The general assembly of the Estonian session of the Model European Parliament is held today in the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia). It was opened by President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas, who spoke to the young people about the role, importance and responsibility of decision-makers.
Ratas told the members of the Model European Parliament that on 20 August, the 30th anniversary of the restoration of independence of Estonia had been celebrated in the Session Hall of the Riigikogu. In his opinion, it is symbolic that the young people are holding their session in the same place to discuss the issues of the future of the European Union. “For as long as you have lived, Estonia has been a member of the European Union, and this has been a successful time in every sense,” Ratas said. “It has been a time of peace, a time of movement without borders, an opportunity for learning, for economic growth, for strengthening cultural connections.”
“You are the decision-makers of the future, you have very big role,” Ratas emphasised. “Your responsibility is growing day by day, and I mean your responsibility not only for your municipality or city and Estonia, but also in Europe. This is not just responsibility for Tallinn and Estonia, but it is responsibility towards 500 million people.”
The President of the Riigikogu underlined that the young people of today would soon have to decide what would become of internal combustion engines, what would become of energy, what would become of East-Virumaa. Besides topics connected with climate and the green transition, there are issues relating to security and the future of the European Union.
“Will you allow to set up wind turbines on the territory of your municipality, or what should the relations between the European Union and Russia be like? It is a very serious and necessary discussion,” Ratas described the challenges faced by the young people. “These are serious and important questions. I wish you a lot of strength for that, and readiness to make compromises, and success!” With these words, Ratas opened today’s session of Model Europe.
Ratas pointed out that, in decision-making, it was important to proceed from the values the European Union was based on, like freedom, democracy, the rule of law, cooperation and solidarity.
After a break of one year due to the pandemic, the European Parliament simulation for school students, which has been organised since 2003, is again taking place today at the Riigikogu. The topics of discussion of the 16th Estonian Model European Parliament are very diverse, ranging from the green transition to football. Some of the young people participating in the session will become members of the Estonian delegations to the Model European Parliament Baltic Sea Region and the international session of the Model European Parliament.
Exercise Decisive Lancer got underway today in Estonia, emphasizing and putting to the test the procedures and activities of the EDL Regional Commands in preparing, coordinating and conducting defensive operations in Estonia.
“In last year’s exercise, we focused on activities taking place after a military conflict has emerged. This year our main effort is on the time period and activities preceding a full scale conflict – practicing comprehensive national defence in cooperation with other national authorities, focusing on the preparation of military defence,” said colonel Mati Tikerpuu, chief of Exercise Control.
Estonian Defence League’s Regional Commands’ command posts, Estonian Defence Forces units, allied units in Estonia and different Estonian national authorities are participating in the exercise, involving close to 300 people.
“These exercises prepare us to act properly during a possible crisis situation. If the commanders and command posts have trained for possible crisis- and wartime scenarios, then the decisions in the real situation will be faster, use of resources will be better, more lives will be spared and more losses will be inflicted upon the adversary,” said colonel Tikerpuu.
EDL Regional Commands’ command posts play a key role in coordinating the activities of different national authorities on a local level. The units were for the first time the main training audience on a similar command post exercise last year, on exercise Decisive Lancer 2020.
The Act that was passed in the Riigikogu today aims to increase competition in the reverse auctions for generation of electricity from renewable energy sources, to reduce the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation and to improve the supply security of electricity generation in Estonia.
Under the current regulation, the reverse auctions organised for the attainment of the national renewable energy objective are open only to generating installations that have not generated electricity before the reverse auction. According to the Act on Amendments to the Electricity Market Act (156 SE), initiated by the Government, in the future, existing producers will also be allowed to participate in such reverse auctions, in order to motivate such producers to use renewable energy sources instead of fossil fuels as input for electricity generation in the future. In such a case, the winner of the reverse auction can be paid support for each reverse auction during up to two years starting from commencement of the generation of electricity from the renewable source related to the reverse auction.
A securities system is also introduced to the regulation of reverse auctions, in order to ensure more efficiently that the winners of reverse auctions implement the activities they commit to undertake.
During the debate, Jevgeni Ossinovski (Social Democratic Party), Sven Sester (Isamaa) and Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
69 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing of the Act, nine voted against, and there was one abstention,
The Riigikogu passed another Act
The Act on Amendments to the Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Act, the Identity Documents Act and the State Fees Act (376 SE), initiated by the Government, provides for a clear division of competence and responsibility between agencies regarding electronic identification in the Electronic Identification and Trust Services for Electronic Transactions Act and the Identity Documents Act.
The Act updates the regulation concerning the assessment of the assurance level of private-law electronic identification schemes. At the same time, the State Fees Act is amended by providing for a state fee applied for reviewing an application to assess the assurance level of a private-law electronic identification scheme in the chapter concerning the acts of the Information System Authority.
In the course of the resolution of the security flaw with ID-cards that appeared in Estonia in autumn 2017, the need to organise the legal space concerning identity documents, electronic identification and trust services as well as the division of work and responsibility between the state agencies responsible for these areas rose.
The Act also amends the Identity Documents Act, among other things, incorporating the amendments to implement the Regulation (EU) 2019/1157 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
76 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act.
A Bill passed the second reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Product Conformity Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (372 SE), initiated by the Government, will extend the surveillance competences of market surveillance authorities in connection with products offered for sale in e-commerce. Authorities will get access to communication data in order that they would have the opportunity to identify owners of webpages and, where necessary, to restrict access to online interfaces and to require the removal of information content or the display of a warning. The aim of the amendment is to ensure that dangerous products are removed from sale as quickly as possible.
The supervision of products from third countries will also be enhanced. For this, a new requirement for making construction products, personal protective equipment, appliances burning gaseous fuels, and toys available on the European Union market will be introduced. In the case of such products, there will have to be an interlocutor established in the European Union mandated by the manufacturer who can be addressed in the event of additional questions or problems and who is responsible for the availability and verification of declarations and, where necessary, for taking corrective action.
In cross-border cooperation, digital operation and information exchange will be introduced between European Union surveillance authorities. The competence of market surveillance authorities in respect of personal transporters used in traffic and unmanned aircraft system (UAS) intended to be operated in the ‘open’ category will be specified. According to the amendments, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, and not the Transport Administration, will carry out market surveillance of such appliances. For the purpose of more effective sanctioning, the amount of the fine for legal persons will be increased from 3200 euro to 32,000 euro.
Five Bills passed the first reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Traffic Act (414 SE), initiated by the Government, will transpose into Estonian law the European Union directive that provides for making the payment of road fees within the European Union more convenient. At the same time, a regulation for cross-border information exchange for cases of failure to pay a road fee will be established.
Regardless of the fact that, in Estonia, road toll is not collected through automated identification, the directive needs to be transposed to the minimum mandatory extent, that is, in respect of the provisions concerning the right of European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) providers to register their activities in every EU Member State. Therefore, every Member State must provide, in accordance with the directive, for the requirements for the technology and equipment used, and set out the rights and obligations of both service providers and users.
The Bill on Amendments to the Energy Sector Organisation Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (382 SE), initiated by the Government, will transpose the European Union Renewable Energy Directive, which aims to increase the production and consumption of renewable energy both in households and at the level of large producers and consumers.
The amendments made with the transposition of the Renewable Energy Directive can be divided into three groups according to their content and scope: the national renewable energy targets and the principles for the calculation thereof together with the issues of guarantees of origin; the boosting and facilitation of the consumption of renewable-source energy generated for own use, which includes spatial plans and administrative and authorisation procedures; and the sustainability criteria for biofuels.
During the debate, Kalvi Kõva (Social Democratic Party) and Heiki Hepner (Isamaa) took the floor.
The Bill on the Approval of the Amendments to the Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail and to its Appendices (386 SE), initiated by the Government. The Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail COTIF is a uniform system of legal provisions concerning international carriage of passengers, luggage and goods by rail. The uniform rules of COTIF are applied in international rail transport, but also in road and water transport, which are related thereto.
As at 1 December 2020, OTIF includes 50 Member States in Europe, North Africa and Central Asia, as well as Jordan, and the European Union as an organisation. All EU Member States are members of the organisation, except for Cyprus and Malta, as these countries have no railways. The uniform rules on the carriage of passengers and goods (CIV and CIM) contained in the appendices to the Convention are applied on railways to the extent of more than 250,000 km.
During the debate, Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
According to the Bill on Amendments to the Building Code (395 SE), initiated by the Government, the Building Code will be amended in connection with the transposition into Estonian law of the European Union directive on road infrastructure safety management. Insofar as the scope of regulation of the directive was expanded, the road safety measures provided for by the directive will have to be implemented on all primary roads as well as public-use roads constructed with EU funds, in addition to roads of the trans-European transport network (TEN-T).
On the basis of the directive, the competent authority, mostly the Transport Administration, will have to assess road safety impacts, carry out road safety audits, assess road safety on the road network, and undertake periodic checks on the safety of roads. When local governments construct roads with the involvement of EU funds in the future, the obligations of the competent authority will also have to be performed on roads constructed by them with EU funds, in addition to the current TEN-T roads.
The Bill on Amendments to the Planning Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (378 SE), initiated by the Government, provides for the establishment of a central database of spatial plans. The purpose of the Bill is to update the whole planning procedure and to economise on resources.
With a central database of spatial plans, it will be possible to store and disclose information on spatial plans in force, the annexes thereto, and the decisions made in the course of planning procedures.
The Bill will bring the provisions on planning proceedings into conformity with the Administrative Procedure Act according to which it is also possible to deliver documents and send notices electronically in planning proceedings. At present, the authorities arranging the preparation of spatial plans send notices and documents in planning proceedings only by registered mail.
The Bill also provides for the possibility to hold public discussions online. According to the Bill, in the future, notices to persons involved in planning proceedings can also be sent through apartment associations.
The Riigikogu received an overview of a draft development plan
Minister for Economy and Infrastructure Taavi Aas presented the draft of the Transport and Mobility Development Plan 2021–2035.
The development plan is projected for 15 years, as many changes that are taking place in the sector, such as the construction of Rail Baltic and the consideration of the construction of Tallinna-Helsinki tunnel, are long-term processes the results of which will be seen over the longer term. The main focus of the development plan is to reduce the environmental footprint of the means and system of transport in order to contribute to achieving the climate goals by both 2030 and 2050.
According to the development plan, with a view to improving mobility, the state wishes to make using public transport more convenient, quicker and more accessible to people by organising and planning it better, and making more use of the opportunities of digitalisation. It is also planned to pay more attention to movement by bicycle and on foot.
The development plan is in conformity with the national development strategy “Estonia 2035”.
During the debate, Kersti Sarapuu (Centre Party), Sven Sester (Isamaa), Raimond Kaljulaid, Heiki Hepner (Isamaa), Jüri Jaanson (Reform Party), Heljo Pikhof (Social Democratic Party) and Henn Põlluaas (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
Two Bills were rejected at the first reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Citizenship Act (388 SE), initiated by the Faction Isamaa, was intended to preclude the grant and restoration of Estonian citizenship to persons who have been repeatedly punished under criminal law for intentional crimes.
During the debate, Helir-Valdor Seeder (Isamaa) took the floor.
The lead committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading; 43 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the motion and 23 voted against.
The Bill on Amendments to the Tobacco Act (412 SE), initiated by members of the Riigikogu Tarmo Kruusimäe, Raivo Tamm, Üllar Saaremäe, Madis Milling, Kert Kingo, Kalle Grünthal, Andres Metsoja and Paul Puustusmaa, was intended to set out a regulation for tobacco-free snus, which has so far not been regulated in detail, in order to thereby ensure the safety of the product. It was also intended to correct the provisions that, contrary to the objective set, have brought about an increase in smuggling and health risks.
During the debate, Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) and Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
The lead committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading; 33 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the motion and 18 voted against.
Today the Riigikogu discussed the impact of the rise in the CO2 price on the state budget and economy as a matter of significant national importance, initiated by the State Budget Control Select Committee.
Chairman of the State Budget Control Select Committee Urmas Reinsalu, Minister for Economy and Infrastructure Taavi Aas and Member of the Management Board of Baltic Energy Partners Marko Allikson made reports.
In his report, Reinsalu noted that the current forecasts on the formation of the electricity price had proved inaccurate and they were jeopardising all Estonian residential customers and businesses and consequently the competitiveness of our whole economy and the livelihoods of people.
Reinsalu pointed out that businesses and consumers were paying a higher electricity price in connection with a rise in the CO2 trading price and, in reality, the money was all being accrued to the state budget. “When the burden increases for customers, this does not mean at all that the money accrued to the state budget will actually return to the consumers,” Reinsalu said. He added that the rise in the electricity price was projected to cost at least 250 million euro to Estonian consumers this year.
In Reinsalu’s words, the state needs a clear and dispassionate analysis of the impact of both emissions trading and climate policy, and of the cost of these for Estonian consumers. “In the conditions of the drastically increased energy deficit we need a clear and dispassionate analysis of what our national electricity supply security will be like,” Reinsalu said. He recalled that, at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, when countries had closed their borders, the countries had each stood for their own residents. “There is no doubt at all about the stock exchange conditions either. If a soaring deficit arises, countries will begin to make dispassionate decisions, choosing to ensure supply security for their own population, for the consumers in their country.”
Reinsalu also pointed out that, besides the supply security of electricity generation, a clear position was needed on what Europe’s current emissions trading dynamics meant in terms of electricity consumers.
Reinsalu pointed out the options for the Government to operate in the regulative market. He mentioned the renewable energy charge paid by consumers. “We have the opportunity to fully cancel the renewable energy charge and to compensate it to renewable energy producers with a corresponding state budget appropriation, like many European countries are doing,” Reinsalu suggested.
He noted secondly that it was necessary to review the ensuring of energy supply security and the decision to close down oil shale energy in Estonia. “We must also urgently increase the payments from KredEx, and simplify the support mechanisms to increase the energy efficiency of the housing stock, including private houses, and to promote local energy generation,” Reinsalu said.
In Reinsalu’s opinion, the electricity market is a politically distorted market but, in his words, the state must use mechanisms to prevent the price from skyrocketing for the consumer. In his words, the money the state accrues from the value added tax and the CO2 units must be used to develop an automated stabiliser as several European countries have started to do without delay.
Minister Aas explained the reasons for the rise in the electricity price. He noted that the price was formed by the fossil fuel power stations across Europe. Their price depends on the CO2 quota and the world market price of fuel.
The minister explained that this summer had been exceptionally hot not only in Estonia but in Scandinavia as well. The low rainfall meant that the amount of the water collected behind the dam of the hydroelectric power station in Norway was smaller than usual. Therefore, in the minister’s words, electricity power stations using fossil fuels need to be kept in operation. At the same time, the economy is undergoing a rapid recovery not only here in Europe but also in Asia and North America. The recovery has created an exceptionally high energy demand, and this in turn has given a push to the world market prices of fossil energy carriers.
Aas said that the Government did not have a lever to increase rainfall in Norway or to generate wind that would increase the production in European wind farms. Nor is it in the Government’s power to meaningfully influence the price of fossil fuels that is formed in the global market. “In the formation of the price of electricity, the CO2 emissions trading system and the measures to bring renewable energy to the market sooner are the only components dependent on the European Union energy and climate policy,” Aas said. He added that the Government had taken steps in both directions, but neither of them was a quick solution or a magic wand. However, they will help avoid such problems in the future.
Aas emphasised that the price pressure was caused by the high price of fuel, in particular the price of natural gas. “Once the price of natural gas begins to fall or the amount of rainfall normalises to what it has been on the average over the last ten years, the market price for electricity will fall as well,” Aas said. In his words, renewable energy is the long-term solution to avoid a price-shock, and this transition is being attended to on a daily basis.
Aas recalled that an amendment to the Electricity Market Act, Bill 156 SE, was in the legislative process of the Riigikogu that would create wider opportunities to replace the expensive fossil fuels with CO2-free waste wood in Narva power stations. Likewise, at the beginning of next year, the spatial plan for the Estonian maritime areas will enter its final stage and it will be possible to begin to launch the development of wind farms in the sea.
In Aas’s words, the previous Estonian Government has been proven to have made the right decision to maintain and to have available at any time at least 1000 MW of managed production capacity in Estonia. He admitted that there were periods when that capacity was not needed, but the current year was showing clearly that there were periods when we could not manage with just renewable power plants dependent on the weather.
In his report, entrepreneur Allikson spoke of the market price of electricity. Allikson explained how the electricity markets functioned. He pointed out that the price on the stock exchange was determined by the marginal producer, that is, the last electric power plant that made it to the market, on the basis of its variable costs. About 20 per cent of the electricity production in Europe is based on natural gas. “When the prices rise to around 100–160 euro in the spot market, then this is the level with which it is possible to produce electricity in a gas power station today,” Allikson said. In his words, this contains the CO2 cost, this contains the cost of fuel, and this contains the operating costs. If the price skyrockets, gas plants are the ones that determine the price.
He also pointed out that, in the Baltic states, there were particular additional reasons that had influenced the upward movement of the price. First he mentioned that supplies on the Russian-Belarusian borders would be reduced from November 2021 because Lithuania had not wished to buy nuclear energy from Astravyets. Second, our price is also affected by the fact that our connections with Latvia are larger than before. “In fact, Latvia and Lithuania have always been in a slightly higher price region and therefore the prices are converging. We are no longer in the same price range as Finland; our prices are slightly higher,” Allikson said. He admitted that Finland had been doing the right things looking into the future. “Next year, they will be launching a new nuclear power station, and significant new wind capacities will be added. So Finland will probably remain a region with a lower price also in the future.”
In his report, Allikson also touched on the longer-term projection. “Everything that rises in terms of price will probably fall eventually,” he said. He explained that, in the long-term perspective, it was presumed that more power links would be opened in the Nordic countries, prices would converge between different regions and, in the long term, the price level would be expected to remain low.
Allison noted that Estonia was not producing enough electricity – consumption was exceeding 1000 MW, while production remained at around above 900 MW. “This means that we have a shortage of electricity and we always need to buy electricity,” he stated. “If the electricity we buy has a higher price, then our price is higher, regardless of the price at which Narva Power Plants wish to sell.”
In Allikson’s words, it is impossible to separate the CO2 trading system and the electricity market. “It cannot be said that we kind of are in the CO2 market and remain outside the electricity market, or vice versa,” he pointed out the inevitability. He also thinks that it is not reasonable to change the current subsidies to renewable energy. “Because while Estonia needs renewable energy investments, this will not make Estonia more attractive to investors, but rather less attractive. After all, more investments are needed and not less investments,” he explained.
Allikson pointed out what the Riigikogu could do to influence the price of electricity. In his words, politicians can influence the administrative component of the price of electricity. “You can use the higher CO2 auction revenues to compensate either the components of the electricity bill or a price increase, and the excise duty and value added tax can always be lowered,” he said.
In other aspects, the price of electricity is affected by weather. In Allikson’s words, a reduction in gas consumption might help reduce gas prices. In a longer-term perspective, however, in his words, new connections such as Estlink 3 will be needed. He also mentioned the speeding up of the renewable energy development, the development of storage technologies, energy efficiency, the flexibility of consumption, and the ascertaining of the possibilities of nuclear energy and hydrogen.
During the debate, Helir-Valdor Seeder (Isamaa), Dmitri Dmitrijev (Centre Party), Jevgeni Ossinovski (Social Democratic Party), Kristen Michal (Reform Party) and Henn Põlluaas (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor on behalf of their factions. Jürgen Ligi (Reform Party), Martin Helme (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Mart Helme (Estonian Conservative People’s Party and Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) also took the floor.
The main purpose of the Bill (409 SE) is to increase the availability and re-usability of open data to promote innovation and economy, the smooth functioning of the internal market and the promotion of the information society.
The amendments to the Bill will enforce the requirements for open data and the re-use of public sector information arising from a relevant EU directive. Another purpose of the Bill is to solve the practical shortcomings that have arisen upon the interpretation of the definition of open data and the principles relating to re-use provided for in the current Act.
The explanatory memorandum notes that public sector information has been gaining increasingly more importance and new meaning over the last nearly twenty years. As a result of the development of the data and platform economy, it has been realised that such information should be re-used as much as possible. At the European level, this awareness led to the adoption of the directive on the re-use of public sector information (PSI directive) in 2003. It aimed to create favourable conditions for the development of the internal market. It was understood that public sector information is an important primary material for digital content products and services and will become an even more important content resource with the development of information technology opportunities.
The wider re-usability of public information enabled European businesses, among other things, to make use of the potential of the information, and supported economic growth and the creation of jobs.
During the debate, Heiki Hepner (Isamaa), Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) and the Minister of Justice Maris Lauri took the floor.
The Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Approval of the Principles for the Implementation of the European Union Cohesion Policy Funds for 2021–2027 to Reduce Regional Inequalities” (390 OE), submitted by the Social Democratic Party Faction, was rejected at the first reading. It had been intended to speed up the growth of the regions with slower growth rates in order to stop the increase in regional inequalities.
During the debate, Eduard Odinets (Social Democratic Party) and Heiki Hepner (Isamaa) took the floor.
The lead committee moved to reject the draft Resolution at the first reading. The result of voting: 44 votes in favour and 24 against. The draft Resolution was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
During the open microphone, Kalle Grünthal and Peeter Ernits took the floor.
The meetings of First Vice-President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola with Vice-President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Hanno Pevkur, Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Riina Sikkut and other members of the Riigikogu focused on the issues relating to Belarus, the development of Europe, the green transition, and remote working of the parliament.
Vice-President of the Riigikogu Hanno Pevkur and Roberta Metsola spoke about digitalisation and the work of the Riigikogu in the COVID-19 crisis. Pevkur underlined that the whole Riigikogu was able to work via the video bridge, but presently there was no need for it, as most of the MPs were vaccinated. “Working online is still an excellent solution for crisis situation, and it is good to have a readiness for teleworking when necessary,” Pevkur said.
The hybrid attack by Belarus and migration issues were also discussed at the meeting. Pevkur emphasised that we had to defend all our borders, and to invest in land borders as well. He underlined that the problem did not concern only the Estonian border construction, but also defending of all external borders of the European Union and NATO. Speaking of the situation on the Belarusian border, Pevkur pointed out that Lithuania’s burden was the greatest, but Estonia was also trying to contribute by sending our people and equipment to help them.
The hybrid attack by Belarus, the situation in Poland and Lithuania as well as the events in Afghanistan were also discussed at Metsola’s meeting with Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Riina Sikkut, Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu Enn Eesmaa and Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Mihhail Lotman. Besides that, the Conference on the Future of Europe was spoken of.
Sikkut underlined that the Conference on the Future of Europe should not be overshadowed by other current topics. She pointed out that the Conference should focus attention to issues that are important for citizens. “First, we have to understand what issues citizens want to be solved,” Sikkut said. “The Conference on the Future largely relies on the ideas of citizens and their active involvement.”
Issues relating to the achievement of the climate targets of the European Union were discussed at the meeting with Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Riina Sikkut, members of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Urve Tiidus and Timo Suslov and member of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Annely Akkermann.
It was admitted that the targets for a greener Europe were very diverse, and the situations and the problems that needed solution varied greatly by countries. Sikkut said that it was important to explain to everybody what needed to be done to achieve the targets, for example, in agriculture. “In this regard, it is important to bear in mind that, by recycling materials, we make our own lives better – we are not doing this for anybody else.”
It was agreed that the European Parliament considered it important that the Member States gave as detailed information as possible and gave specific examples in order to identify the points of concern for green topics, because only then would it be possible to address the problems in depth and to resolve them. The price of energy, power connections and green fuels were also discussed at the meetings.
Today, First Vice-President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola is on a visit to Estonia. She will meet with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Hanno Pevkur, Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Riina Sikkut and other members of the Riigikogu.
At the meeting with Vice-President of the Riigikogu Hanno Pevkur, it is planned to speak about the work of the parliament in the COVID-19 crisis as well as the state of the rule of law in Poland and Hungary.
In the Riigikogu, Metsola will also meet with Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee Riina Sikkut, Chairman of the National Defence Committee Enn Eesmaa and Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Mihhail Lotman. The discussions at the meeting will focus particularly on the issues relating to the Conference on the Future of Europe, the Belarusian hybrid attack and illegal migration.
Metsola will also have a meeting with Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee Riina Sikkut, members of the European Union Affairs Committee Urve Tiidus and Timo Suslov, Chair of the Environment Committee of the Riigikogu Yoko Alender and member of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Annely Akkerman to discuss the European Union’s climate policy package “Fit for 55”.
The Vice-President of the European Parliament will also meet with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, Undersecretary for European Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Märt Volmer and Director of the Estonian Centre for International Development Kadri Maasik. She will visit the Experience Europe Centre and have a video discussion with students on the future of Europe and migration.
Before leaving Estonia, Metsola will have a meeting with Director of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence Colonel Jaak Tarien and Chief of Staff of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence Lieutenant Colonel Bernard Hoffman.
At today’s sitting, the Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise gave the Riigikogu an overview of her activities in 2020–2021. She acknowledged the Riigikogu for the legislative amendments that had helped solve people’s problems.
At the beginning of her report, Ülle Madise pointed out that, over the year, the Chancellor of Justice had received a total of over 5000 appeals, complaints and petitions of various kind, over 3000 of which had needed a substantial solution. In the words of the Chancellor of Justice, the amount of her work had increased by one fifth over the year, and in six years, the amount of work has actually doubled. “As always, wherever we can, we try to help the fellow citizens who entrust their worries to us, and we use the shortest legitimate way for this,” Madise confirmed. She added that cooperation had been key to solving the problems of the people and avoiding situations where people feel that their country does not care for them.
In Madise’s words, it was necessary to have the common goal to make Estonia the best place to live. At the same time, this means that life must always be in line with the Constitution that stipulates our freedom, responsibility and good sense, and even one person who gets caught in the middle is one too many.
Madise thanked the Riigikogu for making amendments to the legislative provisions that had been source of unfair treatment of people. She mentioned as examples that psychiatric care had become available to young people, safety in schoolchildren’s tour buses had improved, and victims of misdemeanours had been given more rights.
As a new phenomenon, the Chancellor of Justice had noticed duties and fees imposed subjectively. She gave the example that, in return for the adoption of a detailed spatial plan, in some rural municipalities, a certain amount must be paid as a social infrastructure fee to the local budget, or as a fee to the local community for tolerating a factory. “This may be totally justified in itself,” Madise said. “However, this is where the Riigikogu should create the possibility to pay a relevant local tax or duty.”
Madise said that requesting legality was not pointless nit-picking. “Only the rule of law creates the preconditions for us having a healthy and reliable economic environment, and in the same way it creates a precondition for people feeling secure,” the Chancellor of Justice said. In her words, systemic errors had been successfully corrected in a number of cases. As an example, she mentioned a guideline on the opening of packages in customs.
Madise noted that the Chancellor of Justice was also in charge of supervising and promoting the respect for the rights of disabled people. In her words, all buildings and the public space should be safe and accessible to everyone who has difficulties to move around, and in her opinion, there are indeed positive developments in this sphere. For example, the new procurements for buses are made to procure low-floor buses. People with a hearing loss can benefit from the subtitle software developed at Tallinn University of Technology, which quickly converts speech into subtitles, and the first audio described film has been released, keeping in mind people with a visual impairment. At the same time, on the negative side, the visually impaired had been forgotten again when the registration for vaccination had begun.
In Madise’s words, the work of the Chancellor of Justice also includes inspection visits to psychiatric hospitals, prisons and care homes. The situation has been improving step by step over the years, but many things are still amiss. She pointed out the problems such as the shortage of staff in care homes, the very low salary level, and the lack of required training.
Madise said that prisons were continuing the unacceptable practice where children who came to visit their parents were being stripped for searching, which was a blatant violation of international principles, a violation of the Estonian Constitution, and totally unacceptable.
Madise recalled that, in the previous year, she had often had to explain that, even in times of the greatest crisis, the Chancellor of Justice must be guided by the Constitution and laws. “Even in time of pandemic, according to our Constitution, restrictions and deprivation of liberty must be justified, and not the other way round,” Madise said. In her words, simple solutions tend to come to mind quickly particularly in time of pandemic, and particularly in such times people tend to demand “an iron hand” and violation of the fundamental rights.
“The legal science is not and must not be formal study of the provisions,” Madise said. “When assessing the constitutionality of the restrictions of fundamental rights, it is always necessary first to establish the facts, to ascertain the circumstances of life, to study the research results of various spheres, and to involve experts in other fields. And then logical argumentation will lead to an assessment on the constitutionality of one or the other decision.”
Madise emphasised that, according to the Constitution, the Riigikogu runs the country. Unfortunately, the Chancellor of Justice is seeing in her work that the framework in which the businesses should operate under the conditions of free competition is provided not so much by Acts as by regulations of ministers, or guidelines, which does not guarantee a good economic environment. “This would be unconstitutional in any case, because, according to the Estonian Constitution, the Riigikogu must decide all significant issues,” the Chancellor of Justice said. “I have noticed on several occasions that undertakings would also like the provisions defining the conditions of competition to be omitted from Acts. Possibly with very good intentions, but there may be a tinge of lobbyism behind this as well.”
In Madise’s words, decisions that have a national impact, concern all people and restrict fundamental rights must be made by the Riigikogu. “This ensures that a public debate is held and the life experience of the 101 members of the Riigikogu is reflected in the decision that is made, and that there is constitutional review,” she said.
To conclude her report, the Chancellor of Justice spoke of the rights of children and young people in relation to local elections. “Children and young people are expecting the new municipal councils most of all to create places where they could be together, be safe and speak to each other,” Madise referred to a poll that had been carried out. “It was a very big wish of young people that their needs be noticed and that they have places to be together.”
In Madise’s words, campaigns for local elections can be carried out in youth centres and schools, because 16 and 17-year-olds have the right to vote, but there is a simple line to be drawn: “Schools and youth centres must not become the election bases of any political party.”
The Chancellor of Justice also answered questions from members of the Riigikogu.
During the debate, Marek Jürgenson (Centre Party), Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party), Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) and Toomas Kivimägi (Reform Party) took the floor on behalf of their factions.
The annual review of the Chancellor of Justice is available here (in Estonian).
NordenBladet — Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Marko Mihkelson participates in the joint visit of the Chairmen of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to Paris, France. The visit will last until Thursday.
Mihkelson said that the visit would mainly focus on recent foreign and security policy developments as well as allied relations.
“For us, France is a very important ally and partner both in NATO and in the European Union. Several developments have taken place in recent weeks that have an impact on our allied space, therefore it is of utmost importance to communicate and exchange information about them in Paris,” Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee explained.
Today, the Chairs of the Baltic Foreign Affairs Committees will meet with the representatives of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France. Tomorrow it is planned to have a meeting with President of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the French National Assembly Jean-Louis Bourlanges and members of the Committee.
On Thursday, the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Baltic Parliaments will meet with the representatives of think tanks and the Centre for Analysis and Strategic Prognosis at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and with the European Affairs adviser to the President of France. They will also have a meeting with President of the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee Christian Cambon and members of the Committee.
NordenBladet —During a formal Transfer of Authority parade in Tapa Camp yesterday (Thu, 16 September 2021), the British Army´s Royal Tank Regiment Battlegroup took over the lead role for the NATO enhanced Forward Presence in Estonia, ensuring a smooth transition from the outgoing 1 Mercian Battlegroup. It like its predecessor comes under the command of the 1st Estonian Brigade.
Around 800 soldiers from the 1 Mercian Battlegroup have now completed their six-month deployment in Estonia, having taken part in a wide range of challenging small and large-scale exercises such as Spring Storm and Furious Wolf.
“This was the first deployment of a Mercian-led Battlegroup to Estonia, and I can safely say that this has been a very valuable experience for the troops,” said Lieutenant Colonel Dean Canham, Commanding Officer of the 1 Mercian Battlegroup. “Maintaining our fighting capabilities, we became a fully integrated part of the 1st Estonian Brigade; we learned a lot from our Estonian colleagues and were also able to provide new experiences for them, especially when it comes to combined operations involving tanks and infantry. We wish the Royal Tank Regiment Battlegroup well for a successful tour.”
The Royal Tank Regiment Battlegroup constitutes the ninth UK rotation into Estonia since 2017, when the first troops arrived under the banner of NATO´s enhanced Forward Presence to the Baltic states and Poland. Currently, the NATO battlegroup in Tapa is made up of UK and French forces.
“The Royal Tank Regiment is honoured and thrilled by the opportunity to deploy to Estonia,” said Lieutenant Colonel Simon Worth, Commanding Officer of the Royal Tank Regiment Battlegroup. “We have trained hard to reach the standard required for this demanding deployment, including a challenging six-week deployment in Germany, and are now ready to begin our mission. We are aware of the solemn commitment that the UK has made to the Estonian people and to our NATO allies, and are determined to deliver this important role to the best of our ability. In particular we are really looking forward to working with our aligned French Squadron and to operate within the 1st Estonian Brigade – the mission will provide a great opportunity to learn from each other and to improve the way that we work together. On a personal note I am really looking forward to meeting the Estonian people and to learning more about this fascinating and beautiful country.“
The Royal Tank Regiment is the oldest tank regiment in the world, tracing its origins to units formed in 1916, when tanks were first used in battles during the First World War. The “Tank Corps” battalions were formed in 1917 and in 1923 they were officially given the name “Royal Tank Corps” by King George V. In 1939 the Corps was renamed the Royal Tank Regiment, becoming a wing of the newly created Royal Armoured Corps.
During the Second World War, Royal Tank Regiment units took part in numerous battles including El Alamein, the Italian Campaign and the D-Day landings in France. In recent decades, the regiment has been involved in various operations, including those in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan. This year a squadron from the Royal Tank Regiment has been part of the outgoing 1 Mercian Battlegroup.
The Royal Tank Regiment is the only UK Army unit whose members wear black uniforms or “coveralls”. These uniforms were adopted when tanks were first-used and the black colour was chosen to hide the inevitable oil stains that would appear when the tanks were operated. The black beret, another part of the regiment´s uniform, was also adopted early on, as wearing a peaked cap was found unsuitable for use in tanks.
The NATO Battlegroup is following Estonian and UK government advice and regulations regarding limiting the spread of COVID-19. All such regulations were followed during the ceremony.