In Hussar’s opinion, the visit of the Speakers of the parliaments of seven countries will provide an opportunity to reaffirm strong support for Armenia’s democratic development and closer relations with the European Union. “At the meetings, we will focus on the global security situation, including the impacts of the war of aggression launched by Russia and support for Ukraine, as well as the achievement of lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus,” he said.
During the three-day visit to Yerevan, the Nordic and Baltic Speakers will meet with President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan, Vice President of the National Assembly Hakob Arshakyan, and Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. They also plan to have a meeting with the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and the Standing Committee on European Integration of the National Assembly.
On Thursday, the Speakers and Deputy Speakers, together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Justice of Armenia, will participate in a panel discussion on peace and democracy, and Armenia`s European integration, where regional security, democratic development and reforms, and further cooperation with the Nordic Countries and the Baltic States and the European Union will be discussed.
The Speakers of the parliaments of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden participate in the visit.
Members of the Riigikogu Jaak Valge, Ants Frosch, Henn Põlluaas and Leo Kunnas asked if the Ministry of Social Affairs was going to organise or fund campaigns to promote natural family and having many children.
Sikkut explained that the Ministry of Social Affairs itself did not directly conduct campaigns. Social partners engage in raising awareness. “We select our social partners by way of a competition, generally every two years, and the Estonian Association of Large Families is one of our partners. Their work has involved conferences and media campaigns as well as other activities that also support the natural family and having many children,” Sikkut said.
She added that the latest call for applications for finding strategic partners had been announced at the end of the previous year, and the purpose of the grant was to promote the role of non-governmental organizations in shaping and implementing policies in the social and health sectors. The call for applications also included a programme to support the well-being of children and families and parenthood, and a programme to promote the inclusion of children’s rights. In addition, the Estonian Association of Large Families organises activities related to the upbringing of children and to the acknowledging and empowerment of families with children, like the Large Family of the Year Award and the Large Family Day, “Pearl Fisher” awards for parents of large families and the Autumn Family Day, as well as the conferences “Happy Young People”, “Happy Man” and “Happy Woman”. These activities have also been continued so far. The results of the new call for applications for social partners will be announced in February. These activities can be expected to also continue in the following years.
Sikkut stressed that, undoubtedly, more Estonian children should be born. “But quantity is not everything. We cannot say that there is one right way to raise children or one right family if we want more children to be born. Every child is welcome, and different families need different kinds of support. Some need economic support, and some need flexible childcare – we must provide all that if we want children to be born. So in addition to ensuring that all children are born into a supportive environment, it is particularly important that they get a good education and a good command of Estonian,” Sikkut said.
On the motion of initiators, the first reading of the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic on the establishment of a temporary solidarity tax for the banking sector” (535 OE), initiated by the Estonian Centre Party Parliamentary Group, was excluded from the agenda for the sitting on Thursday.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart,Rain Epler and Kalle Laanet took the floor during the open microphone.
Agenda for the 2nd Working Week (20 January 2025 – 23 January 2025) of the 5th Session of the Riigikogu Plenary Assembly
Monday, 20 January
1. Interpellation concerning the promotion of family and having many children (No. 667), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Jaak Valge, Ants Frosch, Henn Põlluaas and Leo Kunnas on 11 November 2024
Reply by Riina Sikkut, Minister of Health
Tuesday, 21 January
1. Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a Proposal to the Government of the Republic to procure EUR 1.6 billion worth of ammunition in 2025–2028” (540 OE), submitted by Isamaa Parliamentary Group
First reading (Majority vote of the membership of the Riigikogu)
Report by Urmas Reinsalu, Member of the Riigikogu
Report by Kalev Stoicescu, Chairman of the National Defence Committee
2. Bill on Amendments to the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act and the Feed Act (546 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic
Second reading
Report by Urmas Kruuse, Chairman of the Rural Affairs Committee
3. Bill on the Repeal of the Motor Vehicle Tax Act (538 SE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group
First reading
Report by Member of the Riigikogu
Report by Annely Akkermann, Chairman of the Finance Committee
4. Bill on Amendments to the Value-Added Tax Act (539 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group
First reading
Report by Member of the Riigikogu
Report by Annely Akkermann, Chairman of the Finance Committee
Wednesday, 22 January
1. Bill on the Accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a Communications Procedure (534 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic
Second reading
Report by Riina Solman, Deputy Chair of the Social Affairs Committee
2. Draft Statement of the Riigikogu “In Support of the People of Georgia” (564 AE), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu Eerik-Niiles Kross, Marko Mihkelson, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Luisa Rõivas, Katrin Kuusemäe, Tarmo Tamm, Maris Lauri, Aivar Sõerd, Alar Laneman, Tõnis Lukas, Kristina Šmigun-Vähi, Urve Tiidus, Priit Sibul, Andrus Seeme, Vilja Toomast, Kadri Tali, Kalev Stoicescu, Züleyxa Izmailova, Juku-Kalle Raid, Reili Rand, Ester Karuse, Jüri Jaanson, Igor Taro, Mait Klaassen, Mart Võrklaev, Karmen Joller, Irja Lutsar, Kristo Enn Vaga, Marek Reinaas, Mati Raidma, Õnne Pillak, Mario Kadastik, Hanah Lahe, Peeter Tali, Toomas Kivimägi, Margit Sutrop, Annely Akkermann, Andres Sutt, Toomas Uibo, Pipi-Liis Siemann, Kalle Laanet, Madis Timpson, Maido Ruusmann, Urmas Reinsalu, Urmas Kruuse, Mihkel Lees, Meelis Kiili, Eero Merilind and Lauri Hussar
First reading
Report by Eerik-Niiles Kross, Member of the Riigikogu
Report by Marko Mihkelson, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee
3. Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Academy of Sciences Act (514 SE), initiated by the Cultural Affairs Committee
Second reading
Report by Margit Sutrop, member of the Cultural Affairs Committee
4. Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act and Other Acts (547 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic
First reading
Report by Signe Riisalo, Minister of Social Protection
Report by Madis Timpson, Chairman of the Social Affairs Committee
5. Bill on Amendments to the Maritime Safety Act and Other Acts (549 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic
First reading
Report by Vladimir Svet, Minister of Infrastructure
Report by Jaak Aab, Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee
6. Bill on Amendments to the Electricity Market Act (555 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic
First reading
Report by Yoko Alender, Minister of Climate
Report by Mario Kadastik, member of the Economic Affairs Committee
7. Bill on Amendments to the Electricity Market Act (556 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic
First reading
Report by Yoko Alender, Minister of Climate
Report by Mario Kadastik, member of the Economic Affairs Committee
8. Bill on Amendments to § 5 of the Local Government Council Election Act (530 SE), initiated by Member of the Riigikogu Leo Kunnas
First reading
Report by Leo Kunnas, Member of the Riigikogu
Report by Pipi-Liis Siemann, member of the Constitutional Committee
Thursday, 23 January
1. Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic on the establishment of a temporary solidarity tax for the banking sector” (535 OE), submitted by the Estonian Centre Party Group
First reading (Majority vote of the membership of the Riigikogu)
Report by Member of the Riigikogu
Report by Aivar Sõerd, member of the Finance Committee
On Monday, 20 January, after all items on the agenda have been discussed, the time for unscheduled statements begins, to continue until no further requests for the floor are made, but no longer than until 12 midnight.
On Wednesday, 22 January, from 12 noon to 2 p.m., Question Time takes place.
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali said that last year the discussions on the enlargement of the EU had gained a new impetus, but before enlargement, it was necessary to think how the addition of new Member States would influence the politics, the budget and the general functioning of the Union. “Even before the accession of new countries, we need to know what changes have to be made so that the European Union could function at least as effectively with a larger number of Member States, and make the necessary changes in good time.”
It is planned to discuss and approve Estonia’s positions in various fields of policy at the sitting, including the free movement of persons and labour; internal security, migration and border management; rule of law; education, young people and research; social protection and health care; climate, energy and infrastructure; economy and trade, as well as agriculture and fisheries.
Director for EU Affairs at the Government Office Katrin Juhandi, Director of the EU and International Co-operation Department at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications Silver Tammik, Head of the International Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Peeter Seestrand, Deputy Secretary General Kristi Klaas and Head of the Roads and Railways Department Ain Tatter from the Ministry of Climate, and Adviser of the Ministry of the Interior Katarina Budrik will give an overview of the Government’s positions regarding the preparations necessary for the enlargement of the EU.
The discussion of the public agenda item begins at 1.30 p.m., and it can be followed online on theRiigikogu web page. Video recording of the sitting will be available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
The Bill on Amendments to the State Budget Act (520 SE), initiated by the Estonian Centre Party Group, aimed to improve the transparency of the state budget, and, to this end, to completely switch to a cost-based, i.e. input-based budget. The goal was to abandon the division of costs into performance areas and programmes. According to the Bill, the activity-based and performance-based output of expenses would have been reflected only in the appendix to the explanatory memorandum. Under the Bill, the annual budget should have outlined all state revenues and expenditures in accordance with their economic content and corresponding agency.
Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group, Maris Lauri from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group, and Riina Solman from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Anti Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group made a speech.
The Finance Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 32 members of the Riigikogu supported rejection and 11 voted against. As a result of the voting, the Bill was dropped from the proceedings of the Riigikogu.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Adult Education Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (465 SE), initiated by the Government. It amends the Act by including the regulation for micro-qualifications which provides a definition of micro-qualifications, establishes the workload of studies, determines the entities to carry out the instruction, and establishes the requirements for micro-credentials.
The workload of micro-qualification studies will be 5–30 credits, and graduates will be awarded credentials which will be registered in the Estonian Education Information System. Higher education institutions may also designate a micro-qualification they offer as a micro-degree if at least half of the workload of the micro-degree curriculum is made up of degree-level subjects. Students will be able to apply for their micro-degree to be counted towards their formal studies when they continue their studies.
According to the Act, the requirements for micro-qualification studies will be implemented from 1 September.
Heljo Pikhof from the Social Democratic Party Group, Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group and Ando Kiviberg from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
73 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and there were two abstentions.
Two drafts were dropped from legislative proceedings
The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to allocate funds for the co-financing of Tallinn Hospital” (498 OE), submitted by the Centre Party Group. It was intended to make a proposal to allocate funds for the co-financing of Tallinn Hospital. According to the presenters, Estonia needs a Tallinn Hospital with a modern layout solution that takes into account the needs of modern infection control, adds hospital beds, increases the capacity of the healthcare system in crisis situations, allows for better cooperation of medical personnel and improves the availability of medical care services to patients.
Tanel Kiik took the floor behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group in the debate. Irja Lutsar from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group also made speeches.
At the final vote, 13 members of the Riigikogu supported the draft Resolution, and one was against. A majority of the votes of the membership of the Riigikogu, that is, at least 51 votes, would have been needed for the Resolution to be passed.
The Riigikogu also rejected the Bill on Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Health Insurance Act (504 SE), initiated by the Centre Party Group. It was intended to restore the earlier procedure for the payment of sickness benefits where sickness benefit had been paid from the second day of sick leave. According to the proposal, only the first day of sick leave would have been the employee’s own liability. The employer would have had to pay the benefit from the second to the fourth day and the Estonian Health Insurance Fund from the fifth day. In addition, the Bill was intended to increase the sickness benefit to 80 percent of the average remuneration of the employee.
Aleksandr Tšaplõgin from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.
The Social Affairs Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 45 members of the Riigikogu supported the rejection and 10 were against it.
The members of the Riigikogu underline in the draft Statement that Estonia respects the right of each country to democratically choose their path in organising their society and entering into allied relations with other countries, and in line with this principle, Estonia has supported the development of Georgia through close cooperation, and has spoken out against the actions of the Russian Federation that threaten Georgia’s sovereignty and undermine its territorial integrity.
“Over the past decade, Estonia has followed the influencing activities of the Russian Federation in polarising the Georgian society and interfering with the democratic elections in Georgia with growing concern,” the draft Statement says, pointing out that the results of the Georgian parliamentary elections, which took place in last October in an atmosphere of violence and intimidation, do not express the free will of the Georgian people. “The governing party Georgian Dream, which enjoys the support of the Russian Federation, is using the fraudulent election results to achieve complete control over state institutions and repress the opposition and the civil society.”
According to the draft Statement, the Riigikogu does not acknowledge the legitimacy of the parliament and the government of Georgia that were formed after the parliamentary elections that took place in an atmosphere of rigging and intimidation of citizens, and of the appointed President, but recognises Salome Zourabichvili as the legitimate President and supports her efforts to put an end to the constitutional crisis in the country.
The Riigikogu expresses its support to the democratic forces in Georgia who are demanding new parliamentary that are inevitable for resolving the constitutional crisis and restoring democracy, condemns the brutal repression of peaceful demonstrations with the support of advancing Russian imperialism, and calls on ending any use of violence or persecution as well as on liberating all political prisoners. In the draft Statement, the Riigikogu also calls on other national parliaments to condemn the violent actions of the governing regime in Georgia.
The draft Statement urges the European Commission and the Member States of the European Union to impose sanctions on the Georgian politicians and officials involved in the violent repression of peaceful protests and in persecuting the people standing for the Georgian civil society. The Riigikogu also calls on suspension of communication with the institutions of the illegitimate government of Georgia until free and fair elections have taken place, and on supporting the representatives of the Georgian civil society and the still surviving free media who continue to work in the name of a free society, despite intimidation and persecution.
“The Riigikogu expresses its solidarity with the Georgian nation who is defending its human rights, Constitution, democracy, and the future of Georgia within the European Union,” the draft Statement says.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu will discuss the sending of the draft Statement to the plenary assembly for debate and vote at its tomorrow’s sitting.
Under the current law, the Chancellor of Justice and the Prosecutor General are paid 20 per cent of their salary for representation expenses on a monthly basis.
The Bill on Amendments to the Chancellor of Justice Act and the Prosecutor’s Office Act (524 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, was intended to amend the Act so that representation expenses would be disbursed on the basis of submitted expense receipts and the procedure and bases for the disbursement of representation expenses would be established by the Anti-Corruption Select Committee of the Riigikogu.
During the debate, Mart Helme took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group.
The lead committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 46 members of the Riigikogu supported the motion in the vote and 14 were against it. Thus the motion was supported. The Bill was rejected, and it was dropped from the proceedings.
As part of a national level project, artistically inclined schoolchildren created over 800 portraits of members of the Riigikogu, with one portrait of each MP selected to the exhibition. The techniques of the portraits run the gamut from classical painting to mosaic, from drawing to digital art.
The President of the Riigikogu Lauri Hussar sees the drawings as an expression of unbound creativity in our young artists.
“I am very impressed by the way the young people see us, members of the Riigikogu, and express this vision through their art. The drawing process itself brought so much joy to our daily lives and these images on the wall of the Riigikogu have already created a special atmosphere here,” Hussar said.
The leader of the project and the Chairman of the Board of the Estonian Association of Art Schools Kristel Kallau emphasised the importance of multi-directional communication in the society, and art offers a medium for this.
“Visual communication gives an artistic youth the opportunity to express their message and flag their existence. For the state, the most important aspect is that kids and teenagers take life forward. The project aimed at connecting art school students with members of the Riigikogu, whose decisions determine the future of the youth of today. The meet-up location was the art class. With this encounter, the MPs turned from faces on the TV screen into real persons who have had a childhood, a formative life’s journey, emotions. Our young students, on the other hand, learned about the work in the Riigikogu. This created a two-way contact and communication line,” Kallau said.
To strengthen this connection, all participants in the exhibition could take part in a portrait workshop by the renowned Estonian portraitist and patron of the project Aapo Pukk.
The project attracted 37 Estonian general education and art schools and more than 800 students between the ages of 5 and 18 under the guidance of 84 teachers. 838 works of art were completed, which is a new record for the Estonian Association of Art Schools art competitions. Members of the Riigikogu were actively involved in the project, and many visited the participating schools personally.
The project was born in cooperation with the Finnish Association of Art Schools for Children and Young People; an exhibition of portraits of the members of the Finnish parliament is also opened in the Eduskunta building today. For our Northern neighbours, this is the second such project. The project had garnered a lot of attention from both the participants and the general public; inspired by this success, the Estonian schools were invited to carry out a similar project.
The 101 Models exhibition will remain open in the space outside the Plenary Hall until 27 February. The exhibition can be visited from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on working days. Visitors need to present an identity document to gain entry.
All the 800+ works of the project can be viewed in a web galleryon the home page of the Estonian Association of Art Schools.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson said that the committees were expecting a detailed overview of the current situation and future plans for the protection of Estonia’s critical infrastructure from the representatives of the authorities responsible for the implementation of Estonia’s foreign and security policy, taking onto account the damaging of underwater cables and pipelines in the Baltic Sea in recent years.
“In a situation where Russia is continuing its war of aggression in Ukraine and various sabotage attacks are carried out against us and our allies, we must make maximum efforts to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our energy security, as well as the upcoming synchronisation of the Baltic energy systems with continental Europe,” Mihkelson said. “As parliamentary committees, we want to be reassured that the mapping of our current situation covers all the details, and that the plans for strengthening the protection of critical infrastructure have also been thoroughly worked out.”
Chairman of the National Defence Committee Kalev Stoicescu pointed out that the protection of the Baltic Sea underwater infrastructure required good cooperation both nationally and internationally. “Hybrid attacks pose a threat to NATO and the European Union, and we can provide an effective response to them only in close cooperation with our allies,” Stoicescu said. He added that international cooperation and the financing for strengthening the protection of critical infrastructure would be addressed separately at the joint sitting. “The military presence and visibility of the Allies in the Baltic Sea is essential, but not sufficient, as effective deterrence will ultimately be ensured by bringing the perpetrators to justice,” he underlined.
The joint sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the National Defence Committee will begin at 2.15 p.m. National Security and Defence Coordination Director of the Government Office Erkki Tori, and representatives of the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Climate, the Navy and AS Elering have been invited to the sitting.
The joint sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee and the National Defence Committee is not public. The Chairmen of the committees will give comments to journalists after the end of the joint session at around 3.30 p.m. in the Conference Hall of the Riigikogu.
