The Riigikogu appointed Ivi Proos as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Estonia

NordenBladet —

At its today’s sitting, the Riigikogu decided to appoint Ivi Proosi as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Estonia.

The Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Appointment of a Member of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Estonia” (528 OE), submitted by the Finance Committee, provides for the appointment of Ivi Proos as a member of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Estonia. The draft Resolution was submitted because the mandate of Kaie Kerem, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Estonia who was a specialist in the field, terminated prematurely due to her death. On 18 January, the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Bank of Estonia made the proposal to the Finance Committee to appoint Ivi Proos as a member of the Supervisory Board.

The Supervisory Board of the Bank of Estonia is the oversight body of the Bank of Estonia and it consists of a Chairman, representatives of the political groups of the Riigikogu and specialists of the field. The principle to govern the forming of the Supervisory Board is that each faction of the Riigikogu nominates one of its members and the Chairman of the Board nominates four specialists of the field. Under the Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank) Act, the members of the Supervisory Board are appointed by the Riigikogu at the proposal of the Finance Committee.

61 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Resolution and 13 voted against.

One Bill passed the second reading 

The Bill on Amendments to the Road Transport Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (490 SE), initiated by the Government, will bring the Road Transport Act, the Working Conditions of Employees Posted to Estonia Act and other Acts into conformity with the directives and directly applicable regulations of the European Union road package. The aim of the road package is to ensure adequate working conditions and social protection for drivers and the conditions for fair competition for road transport operators.

In international road transport for hire or reward, motor vehicles and combinations of vehicles with a permissible laden mass exceeding 2.5 tonnes but not exceeding 3.5 tonnes will also be subject to Community licence requirement. In order to obtain a licence, the carrier has to have, among other things, a transport manager who has completed the necessary training and is responsible for the road transport activities organised at the carrier.

For the transposition of the directive, it will be necessary to establish implementing provisions extending the requirements of the Posted Workers Directive to the road transport sector. Therefore, in the future, drivers engaged in road transport in other countries will have to be paid remuneration at least in the amount of the minimum remuneration in the country where the posting takes place, including overtime remuneration, etc. This will apply in cases when, by agreement of the parties, remuneration is paid in the minimum amount, and the minimum remuneration in the country where the posting takes place is higher than the minimum remuneration in the driver’s home country.

During the debate, Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) and Sven Sester (Isamaa) took the floor.

Two Bills were dropped from legislative proceedings 

The Bill on Amendments to the Value Added Tax Act (496 SE), initiated by Faction Isamaa, provides for the VAT on gas, electricity and thermal energy to be reduced to nine per cent in order to thereby reduce the impact of the price hike on Estonian consumers and businesses.

During the debate, Aivar Kokk (Isamaa), Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party) and Jürgen Ligi (Reform Party) took the floor.

The lead committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 42 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 27 voted against. Thus, the motion was supported and the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.

The Bill on Amendments to the Local Government Organisation Act (498 SE), initiated by Faction Isamaa, provides that, in the future, the previous municipal council will determine the salaries and compensations to be paid to rural municipality mayors and city mayors, salaried city government members and chairmen and deputy chairmen of municipal councils.

During the debate, Toomas Kivimägi (Reform Party) and Heiki Hepner (Isamaa) took the floor.

The lead committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 53 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 17 voted against. Thus, the motion was supported and the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.

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.)

Source: Parliament of Estonia