Mihkelson said that Uzbekistan was an important country in a strategically important region which was influenced by the interests of China and Russia as well as the events in Afghanistan. “Stability in Central Asia is also in the interests of the security of Estonia,” he underlined.
During the visit, which will take place from Sunday to Tuesday, the Chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Committees wish to get an overview of the current situation in the country and its political and economic developments. In Tashkent, Mihkelson and Kols will meet with First Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of Uzbekistan Sodiq Safoev, First Deputy Speaker of Legislative Chamber of Oliy Majlis Akmal Saidov, Minister of Foreign Affairs Bahtiyor Saidov and Minister of Higher Education and Innovation Ibrohim Abdurakhmanov. They will also have meetings with Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov and Minister of Transport Ilkhom Makhkamov.
The Chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Committees plan to meet with the leaders of the Institute for Strategic and Regional Studies under the President of Uzbekistan and the International Institute for Central Asia. Mihkelson and Kols will also have meetings with the Special Representative of the President of Uzbekistan on Afghanistan and the Mayor of Tashkent.
According to Chairman of the National Defence Committee Kalev Stoicescu, it is now crucial to closely associate Ukraine with the Euro-Atlantic institutions, as the restoration of peace in the whole Europe depends on it. “Russia is an aggressor state and it is necessary to stand against them decisively. At the Summit, the Alliance must underline the continued threat from Russia and the need to bring to justice all those responsible for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. We also expect the Vilnius Summit to make decisions to further strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence posture and to increase defence investment,” he said.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson thinks that the main objective of the Summit is to achieve strong support for Ukraine, including reaching an agreement on giving Ukraine a clear perspective of joining NATO. “The Riigikogu has given its message in the Statement made in mid-May: we expect the NATO Summit to issue an invitation to Ukraine to join the Alliance and to formulate concrete actions that would enable the country to integrate quickly into NATO,” he added.
The National Defence Committee and the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu discussed preparations for the NATO Summit, which will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday, at the joint off-site sitting at the Government Office. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas gave the Committees an overview of Estonia’s positions.
NordenBladet —Estonian Defense Forces unit Estcoy-18, on deployment in Iraq, have joined the Walking Blood Bank, a medical program of the United States Armed Forces that has saved many lives over decades. Estonia became the first allied nation to join, registering their soldiers in Erbil Air Base who would immediately come …
“Estonia will support Ukraine for as long as necessary, because the war is not over and Ukraine must win. Counter-offensive is a very difficult task, but Russia’s lines of resistance will eventually be broken,” Chairman of the National Defence Committee Kalev Stoicescu said.
The representatives of the National Defence Committee were in Ukraine from Wednesday till Friday. In Kiev, they met with Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov, Deputy Minister of Defence Volodymyr Havrylov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Yevhen Perebyinis as well as the Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament). During the meetings, the members of the Riigikogu were given a detailed overview of Ukraine’s counter-offensive and the state of national defence. According to Stoicescu, the Ukrainians are moving forward slowly but steadily, fighting fiercely for the liberation of every metre of Ukrainian territory.
The options for dealing with Russia after Ukraine’s victory were also discussed at the meetings, as well as bringing of Russia’s war criminals to justice and the payment of reparations to Ukraine.
On the Constitution Day of Ukraine, the members of the National Defence Committee had meetings with First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko and Chairman of the Ukraine-Estonia Parliamentary Friendship Group Arsenii Pushkarenko. The discussions focused on achieving Ukraine’s membership in the European Union and NATO as soon as possible. The delegation of the National Defence Committee also visited the city of Ovruch in Zhytomyr Oblast, where they saw the kindergarten built by Estonians and met with the officers of the 115th Territorial Defence Brigade. One battalion of the Brigade was moving to the southern front to liberate Bahmut.
Besides Stoicescu, members of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu Meelis Kiili, Ants Laaneots, Priit Sibul and Peeter Tali also participated in the visit.
Head of the Estonian delegation Mati Raidma said that this year’s Annual Session of the OSCE PA would focus on Russia’s war in Ukraine. “It is of utmost importance that the international community shows the greatest possible unity and commitment to global security,” Raidma emphasised. “The war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine must be punished and they must be investigated by a special international tribunal. The resolutions adopted by the Assembly must form a united front of support for Ukraine.”
The Annual Session of the OSCE PA will also focus on the challenges faced by the organisation itself in terms of membership, governance and future. “It is extremely worrying that the boycotting actions of Russia and Belarus have partly paralysed the organisation’s capacity to function,” Raidma said.
Member of the Estonian delegation Heljo Pikhof participates in the work of the Assembly’s General Committee on Democracy, Human Rights and Humanitarian Questions, where the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is on the agenda. “The aggressor’s brutal violations of human rights, the fate of thousands of deported Ukrainian children, the continuous missile attacks on civilian infrastructure, schools and hospitals are examples that describe the current situation. Russia’s war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as violations of international human and humanitarian rights, have to get a just punishment,” Pikhof underlined.
Besides participating in the main programme of the Annual Session, it is planned to hold a consultation of the delegations of the NB8 region and a bilateral meeting with the German delegation. The Estonian delegation will also meet with Honorary Consuls of Estonia in Vancouver.
The Annual Session will focus on strengthening regional security by fostering democratic and inclusive societies. The Annual session will be livestreamed on the OSCE PA YouTube channel.
The aim of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is to increase the involvement of its participating states in resolving European political and security issues, to enhance civilian control over military affairs and to strengthen the responsibility and influence of members of parliament.
“Individually and with our NATO Allies we must continue strengthening collective defence and deterrence and border security in NATO’s eastern flank bordering Russia and Belarus. We look forward to concrete action on this goal at the forthcoming NATO Summit in Vilnius,” the Speakers emphasised in the Joint Declaration.
In their opinion, our focus must stay on assisting Ukraine. “Together with our Allies and partners we will continue providing all the necessary support to Ukraine, for as long as necessary, until Ukraine’s victory. We call on the whole international community to increase the support to Ukraine in its ongoing struggle for freedom and territorial integrity,” the Speakers noted, and called on called on establishing of a special international tribunal under the auspices of the UN General Assembly to prosecute the crime of aggression committed by the leadership of the Russian Federation.
The Speakers of the Baltic Parliaments expressed their conviction that ultimately Ukraine’s security in the long-run can be best guaranteed by collective defence of NATO, and called on NATO leaders to start a substantive process of inviting Ukraine to join NATO at the Summit in Vilnius.
The Speakers underlined that the Parliaments of the Baltic States had long labelled the Wagner mercenary group as terrorist organization for the atrocities committed by its members on the territory of Ukraine and against the Ukrainian population. “We reiterate our call on the European Union (EU) to include the Wagner mercenary group in the list of persons, groups and entities involved in terrorist acts (EU terrorist list) not least for the violence and instability the group spreads on the African continent and elsewhere,” they said.
According to the Speakers, the emergence of the Wagner mercenary group in Belarus could make the security situation on the eastern borders of NATO and the EU even more precarious. “We reiterate our condemnation of Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus for supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine. The harbouring of the terrorist organization Wagner group by Belarus is unacceptable and we call for further strengthening sanctions against Belarus,” the Speakers added.
The Joint Declaration was signed by President of the Riigikogu (Parliament) of Estonia Lauri Hussar, Speaker of the Saeima (Parliament) of Latvia Edvards Smiltēns and Speaker of the Seimas (Parliament) of Lithuania Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen.
According to Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, the Committee supports digitalisation of passports and identity cards to facilitate travelling. “I believe that digital travel documents will significantly accelerate the work of the border crossing points, shorten the waiting time of travellers and improve the safety of border control,” she said. “When developing digital documents, special attention has to be paid to their security, the prevention of possible misuse and data protection rules. A digital document must be at least as secure as a physical travel document.”
It was pointed out at the sitting that with a digital travel document, it would be possible to go on board after validation of identity through facial biometrics, and that the digital document also had to be in a mobile app. At first, it will probably be necessary to carry a physical document in addition to a digital travel document, but in the longer term, it will not be necessary any more to carry a passport or other identity document when travelling in the European Union. The possibility of using a physical document must be retained for those whose facial biometrics cannot be read or who do not use a smartphone.
The positions approved by the European Union Affairs Committee set out that the EU-level solution should support global interoperability of digital travel documents and be based on common International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. The digital travel documents should also be compatible with the European digital identity wallet that is being developed.
According to Estonia’s position, EU countries should implement digital travel documents at the same time or at least recognise the solution to be created, and a sufficient transition period has to be ensured. As a first step, Estonia supports a solution where the data of the digital document are linked to the physical document. Estonia’s positions also underline that it should be possible to create and use a digital travel document to return to the country of citizenship if the physical document has been stolen or lost in a foreign country.
The European Union Affairs Committee decided to support the positions submitted by the Government. It was noted at the sitting of the Committee that the public consultation would be followed by an impact assessment, and after that, it is planned to present a proposal for a Regulation.
At the sitting of the European Union Affairs Committee, Adviser at the Border Guard and Migration Policy Department of the Ministry of the Interior Elen Kraavik gave an overview of the positions of the Government and replied to the questions of the members of the Committee.
The PACE adopted a Resolution in which it calls on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to prohibit the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and all other major sporting events as long as Russia’s war of aggression continues.
In her speech before the Assembly, Head of the Estonian delegation to PACE Liisa Pakosta demanded full support for Ukrainian people and banning of the Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from the Olympic Games. She urged the national IOC representatives, the sports public and sports federations to express their opposition to the IOC’s proposal to allow the athletes of the aggressor state to participate in the upcoming Olympic Games.
“The Ukrainian fight for freedom is our fight. The murdered Ukrainian children are our children. This should not be forgotten or overlooked, and our response to the Russian war of aggression must also be in force at the Paris Olympic Games,” Pakosta said.
She added that Russia continued to use sport for propaganda purposes, and pointed out that many Russian and Belarusian athletes had publicly expressed their support for the war. She reminded her colleagues that just a few days before President of the Russian Wrestling Federation, Mr Mikhail Mamiashvili, had expressed his readiness to drive the Russian team to the Paris Olympics on tanks. “We have to tell him, “You are not welcome; please stay home with your tanks”,” she said. “Silence and neutrality about the issue of the participation of the Russian and Belarusian athletes is the same as spreading Russia’s hostile propaganda and means supporting of Putin,” the Head of the Estonian delegation added.
Besides Liisa Pakosta, members of the Estonian delegation Aleksei Jevgrafov and Eerik-Niiles Kross also attended the PACE session.
PACE is the oldest international parliamentary assembly in Europe that held its opening session on 10 August 1949. This year, Estonia celebrates the 30th anniversary of its membership in the PACE. Estonia became a member of the Council of Europe on 14 May 1993.
The task of the Council of Europe is to protect the fundamental values of its member states – human rights, the principle of the rule of law, and democracy.
55 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of and 34 voted against passing the Act on Amendments to the Family Law Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (207 SE), initiated by the Government.
In addition to marriage, the possibility of concluding a cohabitation contract will remain, and according to the Act, registered partners will be able to make a simplified transition to marriage.
The Act will specify the regulation on filiation in the Family Law Act in connection with same-sex couples’ right to adopt. Same-sex spouses will get the right to adopt together through marriage equality. A spouse of the same sex will be able to adopt their spouse’s child with the consent of the biological parent of the child. The Act sets out the principle that a child may not have more than two parents. The principle that in particular the biological parents have the rights and obligations relating to the child will be maintained. The female spouse of the mother will have the relationship of filiation with the child when she grants her consent to the artificial insemination of the mother. When making amendments to the Bill before the second reading, the Government took into account the proposals of the Estonian Centre Party Parliamentary Group in order to set out more clearly in all Acts the principle that the second parent next to the mother is still first and foremost the father.
The Act will adopt the amendments enabling to realise to the full extent in practice the rights and obligations arising from the Registered Partnership Act adopted in 2014. The rights and obligations arising directly from registered partnership contract will not change. It will be possible for a registered partner to adopt only their registered partner’s child.
The Bill passed the first reading on 22 May, and 711 motions to amend it had been submitted by the deadline. On 15 June, the Government had decided to declare the passing of the Bill a matter of confidence before the second reading and thereby also taken over the duties of the lead committee.
The sitting of the Riigikogu will continue according to the agenda with the second and third readings of Bills. The extraordinary session will continue until all items on the agenda have been deliberated.
34 members of the Riigikogu supported the vote of no confidence in Kallas and 57 voted against it. At least 51 votes would have been needed to express no confidence in the Prime Minister and consequently in the whole Government.
Tanel Kiik, who represented the initiators of the motion of no confidence, said that, in the opinion of the members of the Riigikogu belonging to the opposition, the Government coalition of the Reform Party, Estonia 200 and the Social Democratic Party had begun to implement decisions that were short-sighted and harmful to families.
“The Government is steering the country in a completely wrong direction and is deepening the population crisis, economic crisis and trust crisis with its activities,” he said, and referred to the extraordinary session that had started the day before and ended today. In his opinion, decisions worsening the livelihood and welfare of Estonian people and families had been adopted one after the other at the session. In Kiik’s words, the Government is pushing through a policy for which they have received no mandate in the elections and the long-term negative impacts of which have not been assessed.
“Therefore 40 members of the Riigikogu from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, the Estonian Centre Party Group and Isamaa Parliamentary Group have tabled a motion of no confidence in the Prime Minister Kaja Kallas because of lying and a deceitful policy, disrespectful language, and suppression of the Parliament,” Kiik said.
The Prime Minister Kaja Kallas thanked the members of the Riigikogu for discussing the Government’s policy as well as for their tenacity. She pointed out that there was a large deficit in the state budget and her party had promised to put public finances in order in its election programme. “A budget in a sustained deficit is not sustainable and leaving debts to your children is not sustainable,” she emphasised. The Prime Minister pointed out that decisions relating to taxes were not popular, but they could not be deferred.
When speaking of the cuts in family allowances, Kallas said that the allowances remained very generous and larger than the year before. “If people were able to manage in 2022, then now that the allowance has increased, they will be sure to manage, especially in the situation where inflation is going down and will be around 9% this year and where the purchasing power of the people is really increasing,” she said.
When speaking of the gender-neutral marriage, the Prime Minister said that it had not been her promise before the elections but, when forming the coalition, they had listened to their partners’ arguments and had found that it was reasonable to resolve this issue definitively so that there would be no need to fight any longer and everyone would have equal rights.
Kallas noted that, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, the Riigikogu adopted decisions by a majority of votes in favour. “This means that you must have a majority. This means that, in democracy, the majority decides,” Kallas stated. The Prime Minister underlined that the Government would declare no Bill to be a matter of confidence if the opposition did not obstruct Bills.
During the debate, Andrei Korobeinik took the floor as the representative of the Estonian Centre Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu as the representative of Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Henn Põlluaas as the representative of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Erkki Keldo as the representative of the Reform Party Group.
