According to the explanatory memorandum to the Bill, the purpose of the amendments is to ensure that, in the event the Riigikogu decides to amend the Constitution, it will be possible to form the electoral districts after the constitutional amendment has entered into force.
The Bill on Amendments to the Municipal Council Election Act (544 SE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group, stipulates that electoral districts will be formed not later than on the 60th day before the election day, and the council will distribute the mandates between electoral districts based on the number of voters according to the population register data as of 15 July of the election year.
Under the current Act, electoral districts are formed not later than on the 90th day before the election day and the mandates are distributed based on the information as of 1 June.
Ants Frosch from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Priit Lomp from the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Estonian Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.
The Centre Party Group moved to reject the Bill. Four members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 49 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported, and the first reading was concluded.
After the sitting, members of the Riigikogu are planning to form the Republic of Georgia Support Group on the initiative of Member of the Riigikogu Lauri Laats and the Estonian language Support Group on the initiative of Member of the Riigikogu Ando Kiviberg.
Chair of the Finance Committee Annely Akkermann, Deputy Chairman of the Finance Committee Andrei Korobeinik and members of the Finance Committee Marek Reinaas, Aivar Sõerd and Mart Võrklaev explained that the economic downturn had strongly affected the competitiveness of Estonian companies.
Akkermann said that in fiscal policy, Estonia was implementing measures to increase the revenue base, limit the growth of budgetary expenditure, and improve the balance between revenues and expenditure.
“The budget will be significantly affected by the increase in defence spending, which is currently at 3 percent, but we are moving towards 5 percent,” Akkermann pointed out. She added that the projected budget deficit was 3 percent.
“The main objective of fiscal policy in the coming years is to reduce the deficit. Estonia’s budget expenditure is to a very large extent indexed, or linked to the growth of GDP. Examples of this include the financing of higher education and research, and defence spending, as well as the linking of pensions to the consumer price index, which will lead to budgetary expenditure increasing faster than the revenues. In this sense, fiscal policy needs structural reforms, in particular to reduce the impact of indexing,” Akkermann said.
According to member of the Economic Affairs Committee Andres Sutt, Estonian economy has all the prerequisites for a new technology-intensive growth cycle. Maintaining an attractive investment environment, the provision of clean energy ranging from wind energy to nuclear power, diverse access to capital for start-ups, growth companies and traditional businesses, and the availability of skilled workforce that meets the changing needs of the economy will also ensure Estonia’s economic success. In this context, people’s increased investments in the second and third pillars of the pension system have a key role in increasing the importance of capital market based financing. Sutt explained that Estonia’s economy was projected to grow by about 1.6 percent in 2025 and by about 3 percent in the following two years.
Monitoring of the economies of IMF member countries, including Estonia, is generally carried out in the context of the economic policy consultations that generally take place once a year. The common name “Article IV consultations” derives from Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. IMF’s national cooperation partner in Estonia is Eesti Pank (Bank of Estonia), which publishes summaries of their missions, etc. on its website.
The mission team specifies the objectives, scope, details, timing and expected results of the Article IV cycle. It is interested in discussing recent macroeconomic, fiscal and financial developments, prospects, risks and policies. The mission team is interested in feedback from members of the Riigikogu committees on their analytical and policy agenda before the Article IV consultations.
As this is an interim mission of the IMF, the team will not prepare a summary statement and there will be no press conference at the end of the mission. However, the interim mission is important because it usually prepares the first version of the Article IV report, which is supplemented with additional themes and economic policy messages during the mission.
The IMF mission is headed by Vincenzo Guzzo, and the members of the delegation are Bingjie Hu, Irina Bunda and Carlos de Resende.
The International Monetary Fund discusses important economic policy issues with all member states once a year. The outcome of the consultation is a report reflecting the IMF experts’ assessment of Estonia’s economic policy.
The Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson told the plenary assembly that one central principle of Estonia’s foreign policy—never again alone—was more pertinent today than at any point after our independence was restored in 1991. “In a turbulent world where force might trump justice, we can ensure our sovereignty and security by maintaining and enhancing our common allied space through active international communication. Determined, skilful, internally consistent, and democratic foreign policy is just as important for Estonia today as is directing more resources into building independent defence capabilities,” he emphasised.
As he sees it, the key issue in Estonia’s foreign policy is our contribution to restoring sustainable peace in Europe. “Ideally, this would mean Ukraine’s victory in the war against the invading aggressor and the expansion of the democratic security space in a way that would ensure not only the sovereignty of Ukraine but also Moldova, Georgia, and Belarus, and would lead to the fall of dictatorships. In other words, this would mean a conclusive end to empires in Europe. Reaching this goal would ensure Estonia’s security for at least the next generation, or maybe longer,” Mihkelson said. Yet he admitted that the international environment had only become more difficult over the last year, taking us even further from this aim.
Mihkelson said that Russia’s words and actions showed that their strategic goal was still the restoration of its empire and gaining the leading role in European security, and this was the goal it was moving towards despite heavy losses of human lives. “Ukraine is fighting and maintaining the front line not only against Russia but the whole authoritarian power of four. Intensified defence cooperation between Russia, North Korea, Iran, and China helps Moscow to hold on to the initiative and the material superiority in the war,” he said, adding that while the authoritarian forces were converging, the free world had just entered one of the most precarious periods of its history where the unity showed signs of crumbling and where the vitality of democratic institutions that ensure civil liberties was being sorely tested.
Mihkelson referred to moments in Estonian history where our fate as a nation had been decided without our own input; but hastened to add that times were different today and that we had our own place and our own voice on the international arena. “But this does not mean that challenges have disappeared. Rifts in the allied space and conflicts between great powers mean that we need to find the wisdom and determination to do our utmost to be represented and taken into account when Estonia’s sovereignty and security are at stake,” he admonished.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna said in his speech that the mood of the late 1930s can be felt around the world: the rules-based world order is under increasing pressure, autocracies are gathering strength and converging, and attempts are being made to drive wedges into democratic societies and between democracies, to amplify existing contradictions and to undermine values. He called on the democratic world to ask itself whether we would allow the threats to grow until it was too late, as was done then, or whether we would resolutely take a stand to defend our values.
“Not long ago, many European leaders admitted that they should have given more heed to the Baltic states when we warned them about the growing threat of aggression in the east. Today we tell them: listen to us now. Freedom of us all is at stake. Keeping it requires victory in Ukraine, containing the aggressive Russia for a long time, strengthening our alliances, and a more confident Europe,” he said.
Consistency will continue to be the trump card of our foreign policy. “Estonia has been right when warning about threats and calling for resolve. We have been united in making our case abroad, even when we have had heated arguments at home. If we—as a country and nation—want to emerge from these difficult times unscathed and stronger, then our unity and integrity have to be maintained,” the Minister said in his speech outlining the main directions and goals of Estonia’s foreign policy.
During the debate that followed the presentations and the questions, Kalev Stoicescu spoke for Estonia 200 Group, Eerik-Niiles Kross for the Reform Party Group, Raimond Kaljulaid for the Social Democratic Party Group, Lauri Laats and Vadim Belobrovtsev for the Centre Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu for Isamaa Group, and Anti Poolaments and Rain Epler for the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group.
The deliberation of the motion of no confidence was postponed
The President of the Riigikogu added a second item on the agenda of the sitting: a motion of no confidence in Prime Minister Kristen Michal, initiated by 29 Members of the Riigikogu. Its deliberation was deferred to the agenda for tomorrow’s sitting because there was no time to start the discussion before the sitting ended today at 2 p.m.
The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Local Government Organisation Act (537 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Raimond Kaljulaid and Tiit Maran, was also deferred due to the end of the working hours.
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali said that the European Common Agricultural Policy was vital for the resilience and the comprehensive security of European countries. “At the time when Estonia and other EU countries bordering on aggressive Russia are investing massively in security, agricultural direct payments are still not fair,” he added.
Tali pointed out that the level of Common Agricultural Policy direct payments in Estonia was expected raise to 86% of the EU average per hectare by 2027, but if the level of direct payments for the Baltic States had not been increased in the period of 2021–2027, the Estonian farmers would have received around 76% of the EU average within this timeframe. “This is not normal. The European Union must act in solidarity, not just talk about solidarity,” Tali said.
“Direct payments must become fair,” the Chairman of the Committee underlined, pointing out that the harmonisation of direct payments must continue. “Food is one of the foundations of security, and it must be produced in sufficient quantities to supply the country,” said Tali, adding that the CAP also included other objectives such as environmental protection, development of rural regions and bridging of regional gaps.
Enlargement of the European Union was also discussed at the sitting. It was noted that after the enlargement, the Common Agricultural Policy would probably be reformed. The accession of Ukraine alone would have a significant impact on agricultural policy, as it is a large country with much agricultural land. It was also noted that everybody expected that there should be less bureaucracy connected with the support measures, and the system should be more flexible and faster.
It was also pointed out that Estonia believed that a food security system could be developed, and the possibility of using the EU’s central crisis reserve fund to cover losses was discussed.
At the sitting, Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Piret Hartman and Head of Land Use Policy Department of the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Katrin Rannik gave an overview of the Government’s positions for the negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union for the period beginning in 2028.
The Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union plans to present the conclusions and the legislative framework this year.
At the debate initiated by the Foreign Affairs Committee, each member of the Riigikogu may pose up to two questions to the speakers. After the speeches and the questions and answers session, a debate will be held where all members of the Riigikogu can take the floor.
The sitting begins at 10 a.m., and it will be streamed live on the Riigikogu website. TV channel ETV2 will show a live broadcast of the debate.
The Riigikogu has held annual foreign policy debates for more than 30 years. The first foreign policy debate in the plenary assembly of the Riigikogu was held on 17 February 1994.
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
Video recording of the debate will be available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
According to Deputy Chairman of the National Defence Committee Leo Kunnas, who chaired the sitting, the Committee thinks that the tasks of the Defence Forces should be specified and wants to move on with the amendments rapidly, so that they could be passed as an Act by the Riigikogu already this spring. He added that before the second reading, the Committee planned to make some changes to the wording of the Bill.
The Bill clarifies the tasks of the Defence Forces, and the use of direct coercion and military force in the territorial waters of Estonia in enhancing Estonia’s maritime security. The Bill will ensure that the Defence Forces will have sufficient flexibility to operate at sea, so that they would be ready to respond rapidly to threats that come from the sea.
According to the Bill, the Defence Forces will be given the right to respond to the threats directed against the infrastructure ensuring the resilience of essential services, as well as the threats against national defence objects, ports or other civil engineering works or equipment in the territorial waters of Estonia. Among other things, the measures to be used by the Defence Forces in the performance of their functions in Estonia’s economic zone will be specified. Currently, the state supervision tasks of the Defence Forces in the territorial waters of Estonia are mainly connected with guarding the state border.
At the Committee sitting, Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur, Commander of the Defence Forces, Major General Andrus Merilo and Head of Legal Department of the Ministry of Defence Kristel Urke gave an overview of the changes planned to be made with the Bill.
The National Defence Committee decided to move to include the Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and the Economic Zone Act (enhancing maritime security) (565 SE) in the agenda of the plenary sitting on 19 February, and to conclude the first reading of the Bill.
“It is a priority for Estonia to support Ukraine every way we can in its path towards European Union accession. We are more than ready to share our parliamentary experiences in carrying out the necessary reforms,” Hussar declared. He emphasised that Ukraine belonged to Europe.
“Estonia is a firm ally of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, in order to ensure Ukraine’s victory and national sovereignty,” Hussar said. He added that when the speakers of six countries neighbouring Russia met recently in Tartu, they also stressed the need for continuing every possible support to Ukraine.
Koval thanked Estonia for its help in fighting against Russia’s aggression. “We are very grateful for that,” Koval said.
He pointed out that Estonia was a critical partner for Ukraine in connection with the EU integration process, where Estonia’s own experiences of accession negotiations were extremely valuable for Ukraine.
Koval described the situation of agriculture in Ukraine and its challenges. During his visit to Estonia, a strategic partnership action plan for enhancing cooperation was signed between the Estonian Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture and the Ukrainian Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food. “This document allows new developmental direction and cooperation points to be identified both bilaterally as well as on the EU level on the strength of Estonia’s experiences,” Koval said.
Also present at the meeting were the Ukrainian Deputy Minister Oksana Osmachko and the Estonian Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Piret Hartman.
Chairman of the Estonia-Taiwan Support Group Kristo Enn Vaga said that Taiwanese companies Motex and Kangjian donated 1.11 million medical masks to Ukrainian health care institutions and units of the Ukrainian Defence Forces at a mask donation ceremony held in Taiwan. The masks will be sent to Estonia, and the Chairman of the Support Group will be responsible for their delivery to Ukraine. “All assistance to Ukraine is critical. Medical supplies such as masks are especially valuable as the burden on hospitals in Ukraine is overwhelming and any extra help can help save lives,” Kristo Enn Vaga explained.
Vaga added that Taiwan has also contributed to Ukraine’s reconstruction efforts in partnership with Estonia. In June last year, the Estonian Centre for International Development ESTDEV received 1.1 million euros from the Taipei Mission in Latvia for the construction of family homes in Ukraine. “Taiwan’s slogan “Taiwan can help, and Taiwan is helping!” is very powerful and shows that Estonia is in a very similar value space with Taiwan,” Kristo Enn Vaga underlined.
The visit of the Estonian defence industry companies to Taiwan takes place on 4–8 February. The head of the delegation is Kristo Enn Vaga, and the delegation consists of member of the Estonia-Taiwan Support Group Kalle Laanet and representatives of Estonia’s defence industry companies Threod Systems, TrackDeep, Semetron and Frankenburg Technologies. The delegation will meet with Vice President of Taiwan Hsiao Bi-khim, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung and Secretary-General of the National Security Council Joseph Wu, and visit the Ministry of Defence of Taiwan. They will also have meetings with the Defence Industry Association, the Asia UAV AI Innovation Application R&D Centre, and several defence industry companies of Taiwan. This is the second visit of the Estonia-Taiwan Support Group of this Riigikogu to Taiwan. The previous visit took place in March 2024. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu visited Taiwan in November.
