NordenBladet — On 13 August 2020, Fortum submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) programme to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. It started a procedure, which will assess the environmental impact of continuing, or alternatively closing, the operation of the Loviisa nuclear power plant as well as the impact of the options for the final disposal facility of low and intermediate-level waste. As the coordinating authority, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment issued a statement on the programme on 26 November 2020.
Two primary alternatives will be assessed in Fortum’s EIA programme: continuing the use of both units until about 2050 or decommissioning the nuclear power plant after the expiration of the current licences in 2027 and 2030.In its statement, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment states that the EIA programme prepared by Fortum covers the content requirements laid down in Section 3 of the EIA Decree and, in terms of its extent and detail, is an adequate plan for assessing the environmental impact of the project, provided that the issues presented in the Ministry’s statement are taken into account as the project progresses and at a later stage of the EIA procedure.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment requests in its statement that the assessment provide further details on the management of the ageing of the plant and take into consideration climate change and cooling in the assessment. The Ministry also requests that the assessment on nuclear waste management describe the prevention and consequences of accidents.
Public consultation concerning the EIA programme was organised between 26 August and 26 October 2020. The public event, as required by the EIA Decree, was held in Loviisa on 3 September 2020. A total of 39 statements and opinions were submitted to the Ministry during the national consultation.
According to the statements, the EIA programme was mainly considered comprehensive. However, the respondents made some individual comments, which should be taken into account and assessed in the EIA procedure. In particular, the respondents commented on the accident modelling and the nuclear power plant’s impact on waters. In addition, the statements and opinions also included other questions, comments and considerations that should be taken into account by the body responsible for the project.
Due to the potential for transboundary effects in the event of a nuclear accident, an international consultation on the programme was also organised in accordance with the Espoo Convention. The coordinating authority for the international hearings is the Ministry of the Environment.
During the hearings organised in accordance with the Espoo Convention, Sweden, Estonia, Russia, Norway, Denmark, Lithuania, Germany and Austria announced their participation in the EIA procedure. A total of 20 statements were received from EU citizens and organisations. The international hearings focused on the risks of a serious nuclear accident and its consequences.
The statements and opinions are available on the website of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
The EIA procedure will continue with an assessment on environmental impacts and an EIA report on them. According to the preliminary estimate, Fortum would submit the report to the Ministry in autumn 2021. The evaluation report would then be available in September-October. The coordinating authority would release its informed conclusion in December 2021. After that, the EIA report would be attached to the application for an operating or decommissioning permit concerning the future of the power plant.
NordenBladet — The Government has submitted to Parliament a proposal for an act on the marketing and use of explosives precursors and certain related acts. The new act would place further restrictions on consumer access to certain explosives precursors. The act would lay down national provisions on the marketing and use of explosives precursors and repeal the current act on the marketing and use of explosives precursors. National provisions would supplement the relevant Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.
The new act would largely correspond to the existing act but would contain certain clarifications required by the EU Regulation. For example, consumers would no longer be able to obtain specific chlorates and perchlorates in certain concentrations, which is possible under the current Regulation of 2013. Sulphuric acid in a certain concentration would also be subject to a licence.
The Government also proposes that more thorough background checks be carried out on licence applicants. The related provisions would be added to the Act on the Storage of Information Extracted from the Criminal Records and on the Disclosure of Such Information between Finland and Other Member States of the European Union and to the Criminal Records Act.
The acts are scheduled to enter into force on 1 February 2021 when the application of the EU Regulation begins.
NordenBladet — The Government proposes that the Act on Strong Electronic Identification and Electronic Trust Services be amended. The amendment would extend the maximum price regulation for the chaining of electronic initial identification data by two years. The maximum price would continue to be three cents.Initial identification refers to reliable verification of a person’s identity when the person is issued a means of strong identification, such as online banking codes, for the first time. Chaining of initial identification data takes place when a new means of electronic identification is created entirely electronically with the help of an existing means of strong electronic identification, like a new mobile certificate with the help of banking codes.
The Government decided to propose that the price regulation be extended, because the availability of electronic identification is essential for basic public services and their security. The maximum pricing aims to promote the opportunities of providers of strong identification means to offer them to users and so increase the availability of strong electronic identification for both consumers and electronic services. The current maximum price regulation has promoted the market and increased interest in the provision of new and competing services. However, the development work is still underway.
The Government also proposes that a new task be added for the Transport and Communications Agency to collect and provide statistical data on the market and supply of strong electronic identification. Access to statistical data would make it easier to monitor the impacts of the regulation and to further develop the legislation.
Next steps
The Government submitted to Parliament the proposal to amend the Act on Strong Electronic Identification and Electronic Trust Services on 26 November 2020.A referral debate on the proposal now submitted to Parliament will be conducted in a Parliament plenary session. Information on the date of the session will be available on the Parliament website (plenary session agendas).
After the preliminary debate, the proposal will be taken to a Parliamentary Committee. After the Committee submits a report, the process will continue in a plenary session.
The regulation is to enter into force on 1 April 2021 as the current price regulation period ends.
NordenBladet — Today, President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Henn Põlluaas participated in a video conference with the Speakers of the Baltic and Nordic parliaments. On the initiative of Finland, prevention of extremism, and cyber security, threats to democracy and rule of law in the region and in Europe, as well as the situation in Belarus were discussed.
Põlluaas said that Russia was the greatest threat to the security and stability of the Baltic Sea region, and this applied also to Belarus. “It is important to coordinate common policy with the partners with whom we share similar threat assessment regarding the security of our region,” he added.
Põlluaas thinks that it is important to improve the security of ports, including rapid and effective identification of the people boarding the ships, in the cooperation between the Baltic States and the Nordic Countries. “It is urgently necessary to use identification systems that could identify persons on the basis of biometric data,” Põlluaas said.
Speaking of cyber security, Põlluaas emphasised the excellent regional cooperation in cyber sector. “I am happy to admit that a common opinion of cyber stability prevails in our region,” Põlluaas said. “The activities in cyber space are becoming increasingly relevant, we are concerned about the spread of violent extremism and disinformation, and therefore it is important to understand that international law has to apply also in the cyber sector.”
Regarding the threats to rule of law, Põlluaas pointed out that as members of the European Union, we had to listen to each other and to reach agreements through discussions, and not punish our allies because this would bring along more problems than solutions.
The participants also condemned the situation in Belarus and the challenges it caused to further activities of states in supporting the development of democracy and civil society in Belarus. It was found that real steps should be taken, not just express moral support in words.
Põlluaas said that the situation in Belarus showed no signs of improvement and therefore he considered it necessary to impose additional sanctions on the leading figures of Belarus and to keep the issue constantly on the agenda of international organisations.
The Speakers of the Finnish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic, Danish, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian parliaments also gave an overview of the current political situation in their countries, most important legislative issues, and the changes in the organisation of work and restrictions in force in their countries due to the coronavirus. All speakers of national parliaments underlined that the restrictions implemented to prevent the spread of the coronavirus had to be taken seriously in order to prevent the total lockdown of countries
NordenBladet — On 26 November 2020, the Government appointed a new Board of Directors to the Natural Resources Institute Finland for the term 1 January 2021–31 December 2023. The Board of Directors is chaired by Tuomas Salusjärvi, Executive Vice President at Valio, and the vice chair is Saara Kankaanrinta, Chair of the Board of the BSAG Foundation.
The task of the Board of Directors is to support the management of the Natural Resources Institute Finland, present initiatives for the strategic guidance of the operations and promote cooperation with stakeholders. The Board of Directors decides on the budget proposal of the Natural Resources Institute Finland, approval of the financial statement and deputies for the President and CEO. The composition of the Board of Directors:
Chair: Tuomas Salusjärvi, Executive Vice President, Valio Vice chair: Saara Kankaanrinta, Chair of the Board of the BSAG Foundation
Members
Timo Karjalainen, Managing Director, Laitakarin Kala Kristiina Kruus, Dean, School of Chemical Engineering of the Aalto University Jorma Länsitalo, Head of Forest Assets, Stora EnsoHeli Siitari, Entrepreneur, Villilä LuontoThe Board of Directors has one member elected from among the staff. The election of the staff representative is currently under way at the Natural Resources Institute Finland.
NordenBladet — The Government proposes a legislative amendment concerning the support and compensation paid to food and beverage service sector businesses. The amendment will reduce the administrative burden and costs of small companies by simplifying the accounting obligations regarding compensation. The amendment is based on the European Commission’s decision to relax the State aid rules.
A small company would no longer be required to prepare a special financial statement on the results of the closure period and the reference period, as required by the Act in force now. As a result, a small company would avoid the additional cost of preparing such accounts and auditing them.
The amendment does not require any special measures from food and beverage service businesses. It is sufficient that the financial statement indicates the company is a small enterprise within the meaning of the amendment. Food and beverage service businesses, which have already been granted compensation, could also make use of the relief in preparing their financial statements, as the amendment would apply to them too.The Government submitted the proposal to Parliament on 26 November 2020. The Act is expected to enter into force as soon as possible.
Administrative burden and costs have arisen from EU State aid rules
Restaurants were closed to customers between 4 April and 31 May 2020 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. When approving the restrictions, Parliament required compensation for reasonable costs and measures to mitigate the effects of the restrictions. The act on support for job retention and re-employment in the food and beverage service sector and on compensation for the restriction of activities entered into force on 5 June 2020.
The entry into force of the Act was conditioned on the European Commission approving the aid scheme contained therein under the EU State aid rules. The Commission required that the compensation granted to a food and beverage service sector business is at most the amount by which the losses accrued during the closure period exceed the result of the reference period. Because of this requirement, small companies would also have had to include special profit and loss accounts in their financial statements for the closure and reference periods. The preparation of such accounts requires exceptional computational work, which means that preparing the accounts and their auditing would have caused significant costs for small companies in relation to the compensation they received.
However, the European Commission amended its rules on State aid on 2 July 2020. It is possible to waive the requirement to provide special accounts in the financial statements by amending the Act so that the new EU rules will apply to small and micro-sized food and beverage service sector businesses.
Most of the food service businesses granted compensation are small and micro-enterprisesThe KEHA Centre has granted compensation for the restriction of business activities to 7,000 companies totalling approximately EUR 90 million. The majority of them are small and micro-enterprises, to which the legislative amendment will apply.
NordenBladet — The COVID-19 situation has worsened almost throughout Finland but particularly in the Greater Helsinki area and the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa. New restrictions and recommendations have already been introduced and will be introduced not only in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa but also elsewhere in the country. However, in South Savo, for example, transmission chains have been kept well under control.
During the period of 16–22 November, the number of cases increased sharply, and new infections were reported in all hospital districts. The majority of new cases were reported in the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa where the number of infections has been the highest since the epidemic started.The total number of new cases in the last two-week period (9–22 November) was 4,176, which was 1,315 cases more than in the preceding two-week period. The incidence of new cases was 75 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the preceding two-week period it was 52. One fourth of those infected were in quarantine when they tested positive for COVID-19The majority of the new cases continue to be of domestic origin. Cases where the virus was contracted abroad accounted for about 3% of all new cases, although there was a lot of variation between hospital districts (ranging from 0% to 36%). Less than 1% of all cases were infections caught in Finland that came from people who had contracted the virus abroad. One fourth of all new cases were reported among people who were already in quarantine when they tested positive for COVID-19. In the previous week, such cases accounted for one third of all cases.
At present, the testing capacity of laboratories is about 26,000 samples per day. In addition, some regions have started using antigen tests. During the period of 16–22 November, around 7,000–18,000 samples were analysed daily. Of them, 2.6% were positive. This represents an increase of nearly one percentage point from the previous week.
Source of infection can be identified in about half of casesAt the national level, the source of infection was identified in about half of the cases as in the previous week. In the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, the source of infection was known in about one third of the cases.
Number of cases increasing among older age groups
The majority of all cases, that is about 75% of them, were reported among people under 50 years of age and some 40% among people under 30 years of age. Over the past few weeks, the number of infections has also increased among older age groups. People over 60 years of age now account for more than 12% of the cases, which is a few percentage points higher than a couple of weeks ago. What is worrying is that in the past few weeks the percentage of people over 70 years of age has risen by about three percentage points to approximately 6%. People over 70 years of age have an elevated risk of developing a more serious form of the COVID-19 disease so it is essential to protect them from contracting the virus.
More and more people requiring hospital care
The number of patients requiring hospital and intensive care has been increasing since October. On 25 November 2020, a total of 134 patients were receiving hospital care due to the COVID-10 disease, and 21 of them were in intensive care. It is estimated that about 16,800 people, which is over 70% of all confirmed cases, have recovered from the disease. The total number of confirmed cases in Finland now stands at 22,652. There have been 388 deaths related to the disease.
NordenBladet — The EU ministers responsible for competitiveness will discuss the future of the European Research Area (ERA) at their meeting on research and innovation on 27 November 2020. Finland’s representative at the informal video meeting of competitiveness ministers (research, innovation) will be Minister of Economic Affairs Mika Lintilä.
The ministers will discuss the research and development activities and innovation objectives of the Member States. The European Commission’s proposals on the future of the ERA will serve as a basis of the meeting.
“The ERA must be developed in such a way that it strengthens sustainable growth, employment and social development. Our national target for R&D expenditure is 4% of gross domestic product. We can only achieve this target through cooperation between the public and private sectors,” Minister Lintilä says.
Goal to develop research and development in all of EUIn autumn 2020, the European Commission published a Communication entitled “A new European Research Area for research and innovation.” The European Research Area (ERA) is an initiative launched in 2000 to link research activities in the EU area.
One goal that the recent communication sets is raising the EU’s research and development expenditure to 3% of Member State’s GDP. In spring 2020, Finland published a national roadmap for research, development and innovation activities, which sets the objective of increasing the share of R&D expenditure to 4% of its GDP by 2030.
NordenBladet — On 18 November 2020, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment appointed a steering group for the working life diversity programme, which promotes diversity and inclusiveness in working life from the perspective of immigrants, as per the Government Programme.
The aim of the programme is to ensure that companies and organisations benefit from diversity and that immigrants are able to find employment matching their skills and advance in their careers. “In addition to companies, central government administration should also reflect the diverse society. Diversity in central government can be increased, for example, by improving the diversity skills of the managers responsible for recruitment. Our image as employer should also be developed. For example, state job advertisements could include a sentence about diversity which would hopefully encourage people of different backgrounds to apply for work with us,” says Sonja Hämäläinen, chair of the steering group and Migration Director from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The steering group includes representatives from ministries, public authorities and other key bodies. The term of the steering group will run from 18 November 2020 until 31 March 2022.
Minister of Rural Affairs Arvo Aller said that agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture, foodstuff industry and food culture were fields including the whole population and territory of Estonia that had played and were playing an important role in the historical identity of the rural and coastal people in Estonia and in shaping the well-being and living environment of the people, including Estonian landscapes.
The minister pointed out that the drafting of the development plan had taken more than three years. It links together more than 30 separate development documents. Over 500 experts in their fields and over 150 representative organisations have participated in the drafting of the plan.
“The vision formulated in the co-creation of the agricultural development plan is the following: Estonian food is valued and it is good to live in the country. It is a vision of the future we are striving for, integrating the connections between sustainable food production and functioning rural life. There is not one without the other,” Aller said. “According to the vision, in 2030, Estonian food will have a good reputation and will be in high demand both in domestic and foreign markets. This will ensure all supply chain participants sufficient income to for the produce and food they produce and the services they provide. Good rural life is characterised by an attractive living and business environment where well-paid and varied jobs are available and unified and active communities are thriving. Therefore, in 2030 life in country will be valued, well developed and wealthy. There will be space for both large and small businesses who will contribute to the development of rural economy,” the Minister of Rural Affairs said.
In the minister’s words, an overall measurable goal of the development plan is that Estonian food is preferred, the environment and biodiversity are maintained, food sector companies are successful and rural and coastal communities are viable. “In order to achieve the overall goal, the produce of the agriculture and fisheries sector and food industry will have to be of very high quality, innovative and produced in an environmentally-friendly way,” Aller said. He added that, for this, more cooperation both within sectors and between different sectors was needed, and the latest research results and the best technologies needed to be applied.
The minister underlined that the current crisis had shown again that the domestic agriculture, fisheries and food industry sector was a very important strategic sector for every country.
In his report, Deputy Chairman of the Rural Affairs Committee Urmas Kruuse presented the discussion of the development plan in the Rural Affairs Committee. He pointed out that the discussions of the development plan had begun this March and the development plan had been discussed by sectors in the meetings. When speaking of the issues that had arisen in the committee, Kruuse highlighted labour issues and the financial capability needed to implement the objectives set.
During the debate, Ivari Padar (Social Democratic Party), Merry Aart (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Tarmo Tamm (Centre Party), Andres Metsoja (Isamaa), Heiki Hepner (Isamaa), Jevgeni Ossinovski (Social Democratic Party), Urmas Kruuse (Reform Party) and Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
The Riigikogu passed an Act
The Act on the Ratification of the Investment Protection Agreement between the European Union and Its Member States, of the one part, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, of the other part (246 SE), initiated by the Government, aims to improve investment conditions between the European Union and Vietnam. The agreement will benefit European investors, ensuring the protection of high-level investments in Vietnam, at the same time reserving the parties the right to regulate the sector and to establish legal provisions. An investment tribunal system will be established, which has been developed to ensure the protection of the rights of citizens through transparent and independent resolution of investment disputes.
Estonia signed the agreement in on 25 June 2019.
78 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the passage of the Act.
One Bill passed the second reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Notaries Act and Other Acts (200 SE), initiated by the Government, will amend the procedure for the assumption of the office of notary. In the future, a person to fill an office of a notary will always need to pass an examination, and he or she will no longer be able to run as a candidate on the basis of the result of an examination taken previously. The amendments will also amend the Notaries Act by including an obligation of refresher training for notaries, notary candidates and substitute notaries.
As an important amendment, the maximum rates of fines provided for notaries and bailiffs for disciplinary offences will be harmonised with the rates of the fines imposed on lawyers and patent attorneys. The upper limit of a fine will be raised from 6,400 euro to 16,000 euro.
The Bill will extend the conditions under which an assistant bailiff may substitute a bailiff. At the same time, the Ministry of Justice will be given the central role in the administration and development of the information system of state legal aid. When the amendments enter into force, in the future, the Minister of Justice will establish the statutes of the information system of state legal aid.
Three Bills passed the first reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Food Act (228 SE), initiated by the Government, is due to the need to reduce the administrative burden for food handlers, to use an opportunity to establish more flexible requirements for the buildings and premises of businesses and to enable marketing of food of animal origin on the basis of notification obligation.
The aim of the Bill is to provide more flexible hygiene requirements for handling food of animal origin for small businesses in order to reduce bureaucracy and to promote business development. According to the Bill, the authorisation obligation will be replaced by notification obligation. This means that, in the future, businesses who are not subject to authorisation under the European Union hygiene regulations will not have to apply for authorisation. It will be sufficient that they notify of their activities by submitting a notice of economic activities.
According to the Bill, starting handling of food will become simpler but all requirements relating to food safety will remain in place. Food placed on the market must be safe for human health. The handler is responsible for the conformity of the food handled and the handling, and the handler is required to use all opportunities to ensure this. Before starting activity and submitting a notice of economic activities, a business will still have to meet the requirements for premises, employees as well as documents, and it will have to have a self-check plan, etc.
The Bill on Amendments to the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act (227 SE), initiated by the Government.
The Bill will specify in the part concerning the implementation of the aid in the apiculture sector the content of the activity report drawn up for the apiculture year, and the source documents for eligible costs necessary for obtaining aid in the apiculture sector. It will be provided that the activity report drawn up for the apiculture year will have to contain the results of the apiculture programme, in addition to a description of the activities. This will enhance the implementation of the apiculture programme because, starting from 2018, the participating Member States are required to notify to the European Commission a report based on the performance indicators for the apiculture year.
According to the Bill, the eligible costs of implementing the apiculture programme will be compensated on the basis of the payment claim and cost receipts submitted electronically to the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board via the electronic e-service environment of the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board. Compared to the current procedure, compensation will no longer be based on the activity report approved by the evaluation committee. The aim of the activity report is to evaluate the qualitative implementation of the programme and the report is not needed to evaluate the eligibility of the activities carried out. A payment claim and the documents proving the expenditure incurred will be sufficient for this.
In addition, the Act will be brought into conformity with European Union law by including two measures in the Rural Development Plan, support for restoring agricultural potential and support for agricultural insurance, in the case of which applications will no longer need to be evaluated. This will enable to have application rounds open all year round.
The Bill on Amendments to the European Union Common Agricultural Policy Implementation Act (245 SE), initiated by the Government.
The Bill will clarify the application for an import licence for hemp seeds. The amendments concern the licences for hemp seeds other than for sowing, for example, those used as feedingstuff or for pressing oil. In order that the requirements in place would be unambiguously and clearly understandable to holders of licences in the future, the obligation to submit documents on the use of hemp seeds, the arrangements for authorisation and the carrying out of checks will be provided for by law.
The Bill provides that, before a person will acquire an import licence, he or she will have to obtain authorisation from the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board. He or she will have to submit documents on the use of hemp seeds to the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board within 12 months. The Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board will be given the competence to carry out checks on compliance with the requirements for the use of hemp seeds.
Practice has shown that operators fail to meet their obligations assumed under a licence. The obligation to submit documents derives from EU law under which, in the case of release for free circulation of hemp seeds other than for sowing, the import licence shall be issued only where the authorised importer undertakes that the authorities competent for checks concerning the relevant operations in the Member State where the importer is authorised will be provided, within the time limits and under the conditions set by the Member State, with documents. The same Regulation sets out the obligation of the Member State to approve the importer and to carry out checks. Thus, an authorisation by the Estonian Agricultural Registers and Information Board will be a precondition for obtaining a licence, and submission of the documents within 12 months as of the issue of the licence will be a side-condition.
The deliberation of three Bills was transferred to tomorrow’s agenda
Due to the end of the working hours of the sitting, the Bill on Amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act (250 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction and member of the Riigikogu Raimond Kaljulaid, will be deliberated at tomorrow’s plenary sitting.
The purpose of the Bill is to extend the range of persons receiving unemployment insurance benefit to employees and officials who terminate their contract of employment or service relationship on their own initiative or by agreement of the parties and to increase the unemployment insurance benefit. The purpose of the Bill is to improve the economic subsistence of the unemployed for the time when they are looking for a job, enabling them to attend trainings so they can find a job that matches their skills and expectations.
The Bill on Amendments to the State Budget Act (increasing the transparency of the state budget) (251 SE), initiated by the Estonian Reform Party Faction, aims to ensure better transparency and understandability of the state budget and to improve the reporting on the implementation of the budget. This would enhance the role of the Riigikogu in the legislative proceedings on and the implementation of the state budget, and would ensure a timely response to possible deviations from an approved state budget.
The Bill on Amendments to the Funded Pensions Act and Amendments to Other Associated Act (287 SE), initiated by the Finance Committee, is related to the reform of the second pillar pension scheme. The Bill will make the necessary improvements particularly to the regulation concerning the pension investment account and will correct reference errors and inaccuracies. The Bill is essentially of a technical nature. The Bill will make no amendments concerning the dates relating to the implementation of the reform of the second pension pillar or any other fundamental changes.
In relation to the investment account, specifications will be made in the movement of the money and data relating to the account. For example, the procedure for the entry into a pension contract will be specified, where it will be recommended to use the money on the pension investment account to pay insurance premiums. The Bill will also specify the procedure for making the lump-sum payment made to the pensioners in the second pension pillar scheme and the partial lump-sum payment due to be added on 1 January 2022 under the reform Act where the payment will also include the money on the pension investment account.
The Bill will also make some simplifications to the processes of the payment of money from the second pension pillar. If a person retires from the second pension pillar scheme and uses all his or her money contributed to the pillar to do so, under the Bill, the registrar of the pension register will be allowed to simply pay the person the money accrued on the person’s pension account later or to transfer such money to his or her pension agreement, depending on which payment option he or she has used.
The Investment Funds Act prohibits charging a fee for the redemption of the units of a pension fund from unit-holders who have attained the old-age pension age or who are going to attain such age in no more than five years. The Bill will extend the prohibition to unit-holders who are assessed as having no ability to work and who are already equal to pensioners in the second pillar pension scheme anyway under the reform of the second pillar pension scheme. In the Guarantee Fund Act, the regulation of the compensation for any loss caused to unit-holders of the second pension pillar will be amended by including references to the pension investment account to which the amount of compensation should be transferred once the person no longer makes contributions to the pension fund but uses a pension investment account instead.
