The Riigikogu passed 19 legal acts

At today’s sitting, the Riigikogu passed 19 legal acts. Among them, parliament passed the state budget for 2023, supported the increasing of family allowances and the benefits for repressed persons and persons sent to eliminate the effects of a nuclear disaster, established the regulation for funding the general care service provided outside the home of a person on a 24-hour basis and made the Estonian Literature Day a day of national importance.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Associations Act and Other Acts (641 SE), initiated by the Government. The amendments made will resolve problems that have arisen in practice in issues concerning apartment ownerships and apartment associations.

While currently for example a developer can submit an application for the establishment of apartment ownerships in the Digital Land Register, in the future, such transactions will have to be notarised. The Act allows apartment associations with up to ten apartments to maintain their accounts on a cash basis and the obligation to submit annual reports will be eliminated. At the same time, this amendment will not apply to apartment associations that have an administrator.

In addition, the amendments give local governments an opportunity to establish a conciliation body acting under the Conciliation Act for disputes concerning apartment ownerships and apartment associations. This will enable disputes to be settled more affordably and quickly than by court actions.

During the debate, Marek Jürgenson from the Centre Party Faction took the floor.

78 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and one was against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Commercial Code and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (cross-border movement of companies) (713 SE), initiated by the Government. It transposes into Estonian law the EU directive regulating cross-border conversions, mergers, and divisions. The directive adopted in 2019 opens up opportunities for companies in the EU single internal market and fosters economic growth and competition.

While cross-border merger of private limited liability companies and public limited liability companies is possible now as well, the Act introduces cross-border division and cross-border conversion as new possibilities. At the same time, the control over the conditions for cross-border movement will be tightened. For example, it will not be possible if restructuring, bankruptcy or criminal proceedings have been commenced in respect of the company. The provisions on the protection of the interests of members, creditors and employees are also amended significantly. Among other things, in the future, the involvement and participation of employees in the cross-border movement of companies will be better ensured.

At the same time, the verification obligation of the registrar in the issuing of cross-border movement certificates is amended. The registrar will have to follow more widely the motives for cross-border movement. There will also be an obligation to cooperate with other authorities in the issuing of certificates in order to minimise the use of cross-border movement for malicious or criminal purposes.

62 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 14 voted against.

The Riigikogu passed with 70 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Public Holidays and Days of National Importance Act and the Estonian Flag Act (635 SE), initiated by the Government. It makes the Estonian Literature Day a day of national importance and a flag flying day. It will be celebrated on the anniversary of the birth of Estonian author Anton Hansen Tammsaare on 30 January. The aim of the new day of national importance will be to pay attention to the role of Estonian literature and writers in the Estonian culture and society and to encourage people to read more literature in Estonian.

As another amendment, the days on which the Song Celebration, the Dance Celebration and the Youth Song and Dance Celebration take place are declared flag flying days as well in order to show the national extent and meaning of the Song and Dance Celebration movement, to pay homage to all those who have been upholding the tradition of the Song and Dance Celebration over 150 years and to acknowledge those who are carrying on the tradition. On flag flying days, state and local government agencies and legal persons in public law hoist the Estonian flag.

During the debate, Jaak Juske from the Social Democratic Party Faction and Üllar Saaremäe from Faction Isamaa took the floor.

The Riigikogu passed with 70 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Electronic Communications Act (659 SE), initiated by the Government. It creates a legal basis for the adoption of an operational and location-based system for alerting the population to threats. Location-based threat alerting enables to send people instructions on how to behave in crisis situations, for example, in the event of a chemical accident, armed attack, explosion threat, wildfire or another threat.

In the case of threats that are identifiable early on, the availability of early warning gives the possibility to prevent serious consequences, for example to charge telephone batteries, to refuel, to stock up drinking water and food, to avoid going to dangerous places, to shelter or to evacuate.

While at present communications undertakings send threat alerts to all their clients and SMS roaming service users regardless of where the people are staying, in the future there will be the possibility to send threat alerts only to the people staying in particular threat areas. It will also be allowed to use regional threat alerting in crisis management exercises.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Maritime Safety Act (697 SE), initiated by the Government. It reduces rates of fairway dues in place in 2023 in order to support the international carriage of goods and passengers by sea.

While ships entering Estonian ports and the roadstead of Estonian ports were exempted from the payment of fairway dues from the start of the COVID-pandemic until the end of March 2021, fairway dues have been reduced by 50 per cent from last April until the end of this year. Initially the Bill provided that, in 2023, ships would have to pay fairway dues by 25 per cent less than provided for in law. However, under an amendment made during the proceedings, the rate of reduction will increase to 37.5 per cent to support the development of the maritime sector.

The lowering of fairway dues will apply to all ships entering Estonian ports and the roadstead of Estonian ports regardless of the type of ship and the flag the ship is flying. The purpose of the amendment is to continue supporting international maritime transport and to motivate consignors to direct their trade flows through Estonian ports.

63 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 9 were against.

The Riigikogu passed with 79 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Persons Repressed by Occupying Powers Act and the Social Welfare Act (increasing the benefits for repressed persons and persons sent to eliminate the effects of a nuclear disaster) (698 SE), initiated by the Government. It increases by 62 euro the allowance paid to repressed persons and persons treated as repressed persons as well as the benefit paid to persons who were forcibly sent from Estonia to eliminate the effects of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl.

While at present the allowance paid once a year is 230 euro, from next year it will rise to 292 euro. The benefit has not increased since 2018, while in the meantime a remarkable rise in the cost of living has taken place. In the opinion of the Ministry of Social Affairs, people who receive the benefit will be estimated to number 7,800 next year.

During the debate, Riho Breivel from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction and Helmen Kütt from the Social Democratic Party Faction took the floor.

The Riigikogu passed with 77 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Medical Devices Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (701 SE), initiated by the Government. It repeals in the Medical Devices Act the provisions falling within the scope of regulation of EU Regulations, as a new framework for the regulation concerning medical devices has been created with EU law and the directives that have been regulating the field until now have been repealed.

The EU Regulations have set harmonised and higher standards of quality and safety for medical devices in order to meet common safety concerns as regards such devices. The amendments specify the rights and tasks of economic operators, users of medical devices and the Health Board in the implementation of the Regulations.

Among other things, distributors will have an obligation to give notice if a system of medical devices, a procedure pack or a higher-risk in vitro diagnostic medical device is distributed in Estonia for the first time. This will bring about additional administrative burden for economic operators but will help achieve a better market overview of medical devices on the market in Estonia and achieve efficiency of market surveillance in order that the Health Board could identify non-compliant, including falsified and dangerous medical devices on the Estonian market and remove them from the market if necessary.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act and the Family Law Act (703 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to improve the livelihood of families with children, to promote the birth rate and to ensure that the allowance for families with many children is linked to the rise in salaries and in the cost of living. Particular attention will be on single-parent families and families with many children, that is, the types of families with a higher-than-average poverty risk or where the raising of children involves higher costs for the family.

According to the Act, from 1 January, the allowance for the first and second child will increase from 60 euro and the single parent’s child allowance from 19.18 euro to 80 euro per month. The allowance for families with many children will increase from 300 to 650 euro per month in the case of three to six children and from 400 to 850 euro per month in the case of seven or more children. From 1 May 2024 the allowance for families with many children will be indexed with the pension index.

At the same time, the requirement under which the child must be enrolled in a school is abandoned as a condition for the payment of child allowance for children aged 16–19. This will make both the allowance for families with many children and the child allowance available to families where the child does not continue their studies for some reason, for example, due to special needs. In order to promote studying, the rule will remain in place that, if a 19-year-old young person is studying during the current academic year, the payment of the allowance will be continued until the person graduates from the school or until the end of the academic year.

The new regulation also provides that, in the case of the death of a child under three years of age, the state allows a for parental benefit to the extent of one month for both the mother and the father.

In addition, the Act provides an amendment in the regulation for calculating maintenance provided for in the Family Law Act. According to it, the allowance for families with many children will be taken into account to the extent of 50 per cent when calculating the minimum maintenance. The purpose of the amendment is to calculate the payment of the allowance for families with many children more clearly and fairly when calculating maintenance.

Child benefits and allowances for families with many children will increase from 1 January. Families where the payment of family allowances has already been terminated because the children under 19 years of age are not studying will again be entitled to family allowances. The Social Insurance Board will make the relevant payments retroactively by the end of March at the latest. Families will not have to submit applications or documents for that.

During the debate, Jaanus Karilaid from the Centre Party Faction, Priit Sibul from Faction Isamaa, Jaak Valge from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, Õnne Pillak from the Reform Party Faction and Indrek Saar from the Social Democratic Party Faction took the floor.

76 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act and one voted against it.

The Riigikogu passed with 70 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Social Welfare Act and the Income Tax Act (704 SE), initiated by the Government. It establishes the regulation for funding the general care service provided outside the home of a person on a 24-hour basis from 1 July next year.

While up to now the recipient of the service and the people who maintain them have had to bear the main burden of the service, in the future, the public sector will also begin to participate in the covering of the costs of the service. The local government will cover the expenses of a qualified care worker from the cost of the service place of the person entitled to receive the service, and the recipient of the service will pay for the accommodation and catering costs and other costs related to the provision of the service.

With a view to mitigating the increasing obligation for local governments, the rate of the income tax received by local governments is amended and the income from state pension will also begin to be taken into account in the distribution of income tax from 1 January 2024. During the transition period, that is, next year, the funds earmarked for the measure will be distributed between local governments through the support fund. The additional expenditure for the state budget is projected to be 40 million euro in 2023 and 57 million in 2024. This will enable local governments to also develop the services supporting living at home and to enhance the provision thereof.

Under an amendment made during the proceedings, NGO Slava Ukraini is included in the list of associations benefiting from income tax incentives to whom legal persons can make donations and gifts free of income tax for maintaining the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine as well as for organising the provision of humanitarian aid purposefully.

During the debate, Heljo Pikhof from the Social Democratic Party Faction, Margit Sutrop from the Reform Party Faction and Aivar Kokk from Faction Isamaa took the floor.

The Riigikogu passed the State Budget for 2023 Act (708 SE), initiated by the Government. The total volume of the state budget revenue will be 15.6 billion euro and the total volume of expenditure will be 16.8 billion. The tax burden for 2023 will amount to 33.3 per cent of GDP and the structural budget deficit will remain at 2.6 per cent.

In 2023, defence expenditure in Estonia will for the first time exceed the one-billion-euro limit, which is 2.9 per cent of GDP.

243 million euro has been earmarked for pay rises in the next year’s budget, and the wage bills of teachers, culture workers and internal safety workers will grow by 15 per cent. The minimum remuneration rate for school teachers will rise by 23.9 per cent and the minimum salary of police officers by 17 per cent.

The family allowances budget will increase by 177.1 million euro in 2023. The allowances for large families as well as the child benefits for the first and second child in a family and the single parent’s allowance will increase.

The average old-age pension will be exempt from income tax from next year. Together with the extraordinary pension rise and indexation, the average old-age pension will increase to 704 euro per month. The general tax-exempt income will rise to 654 euro per month from the beginning of next year.

Additional 41.5 million euro will be allocated to higher education funding in 2023 and the funding will increase by an additional 15 per cent in each subsequent year. 41 million will be contributed towards the transition to Estonian-medium education every year from next year onwards.

Energy efficiency and renewable energy investments and housing will be supported with 166 million euro.

During the debate, Reili Rand from the Social Democratic Party Faction, Helir-Valdor Seeder from Faction Isamaa, Maris Lauri from the Reform Party Faction, Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction and Jaak Aab from the Centre Party Faction took the floor.

79 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and two were against it.

The Riigikogu passed nine Resolutions

The Riigikogu passed with 45 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in International Military Operations Led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or its Member State, or the European Union, and other International Military Operations Led by the United Nations, upon the First Contribution thereto” (687 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable the use of up to 100 servicemen in international military operations led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or its member state, the European Union, or the United Nations, except in collective self-defence operations, upon the first contribution thereto. Estonia’s specific contribution will depend on the needs of the specific operation, and the Government will decide it within the limits of a Resolution of the Riigikogu.

The Resolution will ensure Estonia’s capability of deploying units of the Defence Forces to crisis and conflict regions quickly and flexibly where necessary. Similarly to other countries, Estonia is ready to contribute to ensuring international stability and so to also protect Estonia’s security interests.

The Riigikogu passed with 43 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Extension of the Time Limit for the Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in the European Union Military Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI” (688 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable to contribute with up to six servicemen in the operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI in 2023.

The primary aim of the operation is to support the implementation of the UN weapons embargo on Libya. This includes conducting inspections on the high seas off the coast of Libya on vessels which are suspected of carrying arms or related materiel to or from Libya, on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council Resolution. In addition to this, the mission supports the implementation of UN measures to prevent the illicit export of petroleum from Libya, the capacity building and training of the Libyan Coast Guard and Navy, and the disruption of the business model of human smuggling and trafficking networks.

This year, Estonia’s contribution to the operation was two staff officers in the Headquarters of EUNAVFOR MED IRINI in Rome. In view of the significance of the operation in responding to security challenges near the southern borders of the European Union, the limit of servicemen provided in the Resolution will enable additional contribution to the operation where necessary.

The Riigikogu passed with 44 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Extension of the Time Limit for the Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in the European Union Training Mission in Mozambique” (689 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable to contribute with up to five servicemen to the EU Training Mission EUTM Mozambique in 2023.

Estonia was one of the first countries to notify Portugal who was the framework nation of its intention to participate in the mission and Estonia has been contributing to the mission with a legal adviser since the end of last year. The task of the Estonian serviceman is to advise EUTM Mozambique mission commander on legal matters and to train the members of the local armed forces in human rights matters.

By participating in the mission, Estonia is contributing in solidarity with the other Member States to the EU military operation. It is also important to Estonia to develop cooperation with the strategic allies on the EU’s southern flank.

The Riigikogu passed with 49 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Extension of the Time Limit for the Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in the International Military Operation Inherent Resolve” (690 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable to participate with up to five servicemen in the US-led international military operation Inherent Resolve in 2023.

The aim of the operation is to fight against ISIL primarily in Iraq and Syria, and one important task also involves training the Iraqi security forces. In supporting the training of the Iraqi security forces, close cooperation is in place with NATO and the Iraqi government. ISIL has been significantly weakened through the actions of the coalition and no longer controls areas in Iraq and Syria, but it remains capable of organising attacks both within the region and across the globe.

By participating in international military operations, Estonia confirms its commitment to contribute to the burden-sharing for the benefit of achieving peace and stability in the world. The participation in the operation of the US-led coalition of the willing is also supporting the excellent allied relations as well as defence and security cooperation between Estonia and the United States. At the same time, the participation in the operation is also providing a major operational output for the Defence Forces.

In 2023, it is planned to continue contribution to operation Inherent Resolve with a staff non-commissioned officer, but the threshold of the mandate will enable Estonia to additionally contribute to the operation flexibly should the need arise.

The Riigikogu passed with 51 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in the Composition of the United Kingdom’s Joint Expeditionary Force” (691 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable to contribute with up to 24 servicemen to the composition of the United Kingdom’s Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) in 2023.

The JEF is a coalition of the willing, initiated, owned and led by the United Kingdom, with membership of other countries, which is generally ready to contribute quickly and flexibly to operations across the full spectrum of warfare and crisis management. Nations assign to the JEF high-readiness military capabilities, which form a joint force comprising various armed services under single command.

The JEF is capable of operating on its own and as part of other larger military units. The use of the JEF is flexible – either all or just interested Member States can initiate potential operations and participate in them. Based on a joint decision of countries, the JEF focuses on ensuring security in the Baltic Sea region and the North Atlantic Ocean, thereby enhancing the defence and deterrence posture in the Baltic states.

The Riigikogu passed with 51 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Extension of the Time Limit for the Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Mission in Iraq” (692 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable to contribute with up to five servicemen in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization mission in Iraq in 2023.

NATO Mission Iraq is a non-combat advisory and capacity-building mission that aims to address threats to the Alliance from the south more broadly and that assists Iraq in building more sustainable, transparent, inclusive and effective security institutions and armed forces, so that Iraqis themselves are able to stabilise their country, fight terrorism and prevent the return of Daesh. To achieve this, NATO advises Iraqi security structures.

The participation in the mission in Iraq provides Estonia an opportunity to actively contribute to grounding the threats to the Alliance from the south, to contribute to NATO’s collective security, and to support allies and partner countries in the fight against terrorism.

The Riigikogu passed with 51 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in the Composition of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Readiness Units” (693 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable to contribute with up to 285 servicemen to the composition of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s readiness units in 2023.

NATO Response Force (NRF) is a high-readiness unit capable of conducting military operations anywhere in the world. The NRF plays a key role in launching NATO’s short-notice collective defence operations. Ensurance of full manning of the NRF is directly in Estonia’s interests because this ensures NATO’s commitment to deterrence and collective defence. In addition, Estonia is meeting its allied commitments by having been contributing to the NATO Readiness Initiative since the beginning of 2021.

The Riigikogu passed with 50 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Extension of the Time Limit for the Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in the UN Peacekeeping Operation in Lebanon” (694 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable to contribute with up to three servicemen in the United Nations mission UNIFIL in 2023.

The UN peacekeeping mission plays an important stabilising role in Lebanon and the whole region. The mission is mandated to monitor the situation in the region by contributing to the cessation of hostilities and to the ensurance of international peace and security, and to support the Lebanese government in cementing its governance in the southern part of the country. The UNIFIL’ area of operation is between the Litani River and the Blue Line.

As a country contributing towards collective security, Estonia is closely monitoring the developments in the Middle East, and the security policy impact of the events there on the stability in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Participation in UN operations has been important to Estonia and has been supporting our role as an elected member of the UN Security Council in 2020-2021. The continuing participation of Estonian servicemen in UN operations helps strengthen Estonia’s contribution to UN activities in securing peace.

The Riigikogu passed with 51 votes in favour the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Extension of the Time Limit for the Use of the Defence Forces in the Fulfilment of the International Commitments of the Estonian State in the Post-Conflict Peacekeeping Operation in Lebanon, Israel, Egypt and Syria” (695 OE), submitted by the Government. It will enable to contribute with up to six servicemen in the United Nations in peacekeeping operation in the Middle East in 2023.

UNTSO is the first UN peacekeeping mission that is purely an observation mission. The UNTSO’s area of operation is the Middle East, more specifically Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, and the and mission’s headquarters are in Jerusalem. UNTSO’s military observers have been operating in the region over decades, acting as the means by which isolated incidents could be prevented from escalating into major conflicts in the Middle East.

The continuing participation of Estonian servicemen in UN operations helps strengthen Estonia’s contribution to UN activities in securing peace.

Six Bills passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Security Authorities Act and the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act (721 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will give the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service and the Estonian Internal Security Service rights to protect their territory and staff in order to enable to adequately respond to threats until the arrival of the police.

Security authorities will be given the right to use law enforcement measures such as questioning, identification of identity and detention of person in the protection of their territory and staff. For this, security authorities will be given the right to use physical force, special equipment as well as a weapon. Direct coercion may be used only with regard to people who are on the territory of the security authority or in the immediate vicinity thereof and whose activity poses a threat to the staff. A manner of responding that would harm the person posing the threat as little as possible will have to be chosen.

Another major amendment will extend the right of the Defence Forces to organise armed resistance. It is part of military national defence where the efficiency of the organisation of armed resistance depends on peace-time preparations. The Bill also proposes other amendments, for example, provisions concerning the regulation of data protection will be updated.

The Victim Support Bill (702 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. Its aim is to improve the availability and quality of the victim support services provided to victims of violence, crime, and cases of crisis and to make the system for the application for compensations to victims of crime more user-friendly. The Bill will extensively transform the area of victim support, and the Victim Support Act passed in 2003 will be repealed.

The Bill will provide for services that have not been legally regulated so far, such as psychosocial assistance in cases of crisis, crisis assistance in the case of sexual violence, the restorative justice services and supporting the work of perpetrators to stop violent behaviour. It will also specify the provisions concerning the service for victims of human trafficking and the women’s support centre service. Emphasis will be put on the requirements for education and in-service training of victim support providers with the aim of ensuring that specialists who have received the relevant training work with victims who are in a vulnerable situation.

The Bill will establish the bases for data exchange in the case of victims who need special treatment and protection, high-risk domestic violence victims as well as other victims, including minors. The aim is to relieve victims in the most difficult situations of the obligation to actively engage in seeking assistance themselves. The Bill is also intended to ensure mental health help supporting recovery from trauma to victims of sexual violence and domestic violence and their children where no proceedings in respect of the incident have been commenced but the need for help remains in place.

The Bill is intended to make the compensation paid to victims of crimes of violence more available, and the application for the compensation more user-friendly. Compared with the current Act, in the future, state benefits, such as the funeral benefit paid by local governments, survivor’s pension and work ability allowance, will not be deducted from the compensation, and working-age victims will not need to complete assessments of their work ability in the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund. In certain cases, there will be no need to submit expense receipts.

The Bill on Amendments to the Patents Act and Other Acts (658 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will specify the issues of the right of representation at the Patent Office and at the Industrial Property Board of Appeal and will simplify the proving of the right of representation of patent attorneys.

According to the Bill, patent attorneys will no longer be required to present an authorisation document when communicating with the Estonian Patent Office in the area of inventions. The Bill will specify the scope of the right of representation of applicants for a patent and the joint representative appointed from among the rights holders. In connection with the amendments in representation and the transition to electronic procedures, the procedure for sending the notices of the Estonian Patent Office will also be specified. The procedure for paying the state fee will also change.

The Bill on Amendments to § 17 of the Acquisition of Immovables in Public Interest Act (729 SE), initiated by the Economic Affairs Committee, passed the second reading. It will give owners whose immovable is to be transferred in the public interest the possibility to also receive compensation, within the limits prescribed by the law, for the preparation of a comparative valuation report commissioned by them, in addition to the procedural costs related to the transfer.

In October, the Riigikogu decided to support the proposal of the Chancellor of Justice to bring the Acquisition of Immovables in Public Interest Act into conformity with the Constitution as the Act did not prescribe compensation of additional valuation costs to the owner where the owner wished to negotiate with the state or a local government the price of land, a forest or a building to be acquired in the public interest.

The Bill on Amendments to the Funded Pensions Act and the Securities Register Maintenance Act (711 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will enable members of pension schemes to make contributions to the second pillar pension scheme in the rate of four or six per cent, instead of the current two per cent, in order to increase their pension savings. The current two-per cent contribution rate will remain in place by default.

It will be possible to change the payment rate twice a year. In such a case, the new rate will be implemented from 1 January and an application will have to be submitted to the registrar of the pension register or the account administrator by 30 November at the latest. According to the Bill, the amendments will enter into force from 2024 and it will be possible to begin to make greater contributions from 1 January 2025 at the earliest.

The Bill on Amendments to the Tax Information Exchange Act and the Taxation Act (transposition of administrative cooperation directive) (732 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will specify the reporting rules related to the taxation of platform operators in order to enable state supervision in respect of the sellers and service providers operating on platforms, including monitoring of their tax compliance.

According to the Bill, from the new year, platform operators like AirBnB, Amazon, Bolt, Uber, Etsy and Booking.com will have to start submitting to the Tax and Customs Board information on the sellers and service providers who are individuals and legal persons operating on their platforms and the income they earn. Currently, data exchange with platforms is taking place on a voluntary basis.

According to the Bill, platform operators will have to provide information on the local taxable persons and taxable persons of EU Member States operating on their platforms as well as on the taxable persons of the countries with whom Estonia has entered into agreements for automatic exchange of information in tax matters. Tax authorities will use automatic exchange of information to exchange the information obtained on non-residents.

Where a seller refuses to share to a platform operator the data necessary to meet its reporting requirements, the platform operator will have the right, in the event of reminders being ignored, to close the account of the seller and to prevent them from registering on the platform in the future as well as the right to withhold the transfer of the consideration to the seller. The Tax and Customs Board will be able to have a warning published on the website of the platform of the non-compliant platform operator for failure to submit data. As a last resort, it will be possible to block the use of the platform but only in the case that all other more proportional measures and remedies have been exhausted.

Seven drafts passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the General Part of the Environmental Code Act and Other Acts (734 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will organise the system of environmental protection permits regulating the use of the environment in order to ensure that the Environmental Board can economise its resources, to support the implementation of the long-term strategies related to the green transition and to ensure a service with low administrative burden and bureaucracy.

The Bill will amend the obligation to hold an environmental permit in the case of certain activities and mitigate the disproportionately burdensome requirements, taking into account the potential environmental impact of the activities. The processing of permits will become more efficient and faster in order that applicants could receive feedback within a reasonable period of time which helps reduce administrative burden.

The Bill will also prescribe the possibility of carrying out proceedings on an environmental permit faster in order to prevent the risk of disruption of a vital service. It provides that, in the case of vital services, in the future, the provisions concerning open proceedings will not be applied to the processing of environmental permits. The explanatory memorandum says that, due to instabilities in the energy market, the need to amend the processing of environmental permits in order to prevent the risk of disruption of vital services has already become apparent. Many power and heat producers will need to adopt alternative fuels available on the market to prevent risks.

The Bill on Amendments to the Earth’s Crust Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (745 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will help better implement the Earth’s Crust Act and regulate the sector more clearly. The Bill provides that the Mineral Resources Commission will also begin to advise the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and authorities within the area of administration thereof, in addition to the Ministry of the Environment and authorities within the area of administration thereof.

The Bill will extend the opportunity to apply for other mineral reserves that have been designated as potentially economic to be designated as economic, in addition to oil shale. The re-assessment of mineral reserves as economic will bring about increasing supply security in terms of mineral resources because only reserves that have been registered as economic can be extracted. The re-assessment will also contribute to sustainable use of mineral resources, for example in cases where a suitable solution is found for extracting a reserve that has earlier been registered as potentially economic for mining engineering reasons and the mineral resource can be used after it will have been re-assessed as economic.

The Bill will make application for retroactively extractable quantities of oil shale more flexible. Namely, it will be possible to apply for retroactively extractable quantity of oil shale until 1 July where residual extractable quantity remains as at 1 September in the previous year. It will also be prescribed that the state will have a priority right to receive exploration permits for phosphate rock and metal raw material.

Heiki Hepner from Faction Isamaa took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Health Insurance Act (725 SE), initiated by the Centre Party Faction, passed the first reading. It is intended to make the current temporary regulation of the compensation of days of sick leave permanent from 1 January.

The Bill will retain the procedure for the payment of sickness benefits under which the first day of sick leave is the employee’s own liability, and the employer pays benefit from the second to the fifth day and the Estonian Health Insurance Fund from the sixth day.

Siim Pohlak from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Medicinal Products Act (683 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, passed the first reading. It will prohibit medicinal products in respect of which no genotoxicity or carcinogenicity studies have been conducted, in order to protect people against potential genotoxic and carcinogenic effects.

Kert Kingo from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Weapons Act and the State Fees Act (digital solutions in the authorisation procedure, and the development of the Register of Service and Civilian Weapons) (737 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will make amendments that will be necessary in order to adopt all-digital authorisation procedure and to implement a new Register of Service and Civilian Weapons.

Under the Bill, requests for weapons permits and European Union firearms passes and the related documents will be submitted to the Police and Border Guard Board electronically through the self-service environment of the register. The weapons register will be interfaced with other databases necessary in authorisation proceedings, and queries will be automated.

A dealer environment will be established in the register where dealers will see weapons permits and be able to sell weapons, essential components, and ammunition. When the amendments come into force, permits will be issued electronically and only permits necessary for international transfer of weapons will be issued on paper. The supervision files on holders of weapons permits will be maintained electronically.

On the basis of EU law, a more specific procedure for the exchange of information on weapons will be provided for, and the Police and Border Guard Board will be designated as the authority to exchange information with other countries. EU Member States exchange information on the authorisations granted for the transfer of firearms to another Member State and information with regard to refusals to grant authorisations. The Internal Market Information System is used for information exchange.

Anti Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction took the floor during the debate.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction moved to reject the Bill at the first reading, but the plenary did not support the motion. 12 members of the Riigikogu supported a rejection and 39 were against.

The Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “The Granting of a State Guarantee” (750 OE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. The Riigikogu will grant a state guarantee to the European Commission in an amount of 7,402,387 euro in accordance with the guarantee agreement to be concluded after the Resolution will have been adopted. The implementation of the Resolution will involve no direct immediate obligations for Estonia.

On 20 September, the Council of the European Union approved the decision to provide an amount of EUR 5 billion of macro-financial assistance in loans to Ukraine. The opportunities of the common provisioning fund of the EU budget and guarantees by Member States will be used to manage loan risks. The guarantees by Member States will also cover the loss risk of the one-billion loan of the financial assistance package to Ukraine agreed on earlier, that is, on 12 July this year.

Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction took the floor during the debate.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction moved to reject the draft Resolution at the first reading, but the motion was not supported. 13 members of the Riigikogu supported the rejection but 36 were against it.

The Payment and Settlement Systems Bill (743 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the first reading. It is a new consolidated Act which prescribes the requirements for larger payment systems. The Bill will provide the definitions important to the payment market. It will also prescribe the rules for the settlement system and the rights and obligations of the system operator and participants in the system.

The Bill prescribes how payment orders will be executed in systemically important payment systems and securities settlement systems, including in the cases where a party becomes insolvent or goes bankrupt. The Bill will also provide for rules for cases where Estonian banks operate in the settlement systems of third countries.

The sitting ended at 8.38 p.m.

Source: Parliament of Estonia