NordenBladet —
21 members of the Riigikogu supported the vote of no confidence in the Minister of Climate. At least 51 votes would have been needed to express no confidence.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, who represented the initiators of the motion of no confidence, said at the sitting that Alender should take political responsibility and resign from office. “We find it unacceptable that the public has been repeatedly and knowingly lied to regarding the plan to support the offshore wind farm in the amount of EUR 2.6 billion. These huge allocations have been accompanied by misleading claims, confusion and secrecy. We consider it necessary to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the entire plan and, if necessary, to initiate criminal proceedings,” she said.
According to Kovalenko-Kõlvart, the initiators of the motion of no confidence could see signs of corruption in the minister’s activities, and thus, the entire Government had lost its credibility. “Yoko Alender said at a government press conference that the Ministry of Climate did not wish to share accurate data relating to the support for wind farms with the public. We do not think it is right that on the basis of classified data, the state imposes such a heavy financial burden on taxpayers for decades. While causing the whole energy chaos, the minister has constantly lied to the public and provided false data. Overall, the Ministry of Climate led by Yoko Alender has failed to do its job,” she said.
In her speech before the Riigikogu, the Minister of Climate said the Ministry had published all the materials regarding the acceleration of renewable energy developments in Estonia, and on the basis of those materials, a Bill was being prepared. She noted that the decision regarding the support for offshore wind farms was up to the Riigikogu to make, and her proposal was to do so during the next stages, once it was clear how to perform it in the most favourable way for the Estonian consumers.
In her presentation, Alender explained the Government’s energy policy and pointed out that, as the Western world was freeing itself from Russia’s fossil energy shackles, major changes were taking place in the energy sector. “Initial investments are often costly. The society wants to have a say on the changes in question, and I find it absolutely fair,” said the Minister, confirming that she was ready to continue the work.
“We also have very dedicated and competent people working at the Ministry of Climate and we will definitely try to further strengthen the Energy Department, as the challenges are considerable. And I call on all of you to cooperate in resolving these important issues and in making these important strategic decisions that we certainly have to make,” Alender said before the plenary.
Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Igor Taro from Estonia 200 Group and Vadim Belobrovtsev from Estonian Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.
Due to the end of the working hours of the plenary sitting, the first reading of the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Formation of the Riigikogu committee of investigation to investigate the facts relating to the termination of the activities of Nordica” (543 OE), submitted by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group, was cancelled.
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
karin.kangro@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee
Link uudisele: The Riigikogu did not support the vote of no confidence in Minister of Climate Yoko Alender
Source: Parliament of Estonia