ESTONIA

Delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee meets with the President of Finland in Helsinki

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet —

Today, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) is visiting Finland to meet with President of Finland Sauli Niinistö and to discuss the security of the region.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson thinks that it is very important right now to share information with our closest partners and allies in order to ensure the security of our region and to do everything possible to prevent deepening of the security crisis around Ukraine. “As Member states of the European Union, Estonia and Finland have a major role in shaping the foreign and security policy of the Union. At the moment, it is especially significant because the future of the whole Euro-Atlantic security architecture may depend on our decisions,” Mihkelson said before the visit.

The members of the Foreign Affairs Committee will also meet with the representatives of the Finnish Institute of International Affairs and visit the Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats and the Estonian Embassy.

On Wednesday morning, the Foreign Affairs Committee will have a video conference with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Finland Pekka Haavisto.

The Estonian delegation includes Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson and members of the Committee Raivo Tamm, Indrek Saar, Mailis Reps, Henn Põlluaas and Ruuben Kaalep.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

President of the Riigikogu assured Montenegro of support in the EU accession process

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet —

At the meeting with President of the Parliament of Montenegro Aleksa Bečić, President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas emphasised that Estonia supported Montenegro’s aspirations to become a member of the European Union.  

The discussion at the meeting of the Presidents of Parliaments focused on mapping the possibilities for future cooperation between Estonia and Montenegro, on allied relations in NATO and Estonia’s support to Montenegro in the accession process with the European Union. “During the years after gaining independence, Montenegro has built up a well-functioning society and achieved international trust,” Ratas said. “Estonia, who was first country to establish diplomatic relations with Montenegro and ratified the association agreement, supports Montenegro’s aspirations to become a member of the European Union.”

Besides the opportunities for bilateral cooperation in digital and cyber sectors, exchanging of experience in the education sector and strengthening the communication between parliamentary committees were spoken about as well.

The President of the Riigikogu acknowledged Montenegro’s contribution to the work of the Cooperative Cyber Centre of Excellence and its participation in the Enhanced Forward Presence of the NATO allies in Latvia.

Enlargement of the European Union and the global developments affecting it were spoken about at the meeting with President of Montenegro Milo Đukanović. The President thanked Estonia for support and wished the cooperation would become closer bilaterally as well as in the framework of the enlargement of NATO and the European Union.

In the afternoon, the President of the Riigikogu opened the Honorary Consulate of Estonia, where Tomislav Čelebić is the Honorary Consul. Ratas underlined in his speech that Honorary Consuls were invaluable partners in introducing Estonia, assisting Estonian citizens and conducting business diplomacy activities: finding partners for Estonian companies or communicating with potential investors.

The President of the Riigikogu is accompanied on the visit by members of the Riigikogu Sven Sester and Kalvi Kõva. The Estonian delegation also met with Prime Minister of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapić, with whom the situation in West Balkan was discussed.

Photos of the visit (Erik Peinar, Chancellery of the Riigikogu)

Source: Parliament of Estonia

President of the Riigikogu is visiting Montenegro

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet —

President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas is on an official visit to Montenegro. He is accompanied by members of the Riigikogu Sven Sester and Kalvi Kõva.

The visit will begin with the meeting with President of the Parliament of Montenegro Aleksa Bečić. After that, the Estonian delegation will meet with Prime Minister of Montenegro Zdravko Krivokapić and President Milo Đukanović.

Main topics to be discussed at the meetings are the enlargement of the European Union, the current situation in West Balkan, the defence cooperation in NATO, the hybrid attack launched by the Belarusian regime on the eastern border of the European Union and the relations with Russia, as well as strengthening of bilateral parliamentary relations and perspectives of cooperation, in particular in the digital sector.

In the afternoon, the President of the Riigikogu will open the Honorary Consulate of Estonia. Tomislav Čelebić will be the Honorary Consul of Estonia in Montenegro. The opening of the Honorary Consulate takes place at a symbolic time, because this year Estonia and Montenegro celebrate the 15th anniversary of establishing of diplomatic relations. On 13 June 2006, Estonia became the first country with which Montenegro established diplomatic relations.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

Foreign Affairs Committee in Washington: Security assistance to the Baltic States should remain at least on the current level

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet —

The delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) visited Washington to meet with members of the Senate and the House of Representatives of the United States. The meetings focused on strengthening the security of the Baltic States and the possibilities for preventing the deepening of the security crisis in our region.

In the opinion of Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson, there could not have been a better time for the visit than now when both the Senate and the House of Representatives are discussing the defence budget for the next year. One of the key topics at the meetings was the Baltic Security Initiative budget package or the defence assistance to the Baltic States. Mihkelson emphasised that it was vital to continue the Initiative at least to the current extent or to increase the assistance, which would help to fill the key gaps in our defence planning.

Mihkelson also spoke of the latest developments on the border of Ukraine. “At the moment, it is very important to demonstrate the unity of the NATO allies. We are standing behind Ukraine and we are ready to help the Ukrainians with real defence capability,” Mihkelson said. “Due to the escalation of Russia’s possible military activities against Ukraine, the situation is undeniably critical. Attack against Ukraine is an attack against us all, against the democratic countries,” he added.

Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee Indrek Saar underlined that the visit proved that the worrying security developments in our region caused concern also to Estonia’s most important ally the United States. “The meetings confirmed that our concerns are shared and that the Americans understand the importance of defence assistance for Estonia and the other Baltic States,” he said. Saar added that the discussions at the meetings had also focused on how to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and the Baltic States next year.

The delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee included Chairman of the Committee Marko Mihkelson and members of the Committee Indrek Saar, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski and Raivo Tamm.

Photos of the meetings

Source: Parliament of Estonia

Foreign Affairs Committee’s visit to Washington focuses on defence cooperation

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet —

The delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) is on a visit to Washington, D.C., where the meetings will focus on strengthening allied relations and security cooperation. The visit will last until Saturday.

The delegation includes Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson and members of the Committee Indrek Saar, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski and Raivo Tamm.

“The United States are Estonia’s most important ally, whose contribution to ensuring the security of the Baltic region and to deterrence measures is priceless,” Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee said. “The Baltic Security Initiative budget package, which was approved in the Congress last year, has a significant role for Estonia. In the context of the latest security developments, the hybrid attack launched by Belarus and the events in the border regions of Ukraine, continuing of the Initiative at least to the same extent and enhancing of deterrence capacity are without doubt of key importance to our security,” Mihkelson added.

Today, the Estonian delegation has scheduled meetings with Chair Jeanne Shaheen and Ranking Member Ron Johnson of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, with Chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission Ben Cardin and member of the Senate Committee on Armed Services Kevin Cramer. They will also meet with co-chair of the European Union Caucus Representative Joe Wilson and representatives of the US Department of State.

Tomorrow, the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu will meet with Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Menendez, as well as with Chair Bill Keating and Ranking Member Brian Fitzpatrick of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment and Cyber. They will also have meetings with leaders of the House of Representatives Baltic Caucus Ruben Gallego and Don Bacon, co-chair of the European Union Caucus Brendan Boyle and member of the Committee on Armed Services Liz Cheney. The delegation will also meet with the representatives of the US Department of State dealing with European and Eurasian affairs and Russian issues.

On Friday, the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee will participate in a round table on the developments of the US foreign policy at the Heritage Foundation and meet with the representatives of European and NATO policies of the US Department of Defense. The visit will end with a meeting with the Estonian experts working in Washington.

Photos of the meetings

Source: Parliament of Estonia

Board of the Riigikogu invites to fly the national flags on the Day of National Perpetuity

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet —

The Board of the Riigikogu, the Estonian Heritage Society and the Estonian Flag Association call on celebrating the Day of Perpetual Estonian Nationhood on 30 November and to fly the national flag on the occasion.

“30 November is the equinox of the liberty of the Republic of Estonia, because on that day, the time of freedom and the time of captivity of our country achieve equal lengths,” President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas said. “This means that the number of days as an independent country and the number of days of occupation during our 104 years of history are equal.”

“On behalf of the Board of the Riigikogu, I invite to decorate all houses with blue-black-white, because from that day onwards, our country has been independent for more days that we have lived under different occupation powers,” Ratas said. On behalf of the Board of the Riigikogu, he proposed to raise national flags on the occasion of the Day of Perpetual Estonian Nationhood at sunrise on 30 November and to lower them at sunset.

At Toompea, the day will begin with raising of the national flag at the Tall Hermann Tower at 8.49 a.m. The raising of the flag will be assisted by Archbishop of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church Urmas Viilma, representative of the August 20th Club Rein Veidemann, representative of Memento association Peep Varju, Home Daughter Marie Elisabeth Kleinot and Young Eagle Erik Tinnuri.

At 10 a.m., a virtual conference dedicated to the equinox of liberty will begin in the Conference Hall of the Riigikogu. The opening address of the conference will be delivered by President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas. President of the Academy of Sciences Tarmo Soomere, Head of the Tallinn City Archives, historian Küllo Arjakas, Professor Emeritus of Tallinn University Rein Veidemann and Research Editor if the Estonian Public Broadcasting Maarja Merivoo-Parro will present speeches.

The conference will be streamed online at the Riigikogu web page
Video recording of the conference can be viewed on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

President of the Riigikogu meets the Speakers of the Nordic and Baltic parliaments in Denmark  

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet —

President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas attends the hybrid conference of the Speakers of the Nordic and Baltic (NB8) parliaments in Copenhagen. The discussions will focus on the hybrid attacks against European countries launched by the Belarusian regime and illegal immigration, and on future cooperation between the Baltic States and the Nordic Countries.

At the traditional meeting of the Nordic and Baltic Speakers, all participants first give an overview of significant topical issues in their parliaments. The Speaker of the Danish parliament will speak about the organisation of work between the parliament and the government.

The Speakers of the parliaments of Latvia and Finland will give a survey of involving citizens in the work of the parliament. Estonia has made a proposal to enhance the cooperation between the standing committees in order to achieve tangible results, like launching the debate of Social Affairs Committees for mutual recognition of digital prescriptions.

The Nordic-Baltic cooperation, or NB8, has been bringing Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania around the same table since 1992. The first meeting of the NB8 Speakers took place in 1997 in Karlskrona, Sweden.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

The Foreign Affairs Committee will receive an overview of Estonia’s activities in UN Security Council in New York

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet —

The delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) is visiting New York until Tuesday to get an overview of Estonia’s activities as an elected member of the UN Security Council.

The delegation includes Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson and members of the Committee Indrek Saar, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski and Raivo Tamm.

In Mihkelson’s opinion, the Estonian diplomats, headed by Permanent Representative of Estonia to the United Nations Sven Jürgenson, have convincingly proved that even a small country can be both visible and credible in the UN Security Council. “The rich experience gained during the two years will undoubtedly be useful in ensuring Estonia’s security within the framework of the United Nations and other international organisations,” Mihkelson said.

Tomorrow, the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee will meet with President of the United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid and the Executive Director of Security Council Report. They will also observe the Arria-formula meeting on Syria, which will be held in the UN Security Council and chaired by Estonia.

Meetings with Assistant Secretary-General in the UN Department of Political Affairs Miroslav Jenča and United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix are planned for Tuesday. The Estonian delegation will also watch the Security Council’s meeting on Middle East.

On Wednesday, the visit of the Foreign Affairs Committee delegation will continue in Washington, D.C.

Photos of the meetings

Source: Parliament of Estonia

The National Defence Committee made a proposal to the Government to establish medium-range air defence capability

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
-

NordenBladet —

The National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) made a proposal by consensus to the Government to establish medium-range air defence capability for protecting Estonia by 2025, and to consider taking a national defence loan for it if necessary.

In a letter sent to the Government, the National Defence Committee noted that they acknowledge the Government’s efforts in increasing defence spending. Next year, it will rise to 749.6 million euro and form 2.31 per cent of GDP.

At the same time, the members of the National Defence Committee expressed the view that in the current security situation, further increases in defence spending, both in absolute terms and as a percentage of gross domestic product, are unavoidable. On 16 September 2020, the National Defence Committee pointed out in its statement that in case of need, structural changes had to be carried out to continue developing our defence capabilities and the existing capability gaps should be reduced with the help of a loan.

The Committee is of the opinion that it is not reasonable to develop medium-range air defence capability at the expense of limiting or cutting existing capabilities. Therefore, the National Defence Committee proposes to the Government to plan for the establishment of a medium-range air defence capability in the National Defence Development Plan 2022–2031. The Committee’s proposal is to update the Development Plan within the framework of the State Budget Strategy 2023–2026 process, as the planned percentage of defence spending as a share of GDP has been significantly increased compared to the current Budget Strategy 2022–2025. The new level of defence spending has to be decided to the end of the Development Plan (until 2031).

The National Defence Committee discussed the necessity of creating medium-range air defence capability in connection with the steadily deteriorating security situation at its sittings on 12 October, 9 November and 22 November.  

Source: Parliament of Estonia

The President of the Riigikogu discussed possibilities for deeper cooperation with the Speaker of Eduskunta

By
Helena-Reet Ennet
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NordenBladet —

President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas and Speaker of the Eduskunta (Parliament of Finland) Anu Vehviläinen discussed the possibilities for strengthening the cooperation between Estonia and Finland and the creation of new initiatives at their meeting in Tallinn today.

“The relations between Estonia and Finland remain close and strong, between the people as well as in economy and culture,” Ratas stated. “During the last 30 years, Finland has had an important role in the development of Estonia, for example, in the tourism sector or through direct investments.” He expressed hope that even more possibilities and new initiatives would be offered by the report on Estonia-Finland future cooperation, which would be completed in February 2022.

Ratas said that Estonia and Finland were closely connected by common electricity systems, and they also cooperate in the field of cybersecurity. He pointed out that Finland had an expert at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre in Tallinn and Estonia had an expert at the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats in Helsinki. Both parties consider it important to have even better exchange of information and situational awareness.

Speaking of future connections, Ratas highlighted the connection of Tallinn and Helsinki by Rail Baltica. He proposed to give a new impetus to the cooperation between sister cities and to create relations between sister schools. “In this way, we can strengthen mutual relations and learn to know each other’s language and culture better,” Ratas said. Speaking of digital cooperation, the President of the Riigikogu mentioned the digital prescriptions, which, in his opinion, could also be introduced in other Nordic Countries and Baltic States.

Information and experience in managing the coronavirus crisis were also exchanged at the meeting. Ratas thanked Finland for solidarity and assistance that helped Estonia in fighting the COVID-19 epidemic. Finland lent Estonia 130,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, which Estonia will return in February next year, and was ready to receive critical patients from Estonian hospitals in case there was a need.

Member of the Estonia-Finland Parliamentary Friendship Group Urve Tiidus, who also participated in the meeting, said that the relations between the two countries were fantastic. In her opinion, we as close neighbours have similar traditions, which contribute to the strengthening of cooperation. She underlined digital cooperation and establishing closer communication between universities as fields of cooperation.

Photos of the visit (Erik Peinar, Chancellery of the Riigikogu)

Source: Parliament of Estonia

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