At the public video sitting today at 2 p.m., the European Union Affairs Committee and the State Budget Control Select Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) will be given an overview of the 2020 annual report of the European Court of Auditors, which will be presented by Member of the European Court of Auditors Juhan Parts.
The European Court of Auditors monitors the implementation of the budget of the European Union and the lawfulness of the use of the funds.
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Siim Kallas said that, last year, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly had a significant impact on the Union’s finances. “It is already known today that this impact will continue also in the coming years. Member States have agreed to create a COVID-19 recovery instrument, which will be financed by issuing the EU bonds,” Kallas said. He added that in the coming years, the expenses of the EU would nearly double. “Keeping in mind the increase of expenses and fight against the pandemic, it is of utmost importance to effectively control the use of EU funds and the achievement of intended results,” Kallas underlined.
According to the report of the European Court of Auditors, the revenues of the European Union for the previous year were legal and regular, and not affected by material error. The overall level of error for expenditure from the EU budget of 2020 was 2.7 %, which is the same as the year before.
The proportion of high-risk expenditure in the audit population has further increased and represented 59% of audited spending (last year it was 53%). The rules and eligibility criteria governing this type of expenditure are often complex, which makes errors more likely. The level of error of high-risk expenditure exceeds the materiality threshold and is estimated to be 4.0% (in 2019, it was 4.9 %). This concerns mainly reimbursement-based expenditure. As in the previous year, the auditors have therefore concluded that the level of error in this substantial type of spending is pervasive, and issued an adverse opinion on EU expenditure for 2020.
The European Court of Auditors points out in the report that Member States’ absorption of the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds has been slower than planned. By the end of 2020, or the final year of the current seven-year budget, only 55% of the agreed EU funding for the 2014–2020 period had been paid out.
The European Court of Auditors also reviewed the obligations and revenue amounts generated by the United Kingdom’s withdrawal process. On 31 December 2020, the EU accounts showed an amount of 47.5 billion euro due from the United Kingdom based on mutual obligations set out in the withdrawal agreement.
Public sitting starts at 2 p.m. and it will be streamed online.
The video recording of the sitting will be available onthe Riigikogu YouTubechannel. (Please note that the recording will be uploaded with a delay.)
At the remote sitting today, the Riigikogu discussed the matter of significant national importance “European Union’s and Estonia’s climate targets by 2030 – achieving ‘Fit for 55’”, initiated by the European Union Affairs Committee.
Member of Cabinet of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans Helena Braun, Director of Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre Lauri Tammiste, Professor of the University of Tartu and Science and Development Director of Milrem Robotics Mart Noorma and Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Siim Kallas delivered reports at the sitting.
Helena Braun, Member of Cabinet of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, introduced the climate and energy package adopted by the European Commission in July.
Braun said that the predictions of the World Economic Forum in the recent years had identified the biodiversity crisis and climate change as the greatest and the most likely threats to humanity. She pointed out that their impacts could increasingly be felt. “In recent years, and also this year, we have seen very large floods, storms, heat waves in Europe. They have had thousands of victims, have destroyed forests and crops, and also increased the need for air conditioning and our electricity bills. The warmer the climate gets, the more frequent such extreme weather conditions become, and the more extensive and negative their impact on the life and health of humans will be,” Braun said, explaining the need for the Green Deal.
Braun stated that the cost of inaction would be many times higher than the cost of achieving climate neutrality. “If it is at all possible to attach any adequate price tag to the human lives that will be lost, to the huge migration that arises, regions becoming unfit for habitation and the total destruction of several important sectors of economy,” Braun said. “Ultimately, the transition to green economy is only a means, it is a means of preserving and enhancing the well-being of humans, not an end in itself.”
Braun pointed out as a positive example that Europe has seen this big challenge as a possibility. “Both the European Union and Estonia, our people, our businesses, still have a great opportunity to be the author, the market, but also the exporter and, of course, the primary beneficiary of these clean technology solutions, environmentally friendly products and services, as well as new innovative business models. According to all analyses, it can be used to create a very large number of jobs, and in almost all sectors of economy: in renewable energy, construction, renovation, transport, agriculture and restoration of nature,” Braun emphasised.
Braun also explained what the proposals would involve, and underlined that, by now, both the climate neutrality by 2050 and the interim target to reduce emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030 were both legal obligations in Europe. “All Member States of the European Union, including Estonia, have committed themselves to this unanimously. Now, we have to meet these obligations collectively and of course also in solidarity.”
In his report, Director of Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre Lauri Tammiste focused on the importance of the “Fit for 55” proposal and its significance from the perspective of the Estonian research. He noted that the package was ambitious, and that if it was asked why it was so urgent, the reply was that much time had been wasted on discussing, analysing and debating. He underlined that the problems of greenhouse gases and climate change had been spoken about for more than 100 years already.
“Johan Rockström, who is the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, one of the most important, one of the most prominent climate scientists, said very well that this 1.5 degree target is not a negotiating position, is not an object for bargaining – it is a very clear scientific limit beyond which these negative effects start to escalate exponentially,” Tammiste said. He also emphasised that it was cheaper to prevent problems than to deal with their consequences.
Tammiste emphasised that we were a small, extremely integrated global economy. “So from this point of view it would be reasonable to look how we can benefit from this in the most sensible way possible to improve Estonia’s quality of life and solve environmental problems, but also to contribute in solidarity so that Estonia, as a member of the European and global economy, can be less vulnerable to these climate risks,” he said.
“According to the IEA, the so-called clean energy, solar and wind energy, has been the cheapest way of producing energy for several years already, and the predictions are that these markets, the demand for clean solutions is going to grow very, very much, especially as all other regions and countries start to follow suit. Maybe Europe is in the lead by some years, but this should be taken as an advantage and not as something bad,” Tammiste said.
He encouraged to start acting at once and recommended to begin with cost effective reasonable things that increase the quality of life. In his opinion, better planned cities and better organised public transport are things that are useful for several reasons.
Professor of the University of Tartu and Science and Development Director of Milrem Robotics Mart Noorma emphasised in his report that the ground-breaking technological innovation made it possible to find new solutions to problems and brought along fundamental changes in our life and work processes.
Noorma said that transition to unmanned autonomous vehicles and work machines was a field that enabled to support achieving the climate targets and at the same time conduct the processes in an economically more profitable way. “When robots come to help, it is possible to redesign our work processes, so that in principle all parties win: the nature protection enthusiasts and fighters for biological diversity, and the economic profit will certainly not decrease, but may even increase,” Noorma said. He added that tractors were very heavy, but remotely controlled or autonomous machines were much lighter.
In the Professor’s opinion, it is very important from Estonia’s point of view to find out what is the strength of Estonian entrepreneurship, what is the strength of Estonian science and what are the needs of the Estonian public sector. “This is the triple helix that has been talked about so much in the context of innovation. “If we could bring these three strengths together in the same fight against climate change, and we had a sufficient number of parties who could contribute, but also benefit from the other side, then our country will be on the winning side, as well as the Earth and the climate,” Noorma emphasised.
Noorma also said that a new generation, or the first generation of robot work machines for fields and forests was being developed. “We are very interested that the Estonian hydrogen infrastructure would develop to the level where we could do the forest and field work on hydrogen basis. In the future, hydrogen will certainly be one of the potential energy sources in the situations where batteries may not be sufficient,” Noorma said, looking into the future.
The Professor also underlined the importance of cooperation between companies, research institutions and public sector.
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Siim Kallas said that, in September and October, parliamentary hearings on the green transition were held in the European Union Affairs Committee to learn about the general framework and sectoral problems of the Fit for 55 package before the discussions of the Government’s positions that would start soon. He explained that the Fit for 55 package was a collection of big and complicated initiatives that first existed mainly in the form of drafts and plans, but had to become laws.
Kallas pointed out that the effects of global warming were already a reality – extreme heat, floods, droughts, water scarcity, rising sea levels, melting glaciers, forest fires, windbreakages and agricultural damage – but said that, in terms of trends, these effects will be felt most by our children and grandchildren. “We have to decide now how to act to achieve climate neutrality, while ensuring that our farmers and foresters are not left behind, how to reduce fossil fuel based energy and increase the share of renewable energy production so that our energy supply and security will not be threatened or electricity prices would not rise. How to restructure the economy of East-Virumaa successfully? How to reorganise transport so that there would be less emissions, but the supply chains would not be interrupted? How to optimise consumption without damaging our standards of living?”
He acknowledged that Estonia had done well, but inevitably we had to participate in the global climate policy. “I can’t imagine that we can do anything on our own to prevent the melting of polar ice and fighting the resulting sea-level rise. It has been said that Estonia and the European Union cannot influence the global climate if China, India, the United States and others do not contribute with similar measures. By today, the above-mentioned countries have also come on board, and have taken drastic steps,” Kallas said.
Kallas added that from the economic point of view, three pillars were necessary for implementing the green transition: investments, fair pricing for normal functioning and social policy to adapt to changes and overcome the consequences of possible crises. He also spoke of the need to save natural resources and that the green transition was also a technology transition. “It is in the interests of the European Union and Estonia to be the leaders in green technologies. It is an opportunity for our entrepreneurs to create a market for environmentally sustainable services and innovative business models. The targets established by the Green Deal are thus not only in the interests of the environment. It is also a sustainable economic model that enables new developmental leap,” Kallas concluded.
During the debate, Yoko Alender (Reform Party), Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Heiki Hepner (Isamaa) and Riina Sikkut (Social Democratic Party) took the floor on behalf of their political groups.
At the beginning of the sitting, Minister of the Environment Erki Savisaar took his oath of office.
Today, the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) will discuss the matter of significant national importance “European Union’s and Estonia’s climate targets by 2030 – achieving ‘Fit for 55’”, initiated by the European Union Affairs Committee.
Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Siim Kallas, as well as Member of Cabinet of the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans Helena Braun, Director of Stockholm Environment Institute Tallinn Centre Lauri Tammiste, and Professor of the University of Tartu and Science and Development Director of Milrem Robotics Mart Noorma will deliver reports at the sitting of the Riigikogu.
Kallas said that the green transition package ‘Fit for 55’ was a collection of very big and complicated initiatives that aimed to reduce climate warming. “Climate warming has already caused extreme heat, floods, drought, shortage of water, rise of sea levels, melting of glaciers, forest fires, windbreakages and damage to agriculture,” he noted. “In the future, these phenomena will have a great impact on ecosystems, people and economy.”
The chairman said that now it was the time we had to decide what to do to achieve climate neutrality.
The reports will be followed by questions to the speakers and comments by the representatives of political groups and members of the Riigikogu.
At today’s Question Time, members of the Riigikogu asked Prime Minister Kaja Kallas about Estonia’s readiness for a potential hybrid attack.
In his question, Member of the Riigikogu Rene Kokk referred to the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. He wanted to know how Estonia was prepared for a similar hybrid attack and if additional procurements were planned for the protection of borders.
The Prime Minister admitted that the security situation was dangerous and tense, but she assured that there was no direct threat to the borders of Estonia. She remarked that, taking into account the changed security situation, the Government had decided to hold an additional reservist training exercise and to put up temporary border barriers without delay in places where the border fence has not been constructed. “Starting today, the reservists will be called up, and in eight days, the Defence Forces will erect the barriers there,” she said. Kallas added that the Government was also looking for solutions for speeding up the construction of the whole border.
The Prime Minister pointed out that lots of work had been done to get financing from the European funds for the construction of the external borders of Europe. “The European Commission has been strongly against it,” Kallas said. “Today, I am happy to note that, for example, President of the European Council Charles Michel has already said that financing for the construction of the border fences should also come from the budget of the European Union,” she added.
Kallas also emphasised that Europe should demonstrate unity in the ongoing security crisis. “Poland, Lithuania and Latvia are doing what is their duty: they are protecting the border of Europe. We should never go along with, I would say, the provocations calling for softer attitude. I think that the right attitude so far has been forceful and strong, and dictator Lukashenka did not expect that,” the Head of Government said.
Member of the Riigikogu Helir-Valdor Seeder wanted to know if in the Prime Minister considered it necessary to amend also the national legislation so that it would be possible to deal flexibly with the possible illegal immigrants. Kallas replied that the Minister of the Interior was reviewing the relevant legislation, and remarked that the Riigikogu could also initiate bills for solving these issues.
The Prime Minister also replied to Kalle Grünthal’s question about managing the coronavirus crisis, Kert Kingo’s question about the rule of law and Mart Helme’s question about the migration crisis.
Minister of Culture Tiit Terik replied to Helle-Moonika Helme’s question about the incidents in the area of administration of the Ministry of Culture, and to Viktoria Ladõnskaja-Kubits’s question about investments in the field of culture.
Minister of Entrepreneurship and Information Technology Andres Sutt replied to Priit Sibul’s question about subsidies to businesses and employment, and to Merry Aart’s question about the time schedule for consolidation of information technology.
Video recordings of the sittings of the Riigikogu can be viewed athttps://www.youtube.com/riigikogu. (Please note that the recording will be uploaded with a delay.)
Today, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Marko Mihkelson attended a video conference of the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to exchange information and coordinate activities relating to the security crisis on the borders of Belarus.
Mihkelson underlined that constant operational exchange of information and strong cooperation were of key importance as the hybrid attack organised by the Belarusian regime was intensifying. “The unity between the European Union Member States and the allies is undoubtedly of significant importance. We unequivocally condemn the activities of the Belarusian regime and repel all attempts to sow mistrust and discord among the Member States,” he said. “We stand in solidarity with Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, and we are following the developments very closely.”
Last week, the Chairs of the Foreign Affair Committees made a joint statement about the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border. It is planned to meet again on this Friday.
The Riigikogu approved the agenda for its remote sittings of this working week.
No deliberation of Bills or replies to interpellations have been scheduled for Monday’s sitting.
At Tuesday’s sitting, the Bill on Amendments to the Electronic Communications Act, the Building Code and the State Fees Act (437 SE) will be at the second reading.
The Bill on Amendments to the Family Law Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (474 SE) will be at the first reading.
At Wednesday’s sitting, four Bills will be at the third reading: the Bill on Amendments to the Covered Bonds Act and Other Acts (407 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Building Code (395 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Public Information Act (409 SE) and the Bill on Amendments to the Traffic Act (414 SE).
Nine Bills will be at the second reading:: the Bill on Amendments to the Land Reform Act and Other Acts (418 SE), the Family Mediation Bill (438 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the State Fees Act, the Code of Civil Procedure and Other Acts (443 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Financial Supervision Authority Act and Other Acts (422 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Gambling Tax Act and the State Budget Act (459 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Value-Added Tax Act, the Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank) Act and the Act on Amendments to the Value-Added Tax Act and the Customs Act (460 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act and Other Acts (461 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the State Budget Act (436 SE) and the State Budget for 2022 Bill (464 SE).
One Bill will be at the first reading: the Bill on Amendments to the Maritime Safety Act (470 SE).
The deliberation of the matter of significant national importance “European Union’s and Estonia’s climate targets by 2035 – achieving ’Fit for 55’”, initiated by the European Union Affairs Committee, is scheduled for Thursday’s sitting,
During the open microphone, Peeter Ernits took the floor.
NordenBladet – The laureate of the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF) Lifetime Achievement Award is actress Elle Kull. The actress will receive the award on Friday at 6 p.m. at the opening ceremony of the festival.
Kull, who is turning 70 next year, will receive the award for outstanding roles in nearly 30 films and television productions. Minna in “Ukuaru”, Laura in “Pisuhänd”, Maria Marmor in A Ballade of Two Homes (“Kahe kodu ballaad”), Irma in “Rudolf and Irma” Catherina Wycken in “Reik’s Teacher”, Dora in “Ask the Dead About the Price of Death (“Surma hinda küsi surnutelt”) and a girl in “Promenade” are only a few of the projects she has participated in.
She is the only Estonian actress to have also received the award of the best film actress in the Soviet Union in 1975, for her role in “Ukuaru”.
“Elle Kull has both freshness and purity of youth, fidelity to nature, the depth of material perception and the impulsivity of experience. She has a rare sense of truth. She is like a sensitive membrane that perceives the slightest lie and fake,” an Estonian director Leida Laius who discovered Kull from the second year of the Estonian Theater and Music Academy and invited her to play in “Ukaru.”
“Ukuaru” also opened the door for other Soviet film studios for Kull, for example, she starred in Lithuanian director Almantas Grikevičius’ “Times of Farm Empire”, as well as in Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Uzbek and Armenian films, seen by as many as 15 million people.
Kull was a long-time president of the Estonian National Committee of the UNICEF Children’s Fund, and she has been involved in charity work for a long time.
From November 29, the PÖFF online cinema will also show the films “Ukuaru” and “Ask the Dead About the Price of Death”.
The winner of the second Lifetime Achievement Award, which is traditionally a foreign filmmaker, will be announced by PÖFF during the festival.
Last year, Alar Kivilo and Margarethe von Trotta received the PÖFF Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Black Nights Film Festival will take place on November 12-28.
NordenBladet – The government on Thursday decided to allow people to get AstraZeneca and Janssen coronavirus vaccine booster doses five months after receiving the second shot, down from the recent six months. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) sales permit for the vaccines prescribes a waiting period of six months. The Estonian State Agency of Medicines said that how to solve problems caused by side-effects in this case still needs to be analyzed.
The booster dose waiting period has been changed three times in the last month in Estonia. While people were initially told they need to wait eight months after getting their second shot, this was shortened to six months in late October, with people vaccinated using AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines told two days ago that waiting five months is enough. The vaccines’ marketing authorization issued by the European Medicines Agency prescribes a six-month break from the second dose.
“Data from Israel clearly shows that a five-month vaccination interval proved successful at preventing severe cases,” said Marje Oona, member of the Estonian immunoprophylactic expert committee.
“The European Medicines Agency failed to consider data from Israel. The immunoprophylactic committee can, based on Estonia’s epidemiological situation, decide that it is sensible to offer booster doses of AstraZeneca and Janssen vaccines after five months,” Oona said.
She said there is no conflict with EMA as national expert bodies can issue recommendations based on the epidemiological situation in the country. Oona gave the example of Finland that decided in spring people need to wait longer for third doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
“On the other hand, we have no reason to believe the vaccine is somehow more dangerous when administered a little sooner. It is a question of effect – whether the immune response is triggered at the right time or whether it is created too soon, when the person still has antibodies,” said Ott Laius, head of the pharmaceutical safety department of the State Agency of Medicines.
Laius said existing data suggests third doses produce the same side-effects as the previous ones. Serious side-effects require the person to turn to the manufacturer after which the state and the pharmaceutical manufacturer will decide how to solve the problem for the person.
Laius could not say what effect Estonia’s decision of a shorter waiting period could have on such resolutions.
“It needs to be determined now. It requires calm deliberation and decisions,” Laius said.
Information available to ETV news program “Aktuaalne kaamera” suggests a major immunization center has offered booster doses to people who got their second shot a mere four and half months ago. Marje Oona said that while there is no additional risk involved, such conduct is not practical either.
“The resulting immunity might not be as strong after a shorter waiting period, which I why I would recommend against getting these shots with short intervals,” she said.
NordenBladet – NordenBladet launched today, on November 15, a new app that allows visitors of our websites keep track of daily electricity prices at any chosen time
Electricity tariffs will be displayed on NordenBladet’s front page and sitewide on the right side of the page in the form of a table. You can check the exact price of electricity during one full hour until the next. The Estonian site (NordenBladet.ee) publishes Estonian electricity prices, the Finnish language site (NordenBladet.fi) publishes electricity prices of Finland.
PRICE GUIDE*:
? Red – the day’s highest prices
? Yellow – the day’s typical price
? Green – the day’s most profitable price
(prices in the table are given before/without value-added tax)
Estonia and Finland belong to the Nord Pool Spot electricity market trade region. Besides Estonia and Finland, the NordPool also involves Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Latvia and Lithuania. In the Nord Pool Spot, electricity prices will be determined separately for every hour of the day and separately for every region. Each country has the minimum of one price zone, countries with larger territories may have several zones.
Electricity’s market value will be calculated by Nord Pool electricity stocks individually for every hour. For each hour, all electricity production offers beginning with the most inexpensive will be ranked, and all electricity demand offers will be ranked beginning with the most expensive. In the intersection of these two lines the price of electricity will be shaped.
__________________________________ ATTENTION! * Electrical grid level depends on the electrical network service provider and the location of every individual consumer’s electrical substation. The price guide has been designed based on Nord Pool data in a supporting manner, with the aim of simplifying the price market overview – NordenBladet will not accept responsibility regarding your electricity consumption!
NordenBladet – Tallinn will be awarded the UNESCO City of Music title from 2022. Last year, Mayor of Tallinn Mihhail Kõlvart (Center) said Tallinn would apply for the title as the capital is the largest center of music culture in Estonia, where song and dance festivals, as well as major international festivals and concerts, take place.
Tallinn’s application was accompanied by the creation of Tallinn Music Strategy 2022-2025, which offers new opportunities for creating and enjoying music.
The main focus of the strategy is to support the development and growth of the city’s music industry.
On Monday, Kõlvart said: “A strong musical tradition has been closely embedded in our cultural heritage throughout the centuries, and therefore the title of UNESCO Music City is extremely gratifying.”
Artistic Director of the Tallinn Philharmonic Society Tõnu Kaljuste said it is not only great news to musicians, but is of great significance for the entire city.
“I believe that any international recognition is a small dose of praise for every musician, giving both delights to the heart and strength for the future. I hope that it will have the same effect on the city in which we live, play and sing. The UNESCO City of Music is a high recognition, congratulations to us all!”
The UNESCO Network of Creative Cities, which includes the Cities of Music, was launched in 2004 with the aim of highlighting the role of culture and creativity in sustainable urban development.
In addition to Tallinn, the newly designated Cities of Music include Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), Batumi (Georgia), Belfast (Ireland), Huancayo (Peru), Ibagué (Colombia), Kharkiv (Ukraine), London (Canada), Port Louis (Mauritius) , Recife (Brazil), Santiago de Cuba (Cuba) and Xalapa (Mexico).
