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.

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.