and city district or rural municipality. The local authority will have to establish beforehand that the person is not residing in its territory or anywhere else in Estonia and identify that no data of the person’s place of stay, for example, a social welfare institution, has been entered in the register.

According to the explanatory memorandum, there have been cases where local governments have hesitated whether to enter the data on residence of Ukrainian war refugees into the register to an accuracy of local government, as under the current Act it is impossible later to terminate the validity of such data if no new notice of residence is submitted, even if it can be presumed that the person has left Estonia. The Bill will give local governments the relevant right which will apply to war refugees as well as to everyone else whose place of residence is registered to an accuracy of local government.

The Bill on Amendments to the State Borders Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (630 SE), initiated by Faction Isamaa and the Government, also passed the second reading. Its aim is to ensure the protection of public order and national security in a mass immigration emergency, at the same time taking into account the provisions of EU and international law as well as case law.

The Bill provides that, in the event of a threat to public order or national security, the Police and Border Guard Board may, in emergencies caused by mass immigration, refuse to accept an application for international protection from an alien who has crossed the external border illegally and send them back without issuing a precept to leave or making a decision on prohibition on entry. Immediate removal of an alien who has come across the border illegally is permitted only in the event of a threat to public order or national security and on the condition that they have not used the option of entering Estonia legally, that is, through an open border crossing point.

According to the Bill, the Police and Border Guard Board may designate border crossing points where applications for international protection are registered. In an emergency, the Police and Border Guard Board may refuse to accept applications submitted outside such locations. At the same time, the Bill also provides that, in a mass immigration emergency, in the event of a threat to public order or national security, an alien who submits an application at a designated location may also be deemed to be an applicant for international protection. The Bill also provides that the Police and Border Guard Board can allow an alien to Estonia for humane considerations.

The Bill also provides for more flexible involvement of the Defence Forces and the Defence League in situations where the resources of the Police and Border Guard Board are insufficient. Currently, the Defence Forces or the Defence League can be involved in prevention and obstruction of an illegal crossing of the state border or a temporary control line for a period not exceeding 30 days, but if in a changed security situation a need arises to extend the involvement it will be possible to do this by 30 days as a maximum, according to the Bill.

One draft resolution was not supported

The Riigikogu did not adopt the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a Proposal to the Government of the Republic” (613 OE), submitted by the Social Democratic Party Faction. It was intended to make a proposal to the Government to initiate a Bill to apply a lower VAT rate on food products produced according to the requirements of organic farming. In the initiators’ words, a reduction in VAT would support local organic production and make the price of organic food more favourable to consumers. At the same time, the need for mineral fertilisers imported from Russia would decrease in Estonia.

During the debate, Merry Aart from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction and Ivari Padar from the Social Democratic Party Faction took the floor.

In the final vote on the draft resolution, nine members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the Resolution. However, the support of at least 51 members of the Riigikogu would have been needed for it to be passed.

The deliberation of five Bills will be deferred

The second reading of three Bills was cancelled at Wednesday’s sitting of the Riigikogu. Because the documents of the Bills had not been made available by the required time, the Riigikogu could not deliberate the Bill on Amendments to the State Fees Act (598 SE), initiated by the Government, the Bill on Amendments to the Working Conditions of Employees Posted to Estonia Act, the Employment Contracts Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act (599 SE), initiated by the Government, and the Bill on Amendments to the Mental Health Act and the Health Services Organisation Act (600 SE), initiated by the Government.

The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (619 SE), initiated by 54 members of the Riigikogu, was adjourned due to the end of working hours. The Bill will raise 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 subsequent children. According to the Bill, the allowance for families with many children will rise from 300 euro to 700 euro per month for families with three to six children, and from 400 euro to 900 euro for families with seven or more children. 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, the allowance would be indexed by 1 April of each 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.

During the debate, Margit Sutrop, Toomas Kivimägi, Jürgen Ligi, Õnne Pillak, Signe Kivi and Heidy Purga from the Reform Party Faction, Mihhail Stalnuhhin from the Centre Party Faction, Aivar Kokk, Priit Sibul, Andres Metsoja and Tarmo Kruusimäe from Faction Isamaa and Riina Sikkut and Helmen Kütt from the Social Democratic Party Faction took the floor.

The Riigikogu began to review the motions to amend the Bill at about 11.15 p.m. By the end of Wednesday’s sitting, the plenary had voted on 52 of the 1191 motions entered on the list of motions to amend. The reviewing of the motions to amend will continue at the plenary sitting beginning at 10 a.m. on Thursday.

The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Local Government Organisation Act and Associated Acts (626 SE), initiated by the Government, will also be postponed from the agenda for Wednesday’s sitting of the Riigikogu due to the end of the working hours.

The sitting ended at 9.33 a.m.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

The video recording of the sitting will be available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel. (Please note that the recording will be uploaded with a delay.)

Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
Phone: +372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
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