The Bill on the Ratification of the Final Acts of the Extraordinary Congress of the Universal Postal Union in Riyadh (689 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will ratify two international agreements adopted by the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Riyadh in 2023: the fourth additional protocol to the general regulations and the first additional protocol to the Postal Convention. The amendments will specify the role of a governing body of the UPU, raise the budget ceiling and better align postal services with the needs of e-commerce, particularly in terms of traceability. These are mainly technical and internal organizational changes that will have little impact on end users.
The Bill on Amendments to the Public Transport Act (725 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the first reading. It will amend the procedure for keeping records of service provider cards in the public transport register. The aim of the Bill is to consolidate economic activity data subject to special requirements into a single register in order to ensure more efficient data management, reduce administrative costs and increase security.
Currently, service provider cards can be applied for and processed in the register of economic activities, but physical cards are issued, managed, and published in the public transport register. Such fragmentation increases the administrative burden on the state and businesses. In addition, the public transport register is an outdated and poorly maintained system, which means that hosting data in this environment poses serious security risks, and other Transport Administration systems located in the same cluster are also at risk.
Therefore, the current practice of displaying service provider cards to the public will be discontinued, and the application for the cards, the issuance of the cards, and record-keeping will be transferred to the register of economic activities. This will reduce duplicate management of registers, improve data security, and simplify administration for both the state and businesses.
Another amendment concerns the requirement to provide a photo on the service card. Today’s procedure requires that a person provide an identity photo in the application in order to obtain a service card. This requirement is a leftover from the time when a physical card was the primary means of identification. Such a photo does not increase security, but it does create risks regarding data protection and misuse and requires an expensive IT-solution. At the same time, the planned amendment is in line with data protection principles according to which the state should not collect or store data that it does not actually need.
The amendment is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2026.
Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Rene Kokk from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
In his speech, European Commission Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration Piotr Serafin will focus on the European Commission’s proposal for the next budget, discussing Europe’s common challenges and how to overcome them through cooperation and with the help of the EU budget.
Serafini’s speech will be followed by a debate on the matter of significant national importance “Estonia’s choices and opportunities in the European Union’s long-term budget for 2028–2034”, initiated by the European Union Affairs Committee, with presentations by Meelis Meigas, Head of the EU Policy Unit of the Fiscal Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, and Peeter Tali, Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu.
“Discussing the new European Union budget as a matter of significant national importance is very timely and appropriate, as the Government has begun to prepare Estonia’s negotiating positions,” Tali said. “The EU’s seven-year budget, together with EU legislation, Member State policies, and private sector investments, will significantly shape the Europe we will live in at the beginning of the 2030s – how strong our defence and security will be, how well Estonia will be connected to the rest of Europe, and how fast our economy will grow.”
In his presentation, Tali will discuss why the EU budget is important for Estonia, and also speak about the political positions in the negotiations on the budget proposal and the role of the Riigikogu in representing Estonia’s interests. Meelis Meigas will give an overview of the long-term budget proposals, main directions, and areas, as well as the process of forming positions in Estonia.
Members of the Riigikogu may each pose one question to both presenters. The presentations will be followed by the debate, in which representatives of the parliamentary groups will speak first, and after that, all members of the Riigikogu can take the floor.
The sitting and the Commissioner’s speech will be live streamed on the Riigikogu web page and on Facebook. The speech can be followed in English or with a simultaneous interpretation into Estonian. The video recording of the Commissioner’s speech and the sitting will be available on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.
Head of the Estonian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly Raimond Kaljulaid and member of the delegation Marko Mihkelson gave the Standing Committee, which brings together the heads of member state delegations, an overview of Russia’s violation of Estonia’s airspace, due to which Estonia requested NATO Article 4 consultations and, for the first time, initiated an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Kaljulaid said that the Estonian delegation also gave the allies an overview of the situation on Estonia’s eastern border, which had been met with exceptional interest.
Border violations were also discussed at today’s Plenary Sitting of the Annual Session, where NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte gave a speech and answered questions from delegates. “During the assembly’s debate with Secretary General Rutte, the question arose as to whether the violation of Estonia’s airspace was intentional. It came as a surprise to us that Secretary General Rutte also considered it possible that it was a mistake. We pointed out that the Russian pilots were naturally aware that they were flying in NATO airspace, and that it certainly could not have been an accident or a mistake,” Kaljulaid said.
Mihkelson underlined that NATO must be more decisive than it had been so far. “Russia must know that NATO will not tolerate deliberate violations of our sovereign territory. There must be zero tolerance in this regard. NATO must move from the Baltic airspace patrol mission to an air defence mission,” he said.
The same topic was addressed in the resolution adopted today by the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which noted that Russia’s recent airspace incursions of Estonia and other allies were in line with Russia’s escalating behaviour towards the Allies’ territory, populations, infrastructure, and interests. The Assembly also welcomed NATO’s decision to launch the Eastern Sentry vigilance measure, under which Allies are strengthening NATO’s deterrence and defence posture with additional air defence elements in Estonia and across the Eastern Flank.
In the resolution on supporting Ukraine, the Assembly recommended that NATO allies ensure the timely and continuous delivery of air defence, long-range precision strike systems, ammunition, and other critical capabilities needed by Ukraine, expand and tighten sanctions on Russia, and reaffirm that Russia’s attempts to annex Ukrainian territory will never be recognized.
At its Annual Session, the Assembly adopted a total of six resolutions which, in addition to NATO’s deterrence and defence capabilities and support for Ukraine, addressed the strengthening of economic cooperation, increasing of societies’ resilience to external interference, the future of unmanned warfare, and the situation in the Western Balkans.
During the Annual Session in Ljubljana, the Estonian delegation also participated in a separate meeting with delegations from the Nordic Countries and the Baltic States, as well as Poland, and Germany.
Kaljulaid said that the Estonian delegation had been asked to give the Assembly’s Standing Committee an overview of the violation of Estonia’s airspace by Russia. “After letting the world know about Russia’s aggressive actions and provocations through the UN, and informing our allies in the North Atlantic Council, we also want to give members of the parliaments of NATO countries an overview of Russia’s hybrid warfare against NATO. There is certainly a great deal of interest in this, and it is important for us to highlight to our allies that this is not a coincidence, but a part of Russia’s efforts to threaten European security, intimidate the citizens of NATO countries, and test NATO’s resolve and unity. We can also show at the level of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly that Russia is not able to do these things,” he said.
The Standing Committee, which brings together the heads of member state delegations, will meet on Sunday to discuss airspace violations against Estonia and other allies. Discussions will also be held in other committees of the Assembly during this week. In addition to the Standing Committee, Kaljulaid is a member of the Defence and Security Committee, and Mihkelson participates in the work of the Political Committee of the Assembly.
The NATO Parliamentary Assembly will convene for the Plenary Sitting of the Annual Session on Monday. Secretary General of NATO Mark Rutte and Vice-President of the European Investment Bank Robert de Groot will address the Plenary Sitting and reply to the questions of the members of the Assembly, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy will deliver an online address, and Prime Minister of Slovenia Robert Golob will also make a speech.
The debates at the Plenary Sitting will focus on NATO’s deterrence and defence capabilities, as well as strengthening economic cooperation, increasing the resilience of societies to external interference, the future of unmanned warfare, further support for Ukraine, and the situation in the Western Balkans. The Plenary Sitting plans to adopt six resolutions on these topics.
During the Annual Session in Ljubljana, members of the Estonian delegation will also participate in a separate meeting with delegations from the Nordic Countries and the Baltic States, as well as Poland, and Germany.
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali said that combating and preventing child sexual abuse was also naturally necessary on the internet, but Estonia could not agree to indiscriminate scanning of message files before they are sent.
“It is unthinkable that in the European Union we will start restricting the freedoms of our citizens and undermining their privacy,” Tali underlined. “As a preventive measure, just in case, and no matter how noble the pretext.” He added that many countries are critical of the initiative and expressed his satisfaction that the Presidency had decided at the last minute to remove the draft regulation from the agenda of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting on 14 October and put it on hold. He stressed that if the draft were to be put back on the agenda in the same form, Estonia would vote against it.
The European Commission submitted a proposal for a regulation to establish rules for preventing and combating child sexual abuse already in 2022. So far, no compromise that is acceptable to all Member States has been reached – some countries agree to greater infringement of privacy rights, while others, such as Estonia, consider the protection of privacy rights a higher priority.
Estonia supports the general objectives of the draft regulation – protecting children from sexual abuse, preventing the dissemination of such web content, and bringing perpetrators to justice – but cannot support the blanket scanning of content shared by users, such as images, videos, or web addresses. Estonia also believes that if a person refuses to give permission for scanning and is therefore restricted from accessing the service, this constitutes a violation of the principle of voluntary consent.
Minister of the Interior Igor Taro gave an overview of the position of the Government on the draft regulation at today’s sitting of the European Union Affairs Committee. The European Union Affairs Committee decided by consensus to support the position presented by the Government.
According to the President of the Riigikogu, relations between Estonia and Poland are characterised by excellent cooperation, which has become even closer in recent years. Hussar pointed out that mutual parliamentary friendship groups had been formed in the parliaments of both countries, and after the meeting, he himself also became a member of the Estonia-Poland Parliamentary Friendship Group. “Poland is one of Estonia’s closest allies. We have a lot in common, and we also share the same concerns – our greatest security threat is Russia,” he said.
Hussar pointed out that after Russia’s drone attack in Poland and airspace violations in Estonia and in other European countries, it was of the utmost importance to increase the region’s deterrence and defence capabilities and the cost of aggression for Russia. “We have to do everything we can to make sure such violations would not happen again,” he underlined.
Hussar said that in order to strengthen security, cooperation between the countries bordering the Baltic Sea must be further enhanced. In this context, he mentioned the need for an amendment that would allow NATO countries to enter the airspace of other allies if necessary in response to airspace violations. “We know what we can do and what we must do,” he said.
Relations with the United States, including the importance of the US presence on NATO’s eastern flank, were discussed at the meeting. Issues related to defence industry, energy security, and infrastructure projects important for the development of the region were also spoken about.
The meeting between the President of the Riigikogu and the President of Poland was also attended by Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu Kalev Stoicescu and Deputy Chairman of the Estonia-Poland Parliamentary Friendship Group Kristo Enn Vaga.
The President of Poland is visiting Estonia in connection with the Arraiolos Group meeting in Tallinn, which is attended by the heads of state of 10 European Union Member States at the invitation of President of Estonia Alar Karis.
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
According to the State Budget for 2026 Bill (737 SE), initiated by the Government, the revenue of the state budget will be EUR 18.6 billion and the expenditure will be 19.6 billion. The budget foresees EUR 1.3 billion in investments. Compared to this year’s budget, revenues will grow by EUR 843 million or 4.7 per cent and expenditure by EUR 1.15 billion or 6.3 per cent. The total volume of investments will increase by 32%, or EUR 305 million, over the year.
The planned general government deficit amounts to 4.5 percent of GDP which remains within the limits of the exemption granted by the European Union for rapid increases in defence spending. Next year’s debt burden will grow by EUR 1.7 billion to 25.9% of GDP.
The government says the increase in defence spending to five per cent of GDP is the largest increase in expenditure, which will require an additional EUR 844.5 million next year. The government is planning to invest EUR 276.8 million in road infrastructure, including EUR 65 million from motor vehicle tax, and EUR 684.2 million in railways, among other things to ensure the completion of Rail Baltic by 2030.
According to the Bill, state revenues will decrease by EUR 780 million as a result of the introduction of a uniform 700-euro income tax exemption and the cancellation of the planned two-percentage-point increase in income tax. The tax burden in Estonia will fall from 36.6% to 35.2%.
Together with the tax changes, the net income of those who earn the average salary of teachers will increase by EUR 319 per month, or EUR 3,828 per year. Previous cuts in operating expenses will also apply – the total cuts in the budgets of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Culture will amount to EUR 94 million in 2026, to which the Ministry of Education and Research will add another EUR 18 million through a budget revision. EUR 28.9 million will be allocated for salary increase in the area of government of the Ministry of the Interior in 2026 which will allow front line rescue workers, police officers, rescue coordinators, and lecturers at the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences to receive a salary increase of nearly ten percent.
According to forecasts, the average pension will increase by 5.4 percent, with EUR 210 million allocated for this in the budget. The motor vehicle tax reduction for families with children and the taxation of 8-9-seater M-category vehicles similarly to the N-category vehicles, which will come into effect in 2026, will reduce the amount of motor vehicle tax to be collected by EUR 14 million. To achieve budget neutrality, EUR 48 million from motor vehicle tax will be allocated to the consolidated project for national roads.
According to the bill, the subsistence allowance limit will be raised by EUR 20 to EUR 220 and the subsistence allowance limit for each minor child in a family will be raised to EUR 264 for which an additional EUR 4 million will be allocated from the budget.
Due to the end of the working hours of the sitting, the first reading of the Bill was adjourned before debate which will take place at tomorrow’s plenary sitting. The report by Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller on the implementation of the long-term national development strategy “Estonia 2035” which was on the agenda for today’s sitting was also transferred to the agenda for tomorrow’s sitting.
Mihkelson said that the purpose of the joint visit was to discuss with German decision-makers the reasons for Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and other provocations directed against European countries, and what countries can do together with the European Union and NATO to stop Russia. “Germany is our firm ally and partner, who has strongly supported Ukraine. At the same time, there is a need for constant information exchange and explanations among allies so that we remain united in our positions and decisions and do not lose our main focus: to help Ukraine win the war of aggression initiated by Russia,” he added.
During their visit, the international delegation will meet with the Bundestag’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Committee on European Union Affairs and Defence Committee, as well as with various parliamentary groups. They will also have meetings with Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office Florian Hahn and representatives of the Ministry of Defence.
The Chairs of parliamentary committees will also participate in a round table discussion organized by the German Council on Foreign Relations and take part in a round table discussion on strengthening NATO’s presence in Lithuania at the Embassy of Lithuania.
The delegation of the Chairs of parliamentary committees includes the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees and the European Union Affairs Committees of the parliaments of Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Sweden, Finland, and Ukraine, who are members of United4Ukraine, a global parliamentary network created for supporting Ukraine.
The Bill on Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Tax Act (694 SE), initiated by the Government, will establish in the Motor Vehicle Tax Act the basis for reducing the motor vehicle tax liability for children from this year onwards. Parents or adults with custody who have at least one 18-year-old child will automatically receive the reduction. For each child, the parent’s motor vehicle tax liability will be reduced by up to EUR 100 during a tax period, but not more than their total tax liability. If a child has several parents, each of whom also owns a vehicle, the reduction will be divided between them. The impact of the reduction in liability on taxpayers will be twofold. For 55,000 taxpayers, the applicable reduction will cover their entire motor vehicle tax liability for 2025. 97,000 taxpayers will receive a reduction, but their tax liability will exceed the amount of the reduction. The motor vehicle tax burden will be reduced by an average of over 50% for households with children, leaving families with a total of over EUR 16 million. According to the bill it will be provided that minibuses with more than seven seats will be taxed at the N-category motor vehicle tax rate. This will significantly reduce the motor vehicle tax rate for 8- or 9-seater vehicles registered in the passenger car category. The amendment will support the livelihoods of families with many children and people with disabilities who use minibuses.
Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group, Helmen Kütt from the Social Democratic Party Group, Mart Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Aivar Kokk from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
The Bill on Amendments to the Motor Vehicle Tax Act (677 SE), initiated by the Finance Committee, will create a basis for shortening the taxation period for motor vehicle tax . The right to shorten will arise in two cases. If a vehicle is deleted from the motor register, the tax period for the current year will be shortened until such time. Tax liability will also be suspended when a vehicle is temporarily deregistered for the period during which it is declared wanted by the Police and Border Guard Board due to theft. This will bring motor vehicle tax into line with the Constitution and ensure a proportionate restriction of the fundamental right to property.
Anti Allas from the Social Democratic Party Group, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart from the Centre Party Group and Aivar Kokk from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
The aim of the Bill on Amendments to the Securities Market Act (690 SE), initiated by the Government, is to make the Estonian capital market more attractive to companies and to simplify the raising of capital in the case of small-scale securities issues. The Bill will raise the threshold for the obligation to draw up a prospectus from the current EUR 8 million to EUR 12 million which means that for public offerings of securities of up to EUR 12 million a simpler information document will be sufficient – this will reduce costs and administrative burden for companies. Based on the target group of the issue, the issuer will be able decide for itself in which language it will be appropriate to prepare the prospectus – either in a language customary in the sphere of international finance or in a language accepted by the Financial Supervision Authority. If securities are offered in Estonia, the issuer will have an obligation to translate the summary of the prospectus into Estonian. The bill will reduce the burden on investment service providers (banks, investment firms) by reducing various requirements – for example, simplification of the regulations related to the execution of client securities orders, including the elimination of certain reporting obligations and simplification of the reporting obligations for traders in certain derivative instruments. The bill will allow the Financial Supervision Authority to impose fines for violations related to market abuse that will be proportional to the company’s turnover, ensuring a fairer penalty policy. The amendments set out in the Bill are based on European Union legislation and will contribute to the competitiveness of the Estonian capital market and better access to investment for companies.
The agreement outlined in the Bill on the Ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Estonia and the Sultanate of Oman for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and its Protocol (692 SE), initiated by the Government , follows the OECD model agreement and regulates the division of taxation rights between the two countries. It will ensure equal treatment of persons and eliminate international double taxation. According to the agreement, the source state may not tax dividends at more than 10% and in certain cases, such as in the event of at least 20% ownership, dividends will be tax-free. No more than 5% may be withheld from interest, and in some cases, such as when the recipient of the interest is another country or a central bank, it will be tax-free. For royalties, the taxation limit will be 8%. The agreement also provides for an obligation of mutual exchange of information which will help prevent tax evasion and tax fraud. As at August, Estonia has concluded the agreements for the avoidance of double taxation with 63 countries.
Minister of the Interior Igor Taro and Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas replied to the interpellations of members of the Riigikogu.
Minister of the Interior Igor Taro replied to the interpellations concerning Ukrainian refugees, especially men of mobilization age (No. 794) and concerning the transfer of criminals from Sweden to Estonia (No. 803).
Ministry of Education and Research Kristina Kallas replied to the interpellations concerning inadequate public funding for school meals and the resulting inequality (No. 797), concerning students failing basic school final examinations (No. 800), concerning the organization of basic school final exams and continuation of studies in upper secondary school (No. 801) and concerning the budget surplus of the Ministry of Education and Research (No. 805).
Riina Sikkut and Lauri Läänemets took the floor during the open microphone.
“The impact of hybrid attacks and hostile influencing extends beyond national borders,” Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Peeter Tali said. “Countries in the Baltic Sea region that share the same values must stand together and protect their citizens, and our freedom of speech, democracy, and the rule of law. Hostile influence activities, interference in elections, and cyber-attacks are particularly dangerous. The European Union must inevitably invest significantly more money in security and military defence in its next long-term budget for 2028–2034, especially if we want to protect our free and prosperous way of life.”
In addition to Tali, Edmunds Cepurītis from the Parliament of Latvia, Ruslanas Baranovas from the Parliament of Lithuania, Agnieszka Pomaska and Jacek Włosowicz from the Parliament of Poland, Saara-Sofia Sirén from the Parliament of Finland, Erik Ottoson and Matilda Ernkrans from the Parliament of Sweden, Brigitte Klintskov Jerkel and Henrik Møller from the Parliament of Denmark, and Anton Hofreiter from the Parliament of Germany participate in the meeting of the Chairs of the European Union Affairs Committees.
Before the meeting, the Chairs of the European Union Affairs Committees visited the Mine Harbor Naval Base in Tallinn yesterday. They met with Commander of the Navy, Commodore Ivo Värk and discussed the situation in the Baltic Sea, the risks associated with the activities of Russia’s shadow fleet, and the protection of critical underwater infrastructure. The representatives of the national parliaments also visited the Rail Baltic Tallinn Ülemiste terminal together with Lauri Ulm, Technical Director of Rail Baltic Estonia.
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
