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.
NordenBladet —On today’s conference of ministers for environment, agriculture and fisheries of the Baltic Sea countries, the ministers stated that the goal of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive – good environmental status of the Baltic Sea by 2020 – has not been achieved. The most urgent challenges of the Baltic Sea are high level of contaminants and marine litter, besides eutrophication. A new Ministerial Declaration was signed to improve the status of the Baltic Sea.
Rene Kokk, Minister of the Environment, stated at the meeting that Estonia has developed a Marine Litter Plan and that Europe must also set clear goals for minimising marine litter.
“The global plastic pollution endangering the sea is a deepening problem also for the Baltic Sea. The marine litter problem as such is the result of inadequate waste management on land. If plastic reaches the sea, its collection and capturing will be very difficult, sometimes impossible. For us it is important that on global, European Union as well as on regional level specific, measurable goals shall be set for minimising plastic and that those goals shall be implemented,” Minister of the Environment stated.
The recently prepared Estonian Marine Litter Plan highlights measures, how to focus more on cleanliness of beach areas, waste management in harbours, end-of-pipes flowing into the sea, innovative technical marine waste collection methods and wider communication in the future.
Ministers for environment, agriculture and fisheries from eight EU member states (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden) participated in the conference, signing the Ministerial Declaration. With the Declaration the countries confirmed that they have commitments to improve the marine environmental status of the Baltic Sea, which they shall carry out.
Today’s Ministerial Conference was organised by the European Commission. Instead of the Our Baltic Conference, which was first planned to take place in Palanga, the signing of the Ministerial Declaration took place in the Internet and it was organised by Virginijus Sinkevičius, the Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries.
NordenBladet —The Riigikogu agenda for the working week includes proceedings on 12 Bills and draft Resolutions
The Riigikogu approved its agenda for this working week, according to which no deliberation of Bills or replies to interpellations have been scheduled for Monday’s sitting. Members of the Riigikogu can make unscheduled statements.
At Tuesday’s sitting, the Bill on Amendments to the Energy Sector Organisation Act and the Natural Gas Act (202 SE) will be at the second reading.
At Wednesday’s sitting, the Bill on Amendments to the Spatial Data Act and the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Associations Act (196 SE) will be at the third reading.
Eight Bills and draft Resolutions will be at the first reading: the Bill on Amendments to the Labour Dispute Resolution Act (214 SE); the Bill on Amendments to § 28 the Citizenship Act (217 SE); the Bill on Amendments to the Tourism Act and the Consumer Protection Act (234 SE); the Bill on the Repeal of the Trading Act and Amendments to Other Acts arising therefrom (235 SE); the Bill on Amendments to the Government of the Republic Act and Other Acts (merger of the Civil Aviation Administration, the Road Administration and the Maritime Administration) (236 SE); the Bill on Amendments to the Value Added Tax Act and the Customs Act (239 SE), the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Increasing the Holding of the Republic of Estonia in the International Finance Corporation” (237 OE); and the Bill on Amendments to the Tax Information Exchange Act (238 SE).
The third reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Energy Sector Organisation Act and the Natural Gas Act (202 SE) is scheduled for Thursday’s sitting.
The Bill on Amendments to the Place Names Act (208 SE) will be at the first reading.
During the open microphone, Anti Poolamets and Hele Everaus took the floor.
NordenBladet —At today’s sitting, the Bill to obligate the state to improve energy efficiency so as to aim to decrease energy consumption regardless of levels of economic growth passed the second reading in the Riigikogu.
The Bill on Amendments to the Energy Sector Organisation Act and the Natural Gas Act (202 SE), initiated by the Government, will transpose new obligations arising from the relevant EU directive that will help achieve the EU’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 Bill will specify 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.
NordenBladet —Estonia as the holder of the presidency of the Baltic Assembly organises the meetings of the Presidium, the Budget and Audit Committee and the Consultative Council of the Baltic Assembly as video conferences today. The impact of the coronavirus on the economies and cooperation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be discussed. The decisions of the committee meetings held during Estonia’s presidency and the priorities of the Lithuanian presidency next year will also be in the focus.
President of the Baltic Assembly (BA) and Head of the Estonian Delegation Aadu Must said that the coronavirus had brought out the bottlenecks in the so far excellent cooperation of the three countries. “For example, at the onset of the crisis, we were not able to ensure timely exchange of information or jointly coordinate the emergency measures in our region. Fortunately, we have overcome these challenges by now, but after the low contagion rate in summer, the current situation is unclear and unpredictable. Therefore, we have to learn to live together with COVID-19 and find solutions to cope with the crises caused by it,” Must said.
Head of the Delegation added that Estonia had done a very good job in presiding the work of the BA under the coronavirus conditions. “We managed to make our work digital quickly and smoothly, nothing remained undone and with that, we even set an example to others,” Must said.
Deputy Head of the Estonian Delegation to the BA Johannes Kert noted that the Baltic States had managed to learn a lot from the current crisis. According to him, the he most valuable lesson learned is that when countries work together, they are able to effectively contain the virus and mitigate the crisis. “Therefore it is extremely important to continue on the same path. One of the coordination measures that could be implemented in the Baltic States is mutual assistance and coordination in the field of disaster prevention, preparedness and response,” Kert said.
At present, when the security situation is becoming more tense, coordinated activities of the Baltic States in the field of security are becoming increasingly important in Kert’s opinion. “Coordinated functioning of the defence procurements system would give more security for the resources contributed. We need to continue what we have started in this important sphere,” Kert added.
This spring, the Economic Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) asked the Foresight Centre of the Riigikogu to analyse the economic and social implications of COVID-19. Within the framework of the research, the Foresight Centre in cooperation with the University of Latvia think tank LV PEAK and the Government Strategic Analysis Centre of Lithuania STRATA prepared an overview of the impact of COVID-19 on economy and social sphere in the Baltic States. This document will be presented today.
Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee and member of the Estonian delegation to the BA Sven Sester pointed out that COVID-19 had influenced not only health care systems and economies, but also the way the people live and work, their physical and mental welfare and domestic situation. In his opinion, continuation of the crisis will create an excellent opportunity for the increase of public sector investments due to direct necessity, and bring about wider cooperation with the private sector. “We have already seen how rapidly and flexibly the state and businesses responded to the crisis, and by learning from these, sometimes undoubtedly very painful experiences we will be able to take smarter steps in the future. Digitalisation and new business models are the keywords here,” Sester said.
Programme of the meetings:
10:00 – Digital meeting of the BA Presidium, attended by Head of the Estonian Delegation Aadu Must and Deputy Head Johannes Kert
11:15 – Digital meeting of the BA Budget and Audit Committee, attended by member of the Estonian Delegation Sven Sester
12:30 – Digital meeting of the BA Consultative Council, attended by Head of the Estonian Delegation Aadu Must and Deputy Head of the Estonian Delegation Johannes Kert and members of the Delegation Urmas Espenberg, Signe Kivi, Erki Savisaar, Sven Sester and Urve Tiidus.
NordenBladet —At today’s plenary sitting, the Riigikogu appointed Urmas Volens a justice of the Supreme Court. He will become a member of the Supreme Court from 1 November 2020.
The explanatory memorandum to the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Appointment of Urmas Volens a Justice of the Supreme Court” (222 OE), submitted by Villu Kõve, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, notes that Urmas Volens is an experienced and recognised lawyer whose professional experience in various positions at the Ministry of Justice, as a sworn advocate in law offices, and associate professor of civil process at the School of Law of the University of Tartu allow him to contribute significantly to the work of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court and the further development of Estonian civil law.
68 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the Resolution and 19 were against. There were two abstentions.
One Bill passed the second reading:
The Bill on Amendments to the Spatial Data Act and the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Associations Act (196 SE), initiated by the Government, will harmonise the bases for the establishment of unique addresses, simplify the communication with owners of address objects and ensure better interoperability between the state information systems.
The Land Board will be given the right to establish areas that have a unique address. Under the current procedure, densely populated areas and built up areas determined by a comprehensive plan are areas requiring a unique address. Since the abovementioned areas have not been defined in legislation, local governments determine them very variedly by plans. This involves the problem that buildings may be difficult to find.
Areas requiring a unique address that can be determined on uniform bases ensure uniform address organisation in the country, and at the same time involve no additional obligations or restrictions on construction or other activities.
In addition, the communication with owners of address objects will be simplified, and the possibility to notify of changes to addresses by e-mail and, in the case of apartment buildings, through the apartment association, will be included.
With the amendments to the Apartment Ownership and Apartment Associations Act, better interoperability between the state information systems, in particular the land register and the address data information system will be ensured. When an apartment ownership is established in the land register, each apartment that is registered as an apartment ownership is also assigned a corresponding address object in the address data system.
Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) took the floor during the debate.
A Bill passed the first reading:
Under the Bill 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 Republic of Estonia will accede 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 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.
The ECMWF member state status will enable 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.
The Bill on Amendments to the Public Holidays and Days of National Importance Act (153 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, was intended to amend the Public Holidays and Days of National Importance Act according to which an additional day of rest is given when a national day or a public holiday falls on a weekend.
The Constitutional Committee as the lead committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 53 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the motion and eight were against. Thus, the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
The Bill on Amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act (199 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, provided for the extension of the range of persons receiving unemployment insurance benefit to employees and officials who terminate their contract of employment or service relationship on their own initiative or by agreement of the parties. The aim was to apply a waiting period of 30 calendar days on the payment of unemployment insurance benefit.
The Bill proposed an amendment according to which the rate of unemployment insurance benefit for the first 100 days of unemployment would have risen to 70 per cent of the average remuneration of the employee, and further to 50 per cent starting from the 101th day.
The Social Affairs Committee as the lead committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 53 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the motion and nine were against. Thus, the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
The Bill on Amendments to the Labour Market Services and Benefits Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act (197 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, was intended to amend the Labour Market Services and Benefits Act and to raise the unemployment allowance rate to at least 60 per cent of the amount of the minimum wage in the previous year. At the same time, according to the proposal, if the unemployment allowance rate were higher than unemployment insurance benefit, the benefit would be paid to the extent of the unemployment allowance.
Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party) took the floor during the debate.
The Social Affairs Committee as the lead committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 45 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the motion and nine were against. Thus, the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
The motion of no confidence in the Minister of Finance Martin Helme was not supported in the Riigikogu today. 45 member of the Riigikogu were in favour of the motion of no confidence submitted by 45 members of the Reform Party Faction and the Social Democratic Party Faction. 53 voted against. The support of at least 51 members of the Riigikogu was needed to express no confidence.
During the debate, Kaja Kallas (Reform Party), Katri Raik (Social Democratic Party) and Urmas Reitelmann (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) took the floor.
NordenBladet —Members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) joined the signatories of the open letter initiated by the members of the United States House of Representatives, which calls on releasing of political prisoners in Belarus and condemns Lukashenko regime’s use of violence.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa underlined that violence against peaceful protesters in Belarus and politically motivated detention of members of the Coordination Council were regrettable. “We continue to stand for the civil society of Belarus and their free will. Together with all who have signed the letter, we stand in strong support of the vision of Europe free and at peace, where citizens can choose their own future. We find that the people of Belarus deserve the same,” Eesmaa said.
Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson noted that the open letter supported carefully targeted sanctions against human rights offenders in Belarus. “The letter demands that the Lukashenko regime members responsible for grave human rights violations committed against Belarusians should be brought to justice. This also includes imposing of sanctions, and international coordination and cooperation, also with our transatlantic allies, is important in preparing for this,” he added.
“As legislators whose nations are bound together by shared democratic, transatlantic values, we stand in strong solidarity with the Belarusian people, including those protesting and wrongly imprisoned,” the open letter says. “We condemn the Lukashenko regime’s use of violence, intimidation, arrests, and repressive tactics against the people of Belarus, including the targeting of leading members of the Coordination Council.”
The legislators find that Lukashenka’s regime has unjustly detained opposition leader Marya Kalesnikava and her colleagues. They demand that all charges against Kalesnikava be dropped, and that she be immediately released along with fellow Coordination Council members and all other political prisoners.
The signatories of the open letter emphasise that they are monitoring the situation in Belarus and the regime’s actions closely. “We … are fully committed to using our legislative powers to advocate and act to support the Belarusian people.”
The open letter has also been signed by the representatives of the parliaments of Poland, Sweden, Germany, Finland, Belgium, Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Italy, Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Portugal, Spain, Hungary, Bulgaria, Malta, Switzerland, Moldova, Austria, Denmark, Norway and Ireland, and the European Parliament.
NordenBladet —The Bill under which the amount of the funds allocated by the state to research and development will amount to at least one per cent of GDP passed the first reading in the Riigikogu today.
The Bill on Amendments to the Organisation of Research and Development Act (198 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, is intended to ensure stable funding of research and development by the state. This will support broad-based social development and facilitate greater added value of entrepreneurship. The explanatory memorandum notes that if the Bill is passed, there will be more security regarding research funding. At the same time, within three years, it is planned to achieve the funding level provided for in the Estonia 2020 Action Plan and the social agreement to ensure the further development of Estonian research and innovation.
During the debate, Aadu Must (Centre Party) and Jürgen Ligi (Reform Party) took the floor on behalf of their factions.