On Monday, President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas will attend the meeting of the Speakers of the Parliaments of the Baltic States and Poland in Warsaw, where enhancing the parliamentary cooperation between the four countries in the current complicated security situation will be discussed.
According to Ratas, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has cardinally changed the security environment in Europe and therefore close cooperation between the countries of our region is particularly important. “Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have supported Ukraine in every way and have actively worked to put increasing political and economic pressure on Russia, thereby raising the cost of aggression and paving the way for Ukraine’s victory,” he said.
Ratas pointed out that since Russia had not yet lost the war, it was necessary to continue working on the international arena, and it was wise to do this in an effective and even better coordinated cooperation between the countries of the region. He added that it was also necessary to act together to strengthen the security as well as connectivity, energy independence and economic cooperation in the region.
The development of cooperation between countries as well as between parliaments to respond to the current geopolitical threats will be discussed at the meeting of the Speakers of Parliaments on Monday. The opportunities of parliamentary diplomacy to influence strategic issues at the international level will be addressed separately. At the end of the meeting, the Speakers from the four countries plan to adopt a joint declaration.
Besides Ratas, Edvards Smiltēns from the Parliament of Latvia, Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen from the Parliament of Lithuania, and Elżbieta Witek from the Parliament of Poland will attend the meeting in Warsaw.
Today the first reading of one Bill was on the agenda of the Riigikogu plenary assembly, and it was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
The Bill on the Denunciation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (726 SE), initiated by members of the Riigikogu Ants Laaneots, Alar Laneman, Leo Kunnas, Kalle Grünthal, Henn Põlluaas, Helle-Moonika Helme, Rene Kokk, Riho Breivel, Merry Aart, Mart Helme, Kert Kingo, Martin Helme, Uno Kaskpeit, Jaak Valge, Paul Puustusmaa, Peeter Ernits, Anti Poolamets, Siim Pohlak, Ruuben Kaalep and Urmas Reitelmann, did not passe the first reading. The aim was that Estonia would exit the Ottawa convention which prohibits the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and requests their destruction.
The explanatory memorandum to the Bill states that it is no longer in Estonia’s national interests to adhere to the requirements of the Ottawa convention, and it is weakening our defence capability. The explanatory memorandum states that, in the current new situation, Estonia is forced to do everything in its power to strengthen its military national defence. At the same time, Estonia cannot allow that, in the event of war, other countries who have refrained from acceding to the Ottawa convention could use anti-personnel mines in the Estonian territory while Estonia cannot do that.
The explanatory memorandum also points out that, after denunciation of the convention, Estonia will be able to make a unilateral commitment to refrain from selling anti-personnel mines and otherwise transferring them to other countries and to declare that it will not use anti-personnel mines outside its territory.
The Riigikogu ratified the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction in March 2004, a few weeks before Estonia was accepted as a full member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Ottawa convention entered into force for the Republic of Estonia on 1 November 2004.
During the debate, Marko Mihkelson (Reform Party), Raimond Kaljulaid (Social Democratic Party), Alar Laneman (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) and Heiki Hepner (Isamaa) took the floor on behalf of their factions.
The Reform Party Faction moved to reject the Bill. 30 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 21 were against. The Bill was dropped from the proceedings.
President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas and Prime Minister of Croatia Andrej Plenković discussed further support for Ukraine at their meeting today, confirming strong support for the establishment of an international special tribunal to investigate Russia’s crime of aggression.
Ratas said at the meeting that Estonia and Croatia shared the same values and that the bilateral cooperation of the two countries in both the European Union and NATO was excellent. Ratas underlined that the unity of the Western countries was especially relevant in the current complicated security situation.
“It is very important that we also stand united in our positions on the war of aggression Russia has launched in Ukraine. We will do our utmost to support Ukraine in every way we can and to offer them political, military and humanitarian aid. We also strongly support the establishment of an international special tribunal and consider it important to continue with imposing sanctions on Russia in order to raise the cost of aggression,” Ratas said.
The President of the Riigikogu highlighted the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO as a positive step. In his opinion, it will strengthen security in the entire alliance, especially on NATO’s eastern flank. He specially thanked Croatia for its cooperation in the NATO Cyber Defence Centre in Tallinn and welcomed the country’s recent accession to the eurozone and the Schengen area. Ratas also considered it necessary to continue close contacts between the Parliaments of Estonia and Croatia.
At the meeting, Ratas and Plenković also spoke about the challenges relating to inflation and ways to alleviate energy costs, and discussed the situation West Balkan in a broader context.
At today’s sitting, the Riigikogu concluded the second reading of the Bill that aims to reduce the minimum age limit for security service officers by a year in order that 18-year-old people could assume employment in the security activities sector.
According to the Bill on Amendments to the Security Act (629 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction and Member of the Riigikogu Raimond Kaljulaid, people of 18 years of age could also work as security guards and guards. Under the current Act, security guards must be at least 19 years of age. The explanatory memorandum notes that the growth of security firms is limited because of labour shortage which is aggravated by the minimum age limit for operating as a security guard or guard.
During the debate, Tarmo Kruusimäe from Faction Isamaa, Raimond Kaljulaid on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Faction and Kalle Grünthal and Peeter Ernits from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party took the floor.
Three Bills passed the first reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Military Service Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (754 SE), initiated by the Government, prescribes that the state will be able to pay compensation to cover the interest costs of housing loans of conscripts. Since conscripts cannot take a full payment holiday in the case of housing loans, housing loan interests will be compensated to them during their conscript service. According to the Bill, an allowance will also be paid to people who obtain the right to drive motor vehicles of category B before they enter the conscript service as this allows for the basic skill training to be provided to them over a shorter period of time. The amount of the one-off allowance will be 1000 euro.
According to the Bill, the compensation for the acquisition of the personal equipment of active servicemen will be simplified. A procedure will be established for active servicemen according to which they will acquire certain items of clothing through specific online shops, and they will be paid compensation for that every year. At the same time, the Income Tax Act will be amended by adding a provision under which the compensation for the acquisition of clothing equipment will not be subject to income tax.
Besides that, the regulation concerning the protection of war graves will be updated and the decision-making level concerning war graves will be brought from minister’s level to a lower level in order to make the implementation of the Act more flexible and operative. With the amendments to the Heritage Conservation Act, the provision on the termination of double protection of war graves will be included in the Act.
During the debate, Mati Raidma took the floor on behalf of the Reform Party Faction.
The Bill on Amendments to the State Pension Insurance Act (724 SE), initiated by the Estonian Centre Party Faction, prescribes the establishment of widow’s pension, which, according to the Bill, would be granted to a person who is of old age pension age and whose spouse, to whom the person has been married for at least ten years, has died by the time of old age pension. According to the Bill, the widow’s pension will be granted for life, and it will be equal to the pension calculated for the dead spouse. The widow’s pension will not be granted where it will be lower than the pension of the widowed person. According to the Bill, the procedure for the application for widow’s pension and the list of the documents to be submitted will be established by a regulation of the minister in charge of the policy sector.
Aivar Kokk from Faction Isamaa took the floor during the debate.
The Bill on Amendments to the Value-Added Tax Act and the Medicinal Products Act (757 SE), initiated by members of the Riigikogu Viktoria Ladõnskaja-Kubits, Priit Sibul, Heiki Hepner, Andres Metsoja, Helir-Valdor Seeder, Helle-Moonika Helme, Riho Breivel, Peeter Ernits, Paul Puustusmaa, Jaak Valge, Kalle Grünthal, Uno Kaskpeit, Leo Kunnas, Kersti Sarapuu, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart, Jaanus Karilaid, Taavi Aas, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Alar Laneman, Tarmo Tamm, Jaak Aab, Helmen Kütt, Mihhail Korb, Aivar Kokk, Hele Everaus, Tarmo Kruusimäe and Üllar Saaremäe.
The Bill is intended to amend the Value-Added Tax Act by including a new five-per cent reduced VAT rate. According to the Bill, it will be possible for the minister in charge of the policy sector to establish by a regulation a list of medicinal products intended to treat cancer and other malignant tumours that will be subject to a five-per cent VAT-rate. The Bill is also intended to give the Estonian Health Insurance Fund the right to reimburse to non-profit organisations, foundations and religious associations the amount they pay in VAT when they use donations to buy medicinal products intended to treat cancer and other malignant tumours.
Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski from the Centre Party Faction took the floor during the debate.
The video recording of the sitting will be available to watch later onthe Riigikogu YouTubechannel. (Please note that the recording will be uploaded with a delay.)
Akkermann noted that the achievement of the strategic objectives of “Estonia 2035” had to be supported by fiscal policy decisions, and therefore the process of drafting it had been tied to the process of drafting the budget strategy at the level of the Government of the Republic.
Akkermann emphasised that budgetary balance was a national fiscal policy measure to curb inflation. “Without a responsible fiscal policy, it is impossible to manage any other sphere of life responsibly, in a stable and balanced manner, making strategic plans and adhering to them,” the minister said.
In her words, it is true that the measures to mitigate the effects of the pandemic crisis and the war started by Russia have taken the budget into an unprecedented deficit by today. “Decreasing the deficit and returning to a fiscally sustainable path is undoubtedly important in the interests of achieving the longer-term national objectives,” Akkermann noted. She explained that, in the strategy and action plan of “Estonia 2035”, changes and reforms had been agreed upon that were necessary to resolve challenges and to comply with government-based recommendations and to achieve long-term strategic objectives. “We are using various sources to implement these reforms and changes, both European Union support funds and tax revenues, trying to find the best combination and combined effect between funding sources and thereby to restore the achievement of the objectives set,” the minister said.
She explained that, by way of a very large rounding and generalisation, it could be said that the following allocations from European Union funds had been planned in the following financial period, that is, 2021–2027: 1.78 billion euro for the implementation of the Green Deal; 439 million towards supporting the digital transition; 1.35 billion into transport and mobility, that is Rail Baltic and the electrification of roads and railways; 842 million into the health and social sector infrastructure and 1.3 billion into innovation, research capability, education and the development of business.
Akkermann noted that the Estonian economy had withstood the crisis well. The economic outlook has deteriorated in Estonia due to very high inflation and cost pressures. GDP fell by 2.4% in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the third quarter of 2021. The reasons are the negative effects of the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis which is worsening the competitiveness of Europe. GDP growth should however remain slightly positive as an average of 2022 and 2023 and should accelerate to 3% in 2024.
Akkermann explained that the current high inflation was mainly caused by the dramatic increase in energy prices. It is a shock in terms of supply which is probably not temporary. In the electricity market, our main problem is that we are consuming more electricity than we are producing. If scarcity of supply is the main cause, it is necessary to focus particularly on increasing supply. Decreasing of demand also helps. It is also important that everyone adjust their habits according to increased costs.
Akkermann said that the budget position was strongly affected by the increase in energy prices and by the additional budget needs due to the war started by Russia. According to the summer economic forecast, in 2022, we expected a budget deficit of nearly a billion euro, that is, 2.7% of GDP. Fortunately, the budget deficit is going to be considerably smaller than projected. By the end of October 2022, the government sector budget deficit was 44 million euro, that is, 0.12% of the projected annual GDP.
As a result of the economic downturn caused by the global financial crisis, the debt burden of the country increased from 4% of GDP to 10% in 2012 and the COVID crisis increased the debt burden of the country to 18.5% in 2020. As a result of the deficit, the government sector debt burden will increase to 18.8% of GDP in 2022 and to 26.2% of GDP by 2026.
The Minister of Finance explained the opportunities to improve the financial situation of the country. She emphasised that she considered it important to pursue a conservative fiscal policy.
During the debate, Maris Lauri (Reform Party), Reili Rand (Social Democratic Party) and Aivar Kokk (Isamaa) took the floor.
During the open microphone, Tarmo Kruusimäe, Peeter Ernits and Kalle Grünthal took the floor.
NordenBladet —Danish Police have made the decision to raise the number of automatic speed control devices (ATK) across the country from 82 to 107.
This increase in number of ATK devices will affect every region in the country, with three additional devices in East Jutland, Central and West Jutland, South-East Jutland and South Zealand and Lolland-Falster; two in North Jutland, South Jutland, Funen, North Zealand, Western Copenhagen and Copenhagen; and only one in Central and West Zealand.
These new devices have been upgraded with higher resolution cameras.
Speaking about speeding in Denmark, Deputy Police Inspector Thomas Tarpgaard, explains, “We know that speeding is a factor in four out of 10 fatal accidents. If we are to achieve our goal of fewer fatalities in traffic, it is absolutely crucial that we all take the top off the speed.”
The standard legal speeding limits in Denmark are 50 km/h in built-up areas, 90 km/h outside built-up areas, and 130 km/h across the country’s motorways.
NordenBladet —Norwegian Police have announced that a construction crane that collapsed onto a shopping Mall in Melhus has caused at least one fatality and injured several others.The accident happened due to high winds toppling over the unmanned crane as well as other parts of building apparatus.
As stated by Norwegian media, the crane collapsed into the mall at 9:17 AM local time, with only a handful of people within the building. The crane caused damage to the first and second floors of the mall.
Firefighters used dogs and a drone in their search for people trapped within the mall. One person was found dead, with two others injured. One of those injured was take to hospital for treatment.
The mall is located in the town of Melhus, 18 kilometers south of Trondheim.
NordenBladet —During the second half of 2022, the number of bankruptcies in Sweden rose to the highest level since almost a decade, where similar number was last recorded in 2013.
According to UC, a business and credit reference agency, nearly 3,500 companies filed for bankruptcy. These bankruptcies are mainly as a results of the conflict in Ukraine and the accelerating rate of inflation and high electricity prices in Sweden.
Speaking within a press release, UC economist Johanna Blome noted than as the country eased the COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions in 2021, that year saw the lowest number of bankruptcies on record. However, the latter half of 2022 saw a dramatic downfall.
“Ahead of 2022, optimism was high, not least as a result of the record low number of bankruptcies in the past year and the removal of pandemic restrictions. A bright future was predicted for Sweden’s entrepreneurs and small business owners, but unfortunately, the year (2022) instead offered a series of unpleasant surprises that affected both the Swedish and the global economy,” explained Blome.
Blome followed by stating, “Many companies face a tough 2023. Smaller companies can suffer from setbacks in liquidity as a result of increased electricity and purchase costs as well as interests.”
At the meeting with Nicu Popescu, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova today, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Andres Sutt confirmed that Estonia was willing to share its experience and support Moldova on its way to the European Union.
In Sutt’s opinion, the decision passed by the European Council last summer to grant Moldova the status of candidate country of the European Union was an important milestone. “We are happy to share our experience and support Moldova in becoming a member of the European Union,” he said. “I hope that, despite the difficult security and economic situation, Moldova will make rapid progress with the necessary steps and will be able to start accession negotiations as soon as possible.”
Besides the situation in Moldova, the war Russia had started in Ukraine was also spoken about at the meeting. Sutt underlined that it was necessary to support Ukraine as long as necessary, or until Ukraine’s victory. Sutt also acknowledged Moldova’s success in handling the large flow of war refugees.
Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa also participated in the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of Moldova.
NordenBladet —Last month saw the coldest December in Iceland since 1973, with the average temperature across the country of around -4.0 degrees Celsius (24.8 degrees Fahrenheit).
According to the country’s Met Office, the country’s capital Reykjavík saw the coldest on record since December 1916, over 100 years ago.
Throughout 2022, Iceland was mostly dry across many parts of the country, with December’s rainfall the lowest recorded in years.
On the flip side, Reykjavík was usually sunny in December 2022, with sunshine around 51.0 hours during December. Roughly 38.4 times above average since 1991.
The average temperature in December in the capital has only been lower in years 1878, 1886, 1880.
