NordenBladet — The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) starts discussions on the Arctic issues. In order to get background information for the discussions, the Committee decided to commission a study that would provide an overview of Estonia’s interests and opportunities in connection with global developments in the Arctic, and of Estonia’s readiness for cooperation with the countries of the Arctic region.

Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa said that the aim of the study was to get the opinion of experts on several issues connected with the Arctic, like topics relating to economic activities, environmental changes, security, research and development and the situation of indigenous peoples. “The economic and environmental topics connected with the Arctic are becoming more and more important every day for many countries, and it is important to start thoroughly analysing Estonia’s possibilities to have a say in these issues,” he pointed out. “The resolution of the Government of the Republic to apply for the status of an observer state is an important step in shaping Estonia’s Arctic policy. The Foreign Affairs Committee wishes to contribute to it through its discussions,” Eesmaa added.

“Observer status in the Arctic Council would open a new door for Estonia to contribute to resolving the issues faced by a region that is attracting ever-increasing global attention,” Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson noted. “Participating in the work of the Council is a unique opportunity for the Estonian scientists, as well as for developing the possibilities and economic activities of our transport and logistics sector.”

“The possibility to enhance our allied relations is an important added value of the observer status. Thus, one of the purposes of the study is to get an overview of Estonia’s opportunities for cooperation in Arctic issues at the European Union level and in regional formats, as well as for bilateral cooperation with the member states and observer states of the Arctic Council,” Mihkelson added.

The Committee expects the study to be ready by spring 2021.

Earlier studies and public opinion polls commissioned by the Riigikogu are available on the Riigikogu website.

The Foreign Affairs Committee also discussed the Arctic issues at a video conference today, where representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave an overview on Estonia’s application for observer status in the Arctic Council.

NordenBladet — Today, on the Finno-Ugric Day, President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Henn Põlluaas sent a video greeting to the Speakers of the Parliaments of Finland and Hungary. He pointed out that multiplicity of cultures had a decisive role in preserving and strengthening of civilizations.

Põlluaas underlined that the Finno-Ugric Day was an excellent example of the cultural and educational cooperation between Estonia, Finland, Hungary, and the Finno-Ugric peoples living in Russia “Let us strengthen the ties between the Finno-Ugric peoples and support each other both in troubles and in success,” the President of the Riigikogu said.

“It is very important to introduce our kindred nations and their concerns to the wider world and to strengthen their cultural self-awareness,” Põlluaas emphasised. “Multiplicity of cultures has a decisive role in preserving and strengthening of civilizations. We, the parliamentarians, have the special responsibility of providing a sustainable legal setting for this.”

Põlluaas recalled that this year Estonia was to host the VIII World Congress of Finno-Ugric Peoples. However, due to the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Congress had to be postponed. He expressed hope that the Congress would take place next year in Tartu.

The tradition of introducing kindred peoples and their cultures began in 1931, but it was discontinued when Estonia was occupied. In 1988, this tradition was revived, and in March 2011, the Riigikogu adopted a resolution to celebrate the Finno-Ugric Day as a national holiday and a flag day in Estonia on the third weekend of October.

NordenBladet — President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Henn Põlluaas discussed bilateral relations with Finland, regional security and political situation in East Europe with Speaker of Eduskunta (Parliament of Finland) Anu Vehviläinen at a video conference today.

“If you live in such a geographical location as Estonia and Finland, who have a common eastern neighbour that behaves unpredictably, then the security issues are especially important,” Põlluaas said. In his opinion, it cannot be considered normal that even now, there is a war going on in the middle of Europe and a part of Ukraine is occupied.

At the video conference, the human rights situation in Belarus and the conflict that had broken out in Nagorno-Karabakh region were spoken about. Põlluaas underlined that, at the international level, it was very important for the Western countries to follow common sanctions policy and to cooperate in international organisations.

Põlluaas and Vehviläinen shared information and experiences of the work of their parliaments during the corona crisis. Põlluaas told his colleague about the possibilities of conducting telesittings of the Riigikogu and gave an overview of important bills that were being debated. The political situation and the coming elections in Estonia and Finland were also discussed.

Põlluaas congratulated his colleague on her appointment to office and invited her to visit Estonia when the corona threat was over. Vehviläinen has been the Speaker of the Parliament of Finland since June.

NordenBladet — Prime Minister Jüri Ratas made a political statement in connection with the submission of the national long-term development strategy “Estonia 2035” to the Riigikogu.

Ratas said that the strategy had been drafted with the help of nearly 17,000 people for more than two years because Estonia’s long-term perspective deserved a broad-based discussion. “Over these two years, nearly thirty workshops have been held across Estonia where many Estonian people have been able to voice their opinion, in addition to politicians, officials and representative organisations of civil society.

The process of drafting ‘Estonia 2035’ has been more open than is customary with policy documents and I hope that such co-creation will become the new norm in the future. A secure Estonian state that is considerate of people is a common goal for all,” the Prime Minister said.

Ratas stressed that “Estonia 2035” would in every sense be a foundation for our decisions in the coming fifteen years. It is a strategy supporting the cooperation of the Government of the Republic and the Riigikogu that integrates the strategic planning and policy-shaping of all sectors as well as the principles for the funding thereof. “Estonia 2035” has been integrated with the economic coordination of the European Semester, it serves as a basis for the planning of European Union funds and provides a direction for the implementation of the global sustainable development goals in Estonia. “The aim of the development strategy is that, also in the future, Estonia would be a democratic and secure country where the viability of the Estonian language, nation and culture is ensured.”

Prime Minister said that “Estonia 2035” set five equivalently important strategic objectives: smart, active and health-minded people live in Estonia; the Estonian society is caring, cooperative and open; Estonia has a secure and high-quality living environment that takes everyone’s needs into account; the Estonian economy is strong, innovative and responsible; Estonia is an innovative, reliable and human-centred country.

Ratas underlined that, in increasing the vitality of the Estonian nation, language and culture and in promoting a democratic and secure state, it was not sensible for us to overlook these objectives. It would also be difficult to contest that we wish to live in a country where people are active, society is caring and the living environment takes everyone’s needs into account and the economy is innovative, and governance is human-centred. “However, these are not just big words but really objectives to be kept in mind when making decisions. Both in the honourable Riigikogu and in the Government,” Ratas noted. “The Estonian people deserve a competitive country with knowledge-based society and economy.”

The Prime Minister admitted that “Estonia 2035” would not of course solve all the problems we would be facing over the next fifteen years. “But I am convinced that the principles agreed upon in this development strategy will help us remain ourselves even in the most complicated situations, as people and as a country. These future-oriented objectives will help us turn challenges into opportunities.”

During the debate, representatives of the factions Kaja Kallas (Reform Party), Jaak Valge (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Riina Sikkut (Social Democratic Party), Heiki Hepner (Isamaa) and Aadu Must (Centre Party) took the floor. 

The Riigikogu approved the accession to the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts

The Riigikogu approved with 46 votes in favour the Act on the Ratification of the Agreements necessary for Accession to the Convention Establishing the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (229 SE), initiated by the Government. The primary purposes of the Centre are the development of a capability for medium-range weather forecasting and the provision of medium-range weather forecasts to the Member States.

Under the Act, the Republic of Estonia accedes to the Convention Establishing the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, including its Protocol on Privileges and Immunities, and the Protocol of 2005 to Amend the Convention, and ratifies the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on the accession of the Republic of Estonia to the ECMWF Convention and related terms and conditions which was signed on 3 June 2020.

The ECMWF member state status enables to obtain additional information in order to use the results of the model calculations received from the Centre to create high quality products and services meeting local needs. The available information will help implement nowcasting, introduce and implement ensemble forecasts, and increase the reliability and accuracy of forecasts of various duration. The products and services provided by the ECMWF will serve as the basis for the daily work of the Estonian Weather Service of the Environment Agency, and the accuracy of Estonian weather forecasts will depend on them.

During the open microphone, Kalle Grünthal, Urmas Espenberg and Raivo Tamm took the floor.

NordenBladet — The Bill that passed the second reading will amend the Railways Act by including provisions arising from directives and by specifying domestic provisions, besides changing the text and structure of the current Act.

According to the explanatory memorandum to the Railways Bill (201 SE), initiated by the Government, the current Railways Act has been amended for more than 30 times since its adoption in 2003, which has made the text of the Act difficult to read, and therefore it is reasonable to issue a new consolidated text of the Act.

The Bill provides for a reduction in the state fee if an application for an act in the railway traffic register is submitted through the electronic service information system of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority. At the same time, the Act will also be amended by including additional fees for example for reviewing applications for changes to the operating licences for the technical maintenance and repair of railway vehicles and the construction of railway vehicles.

In order to disambiguate the issues relating to the building rights and the right of use of railway civil engineering works, the Bill will amend the Building Code and specify the requirements for railway civil engineering works. At the same time, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority will be designated as the competent authority to issue the design criteria for railway civil engineering works.

The EU directives transposed by the Bill are legal acts of the technical pillar of the Fourth Railway Package, which aims to complete the creation of a single European railway market. The goal of this package is to revitalise the rail sector and make it more competitive vis-à-vis other modes of transport. The technical pillar is designed to boost the competitiveness of the railway sector by significantly reducing costs and administrative burden for railway undertakings wishing to operate across Europe. For that, it will be possible to apply for licences through the EU Agency for Railways in the future.

The Riigikogu did not support a draft Resolution

The Riigikogu did not support the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a Proposal to the Government of the Republic to Form a COVID-19 Analysis Committee of Experts” (220 OE), initiated by the Reform Party. It was intended to propose to form a committee to analyse how the COVID-19 virus epidemic that hit Estonia in spring 2020 had been countered.

41 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the passage of the Resolution and 25 voted against. The support of at least 51 members of the Riigikogu was needed to pass the Resolution.

Indrek Saar (Social Democratic Party) took the floor during the debate.

NordenBladet — At the video conference today, chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary discussed international and regional cooperation. The discussion focused on the developments in Belarus, the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the occupied East Ukraine, and the possibilities for contributing to increasing regional security together.

In the opinion of Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Enn Eesmaa, current international situation is so multi-layered that is necessary to cooperate with the allies in your region.

Eesmaa underlined the importance of parliamentary diplomacy in contributing to the resolution of international problems. “I think that the parliamentarians of our region should be committed to supporting the citizens’ initiative in Belarus,” Eesmaa said.

Eesmaa admitted that it had been nice to hear about his colleagues’ positive attitude towards the Three Seas Virtual Summit and Web Forum scheduled to be held on 19 October under the leadership of Estonia. “We are very satisfied that the Three Seas Investment Fund has become operational, which enables to continue with the connectivity projects important for the region,” Eesmaa added.

President of the Riigikogu Henn Põlluaas, who said the words of welcome at the beginning of the meeting, stressed that trust was the basis of international cooperation. “Trust, resilience and connectivity should be the keywords of our future plans,” he emphasised.

Põlluaas acknowledged that the corona pandemic had changed many things for us, but the main problems remained the same. “We, the legislators, should request that each member of the global community adhered to international law. The use of brute force should be condemned and punished, regardless of the size of the perpetrator,” he said.

Põlluaas added that today our countries were facing several common challenges. “Traditional Christian European values, national identity and the right of sovereign states to decide for themselves – all this has been put under doubt to a large extent in recent years”, the President of the Riigikogu noted. Põlluaas believes we should seriously think about these issues.

The video conference was convened by the chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of Latvia and Poland.

NordenBladet — Today, members of the Riigikogu tested the technical solution created to conduct a sitting with distance participation; this would allow participation at the sitting by electronic means without being physically present in the Riigikogu Plenary Hall.

The President of the Riigikogu Henn Põlluaas was happy to see the system function. “This is a big step forward in case we cannot meet and must switch to telework,” Põlluaas said. “The first trial with the participation of representatives from all the political groups also revealed some shortcomings that must be addressed. The key to a successful sitting with distance participation is first and foremost internet connection.”

Põlluaas explained that holding a sitting with distance participation is something that the Board of the Riigikogu would decide for compelling reasons. The relevant procedure is being developed and has been sent to every political group to invite proposals.

Convening a sitting with distance participation follows the procedure for extraordinary sessions; the President of the Riigikogu notifies the MPs via mass media at least three days before the scheduled sitting. Shorter notice is allowed in case of compelling reasons.

Administrative Director of the Chancellery of the Riigikogu Ahto Saks explained that a completely new and unique platform had been created to carry out telesittings, and that this had been integrated with the existing voting information system. “A member of the Riigikogu can do everything exactly as if they were sitting in the Hall,” Saks said. “This ensures the opportunity to follow sittings from a distance, submit draft legislation, present reports, ask oral questions, make comments, protest, and vote.”

Concerning the security of the sitting, Saks said that a member of the Riigikogu uses electronic means of identification known only to themselves, and that every member of the Riigikogu has the duty to ensure voting privacy. “Online participant receives an image with minimum delay into their device. The same image is displayed to the chair of the sitting and transmitted in live broadcast,” Saks said.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act (176 SE) in May to allow sittings with distance participation, and the Act came into force in June.

NordenBladet — This year, the Baltic Assembly (BA) Prize in Arts was awarded to meditative documentary essay “Bridges of Time” (2018) by Kristīne Briede and Audrius Stonys, which was co-produced by Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian studios and portrays the less-remembered generations of cinema poets of the Baltic New Wave.

President of the Baltic Assembly and Head of the Estonian Delegation to the Baltic Assembly Aadu Must said that awarding of the Baltic Assembly Prizes each year provided an excellent opportunity to assess and promote the best achievements in literature, the arts and science in the three Baltic States. “The documentary “Bridges of Time” is the best example of the close and extremely fruitful cooperation of the three countries,” Must added.

The BA Prize in Literature was awarded to Lithuanian novelist, poet and essayist Birutė Jonuškaitė for her novel cycle “Maranta” and “Maestro”.

The Baltic Assembly Prize in Science was awarded to Dr. Roberts Eglītis for his work cycle “Theoretical predictions of new materials for energy storage and harvesting”.

The Baltic Assembly Prize consists of a monetary prize, a certificate and a statuette.

The members of the Joint Jury of the BA Prizes were outstanding specialists in the fields of literature, the arts and science from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

The Baltic Assembly has been awarding the Prizes in literature, the arts and science since 1994. The aim of the prizes is to promote outstanding achievements and to support the development of these fields in the Baltic States. Creation of opportunities to learn about the achievements of neighbouring countries, demonstrating the mutual interest of the countries in this region to uphold their national identity and self-esteem, and supporting outstanding achievements in literature, the arts and science strengthens the cooperation between the Baltic States and encourages people’s interest in the intellectual values and languages of the Baltic nations.

NordenBladet — Today the Riigikogu passed an Act obligating the state to improve energy efficiency so as to aim to decrease energy consumption regardless of levels of economic growth.

86 members of the Riigikogu voted for the passing of the Act.

The Act on Amendments to the Energy Sector Organisation Act and the Natural Gas Act (202 SE), initiated by the Government, transposes new obligations arising from the relevant European Union directive that will help achieve the European Union’s long-term targets in the reduction of energy use. The directive provides for progress towards the Energy Union, under which energy efficiency is to be treated as an energy source in its own right.

The Act specifies that the national energy efficiency target will be set at Government level together with policy measures supporting it and the energy efficiency obligation distribution plan.

It is intended to regulate the metering of the consumption of heating, cooling and domestic hot water by final users in buildings, and the billing relating thereto. In order to transfer completely to remote reading of heat by 1 January 2027, the energy supplier will need to install only remotely readable heat meters. The installation of apartment-based final users’ heat meters in multi-apartment buildings is necessary where this is cost-effective and technically feasible. Starting from 25 October 2020, final users will have to be given extensive comparative information upon billing for heat with the aim that consumers will be able to change their behaviour.

A Bill passed the first reading:

The Bill on Amendments to the Place Names Act (208 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Eerik-Niiles Kross, Tarmo Kruusimäe, Üllar Saaremäe, Urmas Kruuse and Kaja Kallas, will specify the establishment of place names.

Under the Bill, it will not be permitted to use as place names the names of persons whose activities have been incompatible with the history and culture of Estonia. At the same time, the Bill will specify the role of the Place Names Board and the relevant minister in the establishment of conformity of place names, and will set the time limits for bringing Estonian place names into conformity with the law.

The explanatory memorandum notes that the Place Names Act in force in Estonia does not allow place names that are incompatible with the history and culture of Estonia. At present, however there is no intelligible mechanism to identify such incompatibility and to bring place names into conformity with the Place Names Act.

Katri Raik (Social Democratic Party) took the floor during the debate.