NordenBladet — On 3 March, Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko will meet with the President of the Eurogroup, Paschal Donohoe, in Helsinki.Minister Saarikko and President Donohoe will discuss the economic situation, the situation in Ukraine and other current issues over lunch.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — On Wednesday 2 March, Minister Tuppurainen’s PCR test for COVID-19 came back positive.The minister has flu-like symptoms and will work from home for the time being if she is feeling well and able to work.The Prime Minister’s Office is taking the necessary measures.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — Construction will grow between one and three per cent this year. Construction volume will decrease next year, estimates the RAKSU construction trends group’s report published on 3 February.The record-high pace of housing construction in 2021 has slowed, overshadowed by increased global uncertainty and the potential rise in interest rates. The construction of privately financed and state-supported rental housing will continue at a rapid pace this year. Capital is still expected to flow into housing investments, but the pace of investment is estimated to gradually slow. The construction of single-family houses has clearly increased in recent years, and this trend is expected to continue. The demand for construction is being supported by a favourable employment trend, and the increase in remote work has sparked new interest in residential options outside city centres. Large companies are planning significant investments this year, but global uncertainty could slow this pace. The rate at which building permits for industrial buildings and warehouses have been granted has risen. There is also demand for new premises, despite there being a high level of vacancy in old premises. Hospital construction is slowing. Fewer new schools are being built than last year. The prices of construction materials have risen sharply, and it seems unlikely that pressures on prices will decrease over the short term. There is also a shortage of skilled labour. However, the number of people working in the construction sector is expected to increase during the first half of the year. The RAKSU construction trends group forecasts that the volume of construction will increase 1–3% this year. Next year, construction is expected to decrease by 1–3%. Renovations are expected to grow at a steady 2% rate over the next few years. Civil engineering will grow a couple of per cent this year and decrease slightly next year. The report and forecast of the RAKSU construction trends group were prepared before Russia attacked Ukraine, and the forecast does not include estimates on the potential impacts that the attack may have on the construction sector. However, the risk that development will be weaker than forecast is significant.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet —
Today, an additional sitting was held in the Riigikogu where the security situation in Europe in light of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine was discussed as a matter of significant national importance on the proposal of the National Defence Committee.
At the beginning of his report, Minister of Defence Kalle Laanet discussed the current situation in Ukraine. He then spoke of how Estonia had helped Ukraine and concluded on how Estonia was protected.
Laanet recalled that Russia had started a war of aggression against Ukraine six days ago, on the anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, at the same moment when the extraordinary session of the UN Security Council on the issue of Ukraine had started in New York. “This obviously not accidental coincidence in time is enough to prove that Putin’s regime disrespects international law and the order based on legal equality of states, but also that the organisation established to ensure global peace is powerless so long as Russia has a right of veto,” Minister of Defence said. In his words, since last December it had been evident that Russia was not relying on diplomacy, having issued completely unrealistic ultimatums instead of reasonable proposals. “Putin’s regime made preparations for aggression against Ukraine for years,” Laanet said.
Laanet listed the activities of the aggressor: the suppression and brainwashing of the people of Russia, the “integration” of Belarus and the saving of Lukashenka’s regime with brutal measures, the preparation for closing the Russian information space and even the construction of Nord Stream 2 to increase Europe’s gas dependence. “The whole political game was all about Vladimir Putin until the beginning of the war of aggression,” Laanet said. “Then Putin turned all of the free world against himself by starting a brutal full-scale war against the free Ukraine.”
In Laanet’s words, Russia was threatening with nuclear weapons to strengthen its political position. He added that that was the new reality, but just for the time being, because the coming weeks and months would evidently reveal much greater changes.
“Ukraine is fighting not just for itself, but for all of us, the whole free world,” Laanet said. In his words, Putin’s regime and his war machine are ever more definitely on a losing course. “We must uphold the established dynamics. Russia has issued threats to Finland and Sweden against their joining NATO. Finland and Sweden are not applying for NATO membership, but we are implementing the ‘enhanced communication’ together, which is necessary in the situation that has arisen,” Laanet said. In his words, this means additional meetings and exchange of information on intelligence as well as information operations and strategic communication.
As regards helping Ukraine, Laanet pointed out that Estonia had been one of the first European countries to decide as early as last December to also give military aid to Ukraine together with the US, the United Kingdom, Latvia and Lithuania. In his words, the first lot of Javelin anti-tank missiles supplied by Estonia had reached Ukraine on 18 February, before the outbreak of the war.
Laanet assured that Estonia would continue to give both lethal and non-lethal military aid to Ukraine. “We are planning to give Ukraine additional Javelin anti-tank missiles, 122 mm Howitzers together with ammunition, other Soviet-calibre ammunition available in Estonia, thousands of helmets, hundreds of bullet-proof vests, tens of thousands of Defence Forces food packs and medical devices,” he specified. “In the near future, we are also planning to transfer to Ukraine a mobile field hospital that is manufactured in Estonia in cooperation with Germany.”
Laanet added that the US, Canada and 19 European countries had given and offered military aid to Ukraine. European Union Foreign Ministers have decided that 450 million euro will be allocated from the European Peace Facility to procure lethal weaponry and 50 million euro to procure non-lethal weaponry and to give it to Ukraine.
The Minister of Defence separately pointed out that Estonia diplomatically supported Ukraine becoming a candidate country for membership of the European Union. “This country is currently fighting for the whole Europe and our shared democratic values. This activity confirms that Ukraine deserves to become a member of the united European Union,” Laanet said.
In Laanet’s words, the Estonian Government and defence forces have taken a number of necessary steps in recent times to reinforce Estonian security. He pointed out that, at the request of the allies from the North Atlantic Alliance and the NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, NATO’s defence plans had been activated. Early in the morning on 24 February, the Estonian Government together with Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and other eastern flank countries also requested consultations under Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty. “Allies have already deployed and are deploying more deterrent forces to NATO’s eastern flank, including Estonia,” Laanet assured.
According to the Minister of Defence, Estonia is ready to meet its allied commitments in NATO’s readiness units according to the mandate given by the Riigikogu. Estonia is also participating, together with the Nordic and Baltic countries and the Netherlands, in the cooperation of the Joint Expeditionary Force JEF, led by the United Kingdom.
The minister also mentioned the additional allocation of around 340 euro for four years to the area of government of the Ministry of Defence. The lion’s share of the allocation will fall to the next year and the year after that: 99.7 million and 204.2 million euro, respectively. “These funds will be used to acquire ammunition resources for nearly all weapon systems in the Defence Forces,” Laanet said. “A large part of the supply contracts have already been concluded.”
In conclusion, Laanet said that the war could go on for a longer time, because Putin’s Russia would not agree to sign a peace agreement as a loser. “It is our task to make the damage caused by this military invasion as painful for Putin’s Russia as possible,” he said. “Massive support to Ukraine politically, economically and militarily will save the Ukrainian statehood and independence and will at the same time increase our and European security. NATO allies are strengthening defence readiness and deterrence on the eastern flank to a significant degree. And I dare say absolutely clearly that, as I see it, the allied relations are stronger than ever.”
Chair of the National Defence Committee Enn Eesmaa said that Russian military activity in Ukraine was illegal and unjustified. “I have seen in the media how Russian armed forces are violating the Geneva conventions on international humanitarian law and their additional protocols by attacking protected persons and shooting civil facilities like residences and hospitals marked with red crosses,” Eesmaa said.
Eesmaa pointed out that Karim Ahmad Khan, Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, had already announced that he had decided to proceed with opening an investigation into the situation in Ukraine, as rapidly as possible. He once more referred to Khan in whose opinion there was a basis to believe that both alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity had been committed during the military action.
In Eesmaa’s words, NATO allies had taken quick action in recent weeks. At the request of the Baltic countries and Poland, consultations under Article 4 of NATO’s founding treaty had been launched and a decision on the activation of defence plans had been made. NATO’s machinery is working and allies are actively strengthening NATO’s eastern flank.
He underlined that there was a total consensus among the parliaments of the European Union countries on the assessment of the current security situation and the need to act jointly.
In Eesmaa’s words, we are seeing today that Ukrainians’ extraordinarily impressive bravery and tenacious resistance have awakened Europeans’ core values and they are yet again ready to decisively defend freedom and democracy. He said that, across Europe, there were statements declaring that the Ukrainians’ war was our war as well. “The Ukrainians’ blood also defends our freedom and democracy,” Eesmaa said. “Europeans are finally being forced to overcome their business and economic interests that have prevented them from imposing certain sanctions, and also the burdens of the past, and they have again found the courage to strengthen their defence.”
Eesmaa noted that the undisguised invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine with bombardment and massive forces had urged the European Union and the remaining democracies to act significantly more vigorously. According to him, that manifested in particular in the unprecedented tightening of the sanction regime against Russia, but pressure was also mounting against Belarus who supported Russia directly in the military campaign. “The sanctions imposed by the European Union, the US, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, South-Korea and other countries are clear signals to Russia and a statement in support of Ukraine,” Eesmaa said.
In conclusion, Eesmaa said that the National Defence Committee had recognised the Government’s efforts in increasing defence spending and he welcomed the recent decision to contribute additional 380 million euro towards Estonian security.
“Never before has our defence spending been so high, but we must still recognise that, in the extraordinary security situation that has arisen, it is inevitable to further increase defence spending both in absolute terms and as a percentage of gross domestic product,” Eesmaa said.
According to him, if necessary, we will have to make structural changes as well as to reduce the existing capability gaps with the help of loan to continue developing our defence capability. It is not reasonable to start new large capability developments, such as medium range air defence, which has been repeatedly highlighted as a priority by the committee, at the expense of limiting or cutting the existing capabilities.
The reports were followed by questions to the speakers by members of the Riigikogu and comments by the representatives of political groups and members of the Riigikogu.
Leo Kunnas took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction, Jaanus Karilaid spoke on behalf of the Centre Party Faction and Helir-Valdor Seeder spoke on behalf of Faction Isamaa. Jürgen Ligi presented remarks on behalf of the Reform Party Faction and Jaak Juske on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Faction.
Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa), Signe Kivi (Reform Party), Alar Laneman (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Mihhail Lotman (Isamaa), Jüri Ratas (Centre Party), Heiki Hepner (Isamaa), Andres Metsoja (Isamaa), Margit Sutrop (Reform Party), Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), Aadu Must (Centre Party) and Henn Põlluaas (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) also took the floor.
Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)
Photos of the sitting
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
NordenBladet —
The members of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) attend in the Plenary Meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union (COSAC), held in Paris, France, from today until Saturday. The main topics to be discussed at the conference will be the situation in Ukraine and the future of Europe.
Member of the European Union Affairs Committee Riina Sikkut stated that although the debate on Ukraine, which will take place on Saturday, had been the last to be added to the agenda, it was undoubtedly the most important issue. “The Member States of the European Union have shown unprecedented unity in responding to Russia’s aggression. Harsh sanctions have been imposed on Russia, Ukraine is given military aid and the war refugees are helped. It is very important to continue with the same sense of unity,” Sikkut said. She added that the COSAC plenary meeting planned to approve a declaration against Russia and the war.
Member of the European Union Affairs Committee Timo Suslov plans to make a speech during the debate on climate. In his opinion, energy is the foundation of the green transition, and the transition to renewable energy in Estonia will require major investments. “In carrying out the green transition, it is important to listen to the researchers and entrepreneurs who can think clearly in their field and put theory into practice,” Suslov underlined. “I believe that the green transition will provide us opportunities, and together with innovative companies, we can do it.”
The topics on agenda of the COSAC include debates on Ukraine, on climate change and energy transition, as well as on the recovery plan for Europe, and the conference on the future of Europe. Also, the progress reports from the working groups will be heard, and the Prime Minister of France will present an overview of the plans for the Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
The Plenary Meeting of the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs of Parliaments of the European Union is held in Paris, France, from 3 to 5 March. Members of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Tarmo Kruusimäe, Anti Poolamets, Riina Sikkut, Timo Suslov and Margit Sutrop represent Estonia at the Plenary Meeting.
COSAC is a cooperation format that brings together the Committees for Union Affairs of the national parliaments of the 27 Member States of the European Union.
Source: Parliament of Estonia
NordenBladet — Instructions for employers on the safe entry of seasonal primary production workers have been completed. Seasonal workers entering Finland must be vaccinated as specified in the instructions of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Workers critical for security of supply, including primary production workers, will be allowed to enter Finland, but unvaccinated persons will be tested at the border. The war in Ukraine will make it more difficult for the Ukrainian people to come to Finland for seasonal work. Efforts will be made to facilitate the issuance of seasonal work certificates and entry into the country and to help meet the vaccination requirements for people from Ukraine.Vaccinated workers are allowed to enter the country if they have a vaccination certificate or a certificate of recovery from COVID-19. Unvaccinated persons will be tested at the border immediately after arrival in Finland, and retested 72–120 hours after the first test. More detailed safety recommendations concerning COVID-19 are available on the website of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare guidelines on travel and the coronavirus pandemic). Regional restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 epidemic may also affect the operation of farms. The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry strongly recommends that all seasonal workers get vaccinated before arriving in Finland. The Ministry also recommends that workers carry a negative COVID-19 test certificate issued no more than 72 hours before arrival. Exceptions to these restrictions may be allowed for people from Ukraine coming to Finland and those who may seek seasonal work later. Updated information is available on the websites of the Finnish Immigration Service (migri.fi) and the Finnish Border Guard (raja.fi).The number of seasonal workers needed in primary production is around 16,000. “We are all deeply concerned over the war in Ukraine. I will do everything in my power to ensure extensive cooperation between the authorities to guarantee the entry of seasonal workers in Finland in the next growing season, and every effort will be made to make this possible. This is something we can do to help Ukraine and Ukrainians at war. We will follow the developments very closely. As in the previous springs during the COVID-19 pandemic, I want to stress the importance of observing health security practices in the farms and the responsibility of the farms for their employees,” says Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Jari Leppä.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet — The Ministry of the Interior has appointed a cross-sectoral group to coordinate migration to Finland following Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The purpose of the group is to ensure smooth exchange of information between the different parties involved and to maintain a shared situation picture regarding the necessary measures.The coordination group will work together to ensure that the competent authorities can find the best solutions to any problems that may arise in the practices and legislation concerning migrants’ entry to Finland and their reception, stay and work here.Currently, the topics to be discussed include the availability of seasonal workers and the related permit procedures, any temporary protection possibly granted to Ukrainians, and ensuring smooth application processes in the rapidly changing situation. In addition to the situation of Ukrainian people, the group will also discuss other questions related to migration to Finland arising due to Russia’s attack. In addition to the Ministry of the Interior, the group includes representatives from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Finnish Immigration Service, the Association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities and the Finnish Red Cross.The term of the group will last until further notice, and the group may invite other necessary parties to participate in its work.Finland is monitoring the situation and preparing to receive Ukrainians Finland is monitoring the migration situation in Ukraine very closely. Finland has increased the exchange of information both nationally within the central government and with its international partners. The sharing of up-to-date information on the situation has been intensified within the EU.According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), more than 670,000 Ukrainian people have been forced to flee their country. In the first stage, migration is directed to Ukraine’s neighbouring countries and to countries that already have a Ukrainian population: up to 90% of Ukrainians who have crossed the Polish border are staying with their families and friends. There are significant Ukrainian minorities in different parts of Europe. There are approximately 7,200 Ukrainians permanently residing in Finland, and the role of Ukrainian seasonal workers has been important in Finland in recent years. The number of asylum applications submitted by Ukrainians in Finland has increased slightly in recent days, but so far there is no indication that Ukrainians would be planning to come particularly to Finland. If necessary, Finland is prepared both for receiving a large number of migrants during a short period of time and for facing a long-term pressure of migration. The authorities are capable of rapidly increasing the reception capacity, directing migrants to registration centres, if necessary, and concentrating their resources on the rapid processing of applications.Common EU solution is being soughtAlthough hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have already arrived in the EU, the number of asylum applications submitted has not increased in the same proportion. Ukrainians do not need to apply for protection immediately upon arrival in the EU, because they can enter the Schengen area with a biometric passport visa-free and move freely within the EU for three months without registering their stay. On the other hand, it is difficult to obtain precise information on the migration and numbers of Ukrainians in the EU countries for this reason. Some Eastern European countries have started to grant temporary residence permits to Ukrainians.The need for protection may change when the three-month visa exemption period of the Ukrainians now arriving ends or if the EU countries bordering Ukraine are no longer able to receive all those in need of protection. It is also important to ensure that Ukrainians are in an equal position across the EU. As a common EU solution to the situation, the Commission is proposing that the EU activate the Directive on temporary protection, which is more than 20 years old. This would also be the first time that a possibility for providing temporary protection would be introduced in Finland. Coordination between the authorities is of utmost importance also in this regard.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
NordenBladet —
Today, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) held a video meeting with the colleagues from the Committee on Matters of Foreign Policy and Inter-parliamentary Cooperation of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament), who told them about the current situation in the country and asked for humanitarian aid, support for the evacuation of civilians and international support for the establishment of a no-fly zone over Ukrainian cities.
Chair of the Committee on Matters of Foreign Policy and Inter-parliamentary Cooperation Oleksandr Merezhko and member of the Committee Mariia Ionova gave the Foreign Affairs Committee an overview of the situation in Ukraine. They said that Ukraine needed the support of the countries of the European Union, NATO and the United Nations in order to close the airspace above the larger cities of Ukraine and asked for the diplomatic support of all countries to achieve that.
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson emphasised that the international assistance to Ukraine was growing by the hour. “This is something nobody could have imagined only 10 days ago, but now the pressure is increasing, the situation is changing every hour and more supporters are coming. It is also to be hoped that this will have an impact on international organisations such as the Red Cross, which at the moment has not been able to provide humanitarian assistance in the cities bombed by Russia,” Mihkelson said.
According to Mihkelson, the members of the Committee were told that the Russian army had surrounded several cities, such as Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kherson, Mariupol, and had started indiscriminate bombing of residential areas. “People are on the streets and shout at the soldiers that these are their streets, this is their city, go away,” he referred to the words of Ionova.
Mihkelson said that hearing his Ukrainian colleagues describe Russia’s war crimes had been dramatic, but at the same time the Ukrainian army and people were full of fighting spirit and would not surrender.
“Our Ukrainian colleagues asked to put pressure on all European countries not to sell fuel to Russia,” Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee Mihhail Lotman said. He added that at the same time Ukraine needed fuel itself for the evacuation of civilian population, distribution of humanitarian aid and transporting weapons to the regions where military activities take place.
Lotman said that the Ukrainians asked for help in fighting against Russia’s propaganda. They had also reported that Russia was blackmailing Europe with the threat of damage to nuclear power plants.
According to Mihkelson, the Ukrainian colleagues said that it would be impossible for Putin to come to power in Ukraine because the Ukrainian people are full of fighting spirit, and it would take millions of Russian troops to gain permanent control over Ukraine.
The Ukrainian parliamentarians asked to insert influence on the Red Cross and the OSCE to provide security and help evacuate children and women from the cities. Presently, the Red Cross has refused to work in the regions that are being bombed. Getting medicines and humanitarian aid to the cities where they are needed is of critical importance. There are supplies in the western part of Ukraine, but they cannot be delivered.
The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee who participated in the meeting underlined that the Western countries were working to ensure that no war crime would go unpunished. “At the political level, we are active in both the EU and NATO to maintain unity and to support Ukraine,” Mihkelson assured. “We completely understand the situation of Ukraine. Russia is fighting against global peace by all means possible,” Mihkelson said, and added, “In this hopeless war, Putin’s regime will never win.”
Source: Parliament of Estonia
NordenBladet —
Today, President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas held a video conference with Roberto Fico, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament. They discussed Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and the measures to be taken to stop it.
Ratas said that he had been in touch with his Ukrainian counterpart, who had shared mobile phone videos of Russia’s attacks on Kharkiv today, where dozens of people had been killed. “This is a horrible sight,” Ratas added. “These are the most terrible times in Europe after World War II.”
“In the current situation, the most important thing is to support Ukraine in every way and to stay united,” Ratas said. “I am happy to see that the members of the European Union and NATO are of one mind and the Euro-Atlantic cooperation is functioning. The United States are with us today, as well as Australia and Japan, who have joined the sanctions.”
Ratas also told his Italian counterpart about yesterday’s meeting of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Baltic States and Sweden in Riga and assured that Ukraine had the strong support of all countries. He pointed out that Sweden, who had been a neutral country for a long time, had also decided to support Ukraine with military assistance.
“We have to stay united,” Ratas stated, and added that it was necessary to jointly request suspension of Russia’s membership in international organisations. He also underlined that the ongoing war was not a war of the Russian people, but Putin’s war. Incitement of conflicts between nations must be strictly avoided, Ratas said.
The President of the Chamber of Deputies of Italy fully agreed with everything that was said and emphasised on his part that, in the present circumstances, unity was especially important. He also thinks that the people of Russia do not want war. This war is led and the decisions are made by a small group of the power elite.
Ratas and Fico jointly affirmed that Ukraine was an independent and sovereign state whose territorial integrity was non-negotiable, and the allies supported Ukraine.
Ratas also gave an overview of Estonia’s contribution in supporting Ukraine and noted that Estonia had given both military assistance and humanitarian aid and was receiving war refugees.
The President of the Riigikogu also thanked Italy for their contribution to defending the air space of the Baltic Sea region and affirmed that Estonia and Italy had excellent bilateral relations and their cooperation in NATO was strong as well.
Source: Parliament of Estonia
NordenBladet — On 1 March 2022, the Ministerial Committee on Economic Policy decided that central government guarantees will not be granted for the loans and other commitments that will be transferred to the wellbeing services counties as a result of the health and social services reform.Furthermore, this policy sets out that central government guarantees will not, as a rule, be granted for new loans taken out by wellbeing services counties.On 18 January 2022, the Financial Supervisory Authority updated its regulations so that receivables from wellbeing services counties will be classified on the balance sheets of banks in the same zero-risk category as receivables from the government, municipalities and joint municipal authorities. As a result, the treatment of the loans to be transferred from joint municipal authorities to wellbeing services counties will remain the same with respect to solvency requirements despite the change in debtor.In the government bill concerning the health and social services reform, the granting of government guarantees for transferring loans was expressly justified by the fact that the guarantees would ensure that the loans remain in the zero-risk category in the reform. As the Financial Supervisory Authority’s interpretation is that the loans are zero risk even without government guarantees, there are no longer grounds for granting them.If some creditors decide to exercise their right to terminate transferring loans due to the change in debtor, the State will refinance them through its own funding.
Source: Valtioneuvosto.fi
