NordenBladet —The Bill that would again allow spouses to submit a joint tax return passed its first reading in the Riigikogu today.
The Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act (154 SE), initiated by the Estonian Reform Party faction, would ensure the adding up of the incomes of both spouses and the deductions made from the incomes. The explanatory memorandum to the Bill notes that before the establishment of a progressive tax system, Estonia’s tax law had always held that spouses could submit a joint tax return. The joint income tax return is based on the valid Family Law Act, as well as the logic of joint marital property.
One Bill passed the second reading.
The Bill on Amendments to the Radiation Act and the State Fees Act (144 SE), initiated by the Government, will specify the provisions of the Radiation Act to bring them into conformity with the Euratom directive and the proposals of the audit of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
As a major amendment, holders of radiation practice licences will have an obligation to submit to the Environmental Board analyses of events in the course of which persons have been exposed to radiation doses above the permitted level. At present, the Board must only be notified of the occurrences of such incidents.
The Act will be amended by including the procedure for the recognition of radiation practice licences issued in the contracting parties to the European Economic Area. So far, the Environmental Board has been guided by agreements on the free movement of services and the General Part of the Economic Activities Code Act in the recognition of foreign undertakings but the Environmental Inspectorate is in no position to check the radiation practices of these undertakings at present. The recognitions will be issued by letter through a document management system.
The European Union Euratom directive laying down basic safety standards for protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation was due to be transposed by 6 February 2018. The analysis of the articles and the transposed provisions of the directive revealed the need to specify the Act in order to avoid possible different interpretation.
The Riigikogu suspended the second reading of one Bill.
On the motion of the lead committee, the second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Environmental Charges Act (109 SE), initiated by the Environment Committee, was suspended. The Bill would provide a specification under which the pollution charge is not imposed if the substances and compounds specified in subsection 17 (1) of the Environmental Charges Act are emitted into a water body, groundwater or soil for the purpose of cultivating live organisms, including plants, animals or fungi.
The Bill would amend the principles for calculating environmental charges for activities which cause the introduction of pollutants into the environment to feed live organisms. The purpose of imposing environmental charges is to encourage undertakings to reduce environmental damage and emit less pollutants into the environment. However, when nutrients are emitted as pollutants into the environment in the course of cultivation of live organisms, the disturbance remains minimal because the amount of nutrients emitted into the environment corresponds to the amount that can be expected to be consumed to the maximum in the course of life.
The Riigikogu set the deadline for submission of motions to amend as 5.15 p.m. on 19 May.
One Bill was dropped from the proceedings of the Riigikogu.
The Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act (551 SE), initiated by the Estonian Reform Party faction, provided the restoration of the simple taxation system by 2022, with uniform basic exemption from income tax in the amount of EUR 500 a month, and a uniform income tax rate. The transition to the EUR 500 basic exemption from income tax would have taken place over two years. For resident natural persons with an income over EUR 20,400 a year (or an average of EUR 1,700 a month) the current system would have remained in place for the first year, i.e. the transition year. As of 2022, the rate of basic exemption would no longer depend on the annual income, and would be a uniform EUR 6,000 a year, or EUR 500 a month.
During the debate, Jürgen Ligi (Reform Party), Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) and Kalvi Kõva (Social Democratic Party) took the floor.
Faction Isamaa moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 53 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 31 against it; consequently, the Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
NordenBladet —At the video sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) today, Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu gave the Committee an overview of the action plan of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for exiting the crisis.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa said that the main topics discussed at the sitting had been the contacts between Estonia and Finland, the opening of borders and international movement of people. “As regards the discussion on travelling between Estonia and Finland, it is positive that both countries share a common position that constant exchange of information on public health, on application of various measures as well as on the opinions of health experts is important. It is also good to hear that there is a wish to establish common clear positions on the movement of people and, for example, on the conditions for entering the country for nationals of third countries,” Eesmaa added.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee Marko Mihkelson raised a question about the latest foreign policy positions and developments of Estonia, and emphasised the importance of good relations between Finland and Estonia. “Finland and other Nordic Countries are our closest neighbours, like the Baltic States. However, the relations between Estonia and Finland at the moment are not what the relations between two very close nations should be like, in particular at the government level,” Mihkelson said.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs told the Committee that it was important for Estonia to restore the labour migration between Finland and Estonia as the first step in international travelling. Several trust measures and ways for mitigating the risks connected with the spread of the virus have been proposed for that. The Minister said that the negotiations between the two countries would continue when there was additional information from the Government of Finland on possible easing of restrictions.
NordenBladet — During the video conference today, the Foreign Affairs Committee received assurance that Estonia is well prepared for our UN Security Council Presidency which starts in May.
The Chairman of the Committee Enn Eesmaa described Estonia as standing on the threshold of a historic moment, because we will assume the UN Security Council Presidency in May. “This is very important for us, and also a significant moment because this Presidency would be the first for Estonia,” Eesmaa emphasised. “With this, we are also inaugurating a quarter of European Presidencies because Estonia will be followed by France and Germany.”
Eesmaa added that Estonia would use its Presidency to work towards ending all the armed conflicts around the world during the Covid-19 pandemic, as proposed by the Secretary-General of the UN António Guterres.
The Deputy Chairman of the Committee Marko Mihkelson explained that the Committee was satisfied that Estonia was ready to fulfil the role of the UN Security Council Presidency next month. “Although all the meetings take place online, we were assured that the work goes on as usual, Mihkelson said.
The Committee heard the Permanent Representative of Estonia to the United Nations, Ambassador Sven Jürgenson, the Political Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lembit Uibo, and the Director of the Division of International Organisations and Human Rights Liis Lipre-Järma.
The Committee was told that Estonia would take its lead from the priorities of the UN Security Council Presidency so far, and would work towards ensuring the transparent and smooth work of the Council. During the Presidency month, Estonia will organise five special events dedicated to the lessons learned after World War II, working methods of the Security Council, cyber stability and conflict prevention, protection of civilians, and UN cooperation with other international organisations.
NordenBladet —At today’s sitting, the Riigikogu approved the Act which ratified the agreement between the Governments of the three Baltic countries on the configuration of the Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System.
The new intergovernmental agreement provides that the Control and Reporting Centre will be closed down, and the implementation of the Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System to secure the sovereignty of the airspace will be carried out through national control and reporting centres that are able to replace one another if necessary. The Ministers of Defence of the Baltic states signed the agreement in Brussels on 24 September 2019.
In 1999, BALTNET, the integrated air surveillance network of the three Baltic states was established by an intergovernmental agreement with the aim of organising exchange of information between Estonian, Lithuanian and Latvian national air surveillance systems, enabling the production of a common air surveillance picture of the Baltic region, and sharing it with third parties. As part of the NATO air defence system, BALTNET’s tasks also include air traffic control and tactical control of air polishing operations, besides air surveillance. The BALTNET air surveillance system consisted of a common control and reporting centre in Lithuania, and national centres in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
With the entry into force of the agreement, the agreement between the Governments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania on the Development of the Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System, ratified by the Riigikogu on 24 October 2007, becomes invalid.
66 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the Act on the Ratification of the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Estonia, the Government of the Republic of Latvia and the Government of the Republic of Lithuania on the Configuration of the Baltic Air Surveillance Network and Control System (137 SE), initiated by the Government.
A Bill passed the second reading in the Riigikogu
The Bill on Amendments to the Tobacco Act and the Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act (9 SE), initiated by the Government, will transpose two articles of the EU Tobacco Directive, on the basis of which a European-wide tracking and tracing system for tobacco products will be implemented to curb the black market in tobacco. According to the directive and the implementing acts, all over the European Union, unit packets of tobacco products will be labelled with a unique identifier, and a tamper-proof security feature will be installed on them. In Estonia, tax stamp will be introduced as the security feature. It complies with the requirements of EU legislation. If no tax stamp is installed on a product, the security feature of the manufacturer will have to be installed on the product.
According to the Bill, it will be permitted to add menthol flavour in electronic cigarettes. The general prohibition on the sale of smokeless tobacco products will also be repealed in Estonia, and handling of novel smokeless tobacco products will be included. Prohibitions on tobacco for oral use, chewing tobacco, nasal tobacco and other smokeless tobacco products remain in force. In addition, the Tobacco Act will be amended by adding a new category of tobacco products – heated tobacco products.
At the sitting, Chairman of the Social Affairs Committee Tõnis Mölder introduced the opinions and motions to amend the Bill that had been submitted after the sitting of the Riigikogu on 27 February when the second reading of the Bill had been suspended. Specifications concerning language and the rules of legislative drafting were incorporated into the Bill, and the dates relating to the labelling of packages of tobacco products with unique identifiers were amended.
A Bill passed the first reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Working Conditions of Employees Posted to Estonia Act (158 SE), initiated by the Government, will establish measures to better protect the rights of posted workers.
It will be specified that posted temporary agency workers who are posted by user undertakings in the framework of the provision of services are also posted workers. The terms and conditions of employment that must be ensured to posted workers during their stay in Estonia will be amended. According to the Bill, instead of the minimum remuneration, remuneration will have to be ensured to workers, and expenditure incurred on account of the posting will have to be reimbursed additionally. A regulation for long-term posting will be established, under which the whole Estonian labour law, instead of the minimum terms and conditions of employment listed in the Act, will have to be applied to a posted worker after he or she has worked in Estonia for 12 or 18 months. The Bill also includes a provision under which, when imposing penalties for infringements identified, monitoring bodies will have to take into account whether information on the terms and conditions of employment of workers posted to Estonia is available on the relevant single web page or not.
The Bill will eliminate the restriction under which only residents of Estonia can be contracting entities contracting for services in Estonia. According to the Bill, it is important that the contracting entity operate in Estonia. A clear obligation will be established for the employer to regularly update the information provided on workers. The identity document number of a posted worker will also have to be reported to the Labour Inspectorate. Under the Bill, after the end of a posting, during a period of three years the Labour Inspectorate will have the right to request the documents concerning the posting that are necessary for supervision. This is a reduction from the current period of seven years. The rates of fines for misdemeanours will be harmonised. As a result, in the case of both misdemeanours, the maximum fine rate will be 300 fine units for natural persons and 32 000 euro for legal persons.
NordenBladet —The Bill that enables the Riigikogu to conduct sittings by remote attendance, so that the members of the Riigikogu and other persons participating in the sitting of the Riigikogu could attend the sitting via electronic means without being physically present, passed its first reading in the Riigikogu today.
Pursuant to the Bill on Amendments to the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act (176 SE), initiated by the Constitutional Committee, a sitting may be held with remote attendance if the members of the Riigikogu are ensured the possibility to follow the sitting and carry out the proceedings of the sitting (submitting a Bill, presenting a report, asking an oral question, making comments, protests, voting, and other activities) from a remote location, and also have the possibility to report of the impediments to performing such activities.
Holding of a sitting with remote attendance is decided by the Board of the Riigikogu if there are strong reasons for it. At sittings with remote attendance, the Riigikogu has a quorum if more than one half of the members of the Riigikogu attend. The President of the Riigikogu notifies the members of the Riigikogu of holding a sitting with remote attendance through the media at least three days before the date on which the sitting is to be held. The time for giving notice may be shorter if there are strong reasons for it.
Three more Bills passed the first reading in the Riigikogu:
The Bill on Amendments to the Courts Act and the Code of Civil Procedure (175 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic, will create a mechanism in the Courts Act that allows to transfer court cases to other courts of the same instance if it is necessary for the administration of justice pursuant to the established procedure. The amendment will give the courts flexibility in handling large workload.
Jurisdiction of court cases and the location of hearing a matter will not change in the course of delegation between the courts. The cases that are transferred to other courts on the basis of existing statistics are mainly the cases resolved in written proceedings; however, the mission expenses are reimbursed to the judge if necessary.
In order to transfer a court case to another court, the chairman of the court has to submit a motivated request to the chairmen of circuit courts, indicating the risks to the administration of justice pursuant to the established procedure and the explanations as to why it cannot be ensured by other means established in the Courts Act The chairmen of circuit courts will jointly make a decision on transferring the case to another court. The amendment will grant the Council for Administration of Courts the competence to establish detailed guidelines for transferring court cases to another court.
A provision of the Bill allows to transfer cases only to another court of the same instance, i.e. from a county court to a county court and from an administrative court to an administrative court. Under the conditions of the emergency situation described in the Obligation to Leave and Prohibition on Entry Act and the Act on Granting International Protection to Aliens (prevention of mass immigration), the chairmen of circuit courts will be granted the right to temporarily involve county court and circuit court judges in the panels of administrative courts reviewing the applications for detaining aliens.
Besides that, the right to get extraordinary assistance is provided; with the consent of the chairmen of courts, matters can be discussed on a voluntary basis at other courts of the same or lower instance, or in the mission for proceedings of a judge. Additionally, it will be allowed to extend the authority of judges released from office at their request or due to age in exceptional cases, when it is necessary for finalising the proceedings in matters distributed to them. The obligation of a judge to submit a request to be released from office at least six months prior to the desired date of the release will be extended to at least nine months.
With the amendment to the Code of Civil Procedure, the resolving of all appeals filed against orders on entry in registry matters will be transferred to the special jurisdiction of Tartu Circuit Court through Tartu County Court. The aim of the amendment is to concentrate the competence in registry matters to the territorial jurisdiction of Tartu courts and thereby increase the specialisation of judges.
The target group of the Bill is formed of all judges of the first and second instance, whose workload will be potentially redirected through the regulative mechanisms. In Estonia, there are altogether 223 positions of judges in the courts of first and second instance.
The Bill on Amendments to the Plant Protection Act, the Organic Farming Act, the State Fees Act and the Plant Propagation and Plant Variety Rights Act (142 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic will bring the Acts into conformity with the EU Plant Health Regulation and Official Controls Regulation, which are implemented from 14 December 2019. For that, several provisions of the Plant Protection Act, the Organic Farming Act, the State Fees Act and the Plant Propagation and Plant Variety Rights Act will be updated or repealed. Besides that, the Plant Protection Act will be amended due to the amendments to the relevant EU directive.
A significant amendment to the Plant Protection Act is extending the obligation to submit a notice of economic activities to almost all operators engaged in selling of planting material. The requirement of activity licence will be extended also to the operators who, for example, wish to make wooden packing material to operators wishing to issue plant passports.
The principles of financing follow-up phytosanitary inspections will be changed. The initial supervision step will continue to be financed from the state budget funds. Supervision fee will be established for the inspection that was not planned to be performed at first, but proved to be necessary due to the violation discovered during an official inspection. The state fees of the plant health field will also be updated to cover the expenses of official inspections.
In the Organic Farming Act, the general principles of performing official inspections, and the requirements for taking and analysing of samples will be provided. Pursuant to amendment, the authorisations for placing on market of imported organic products will be no longer granted because the relevant EU import system has changed. The state fees for supervisory acts will also be updated in order to compensate the increase of supervisory expenses due to the rapid development of organic farming sector.
The Bill on Amendments to the Government of the Republic Act and Other Acts in connection with the Reorganisation of the Agricultural Board and the Veterinary and Food Board into the Agricultural and Food Board (164 SE), initiated by the Government of the Republic, will establish the Agricultural and Food Board on the basis of the Agricultural Board and the Veterinary and Food Board, and the new agency will start operating on 1 January 2021. The amendments conform to the state reform action plan 2019–2023 approved on the basis of the Government’s action programme.
The Agricultural and Food Board, formed after merging of the Agricultural Board and the Veterinary and Food Board, will perform all the main functions of the two agencies, which among other things, requires retaining of the present staff. As a result of reorganising the two boards, the capability of risk-based inspection will increase, the management of information in the whole food production chain will improve, and the quality of prevention and information activities to reduce offences will grow. The communication aimed at clients will be more integrated, and the administrative burden to clients will be reduced.
By the time the Act enters into force, the activities related to reorganisation – including the preparation of the Statutes, the structure and composition of the staff of the new Board, and the human resources activities connected with it; planning of the possible expenses relating to reorganisation and drafting the budget of the new agency; making the necessary amendments to legislation on the basis of the amended Acts – will be completed.
One Bill passed the second reading
Under the Bill on Amendments to the Liquid Fuel Stocks Act (133 SE), initiated by the Government, in the future, during the first six months of a calendar year, the compulsory liquid fuel stocks will be calculated on the basis of the data for the last year but one before the calendar year in question. Earlier, such calculation method could be applied only during the first three months of a calendar year. As a general rule, the compulsory liquid fuel stocks are calculated on the basis of the quantities imported or consumed during the previous calendar year. In addition, references to European Union law will be specified in the Act. The Bill will transpose a European Commission implementing directive.
The Riigikogu did not pass a Resolution
The purpose of Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a Proposal to the Government of the Republic to Draw Up Legislative Amendments to Solve the Problem of the Long-term Care Burden” (149 OE), submitted by the Social Democratic Party Faction, was to make a proposal to the Government to prepare legislative amendments in order to resolve the problem of long-term care burden so that human-centred provision of care would be ensured to all who need help.
During the debate, Heljo Pikhof (Social Democratic Party) and Signe Riisalo (Reform Party) took the floor.
51 votes in favour were needed for the draft Resolution to be passed. 33 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the draft Resolution.
Minister of Foreign Trade and Information Technology Raul Siem took his oath of office before the Riigikogu.
NordenBladet —The Riigikogu passed an Act motivated by the declared emergency situation and the problems arisen while resolving it.
The Bill on Amendments to the Assistant Police Officer Act and Other Acts (measures related to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease) (170 SE), initiated by the Government, received 54 votes in favour and 40 against from the Members of the Riigikogu.
The passed Act amends 33 Acts, introducing essentially three types of amendments. First, exceptions in the validity of various licences, and the duration and deadlines of various types of proceedings, provided for the time of the emergency situation. Second, exceptions intended to extend the competence and tasks of various authorities and persons, provided for the time of the emergency situation. Third, amendments initially required by the emergency situation but which are also essentially permanent in nature.
Amendments to several Acts provide temporary exceptions for the time of the emergency situation to extend health and training certificates obligatory for various professions Regarding the validity of existing activity licences and certificates, the qualification requirements are temporarily alleviated in some speciality fields, and certain procedural requirements and deadlines are simplified. These are mitigations provided for the time of the emergency situation which allow an uninterrupted continuation of certain services, the functioning of proceedings, and the performance of work during the emergency situation.
The Act also includes practical amendments to facilitate the resolution of the emergency situation. For the purposes of ensuring order and for a better involvement of assistant police officers and members of the Estonian Defence League, their competences in performing law enforcement tasks together with police officers have been harmonised. At the same time, the use of law enforcement measures by assistant police officers and members of the Estonian Defence League at the time of the emergency situation has been extended. Some state authorities have been granted additional competences and discretionary power for the time of the emergency situation. The permitted net debt burden for local governments and the procedure of the final examinations in basic schools and upper secondary schools have been amended. The rules on data processing and on informing the general public have been clarified.
The Act includes amendments motivated by the emergency situation which however are of a permanent nature and will remain in force in normal circumstances. These include in particular the amendments that allow remote performance of procedural acts in the administration of justice. A proposal has been made to introduce permanent amendments to the legislation concerning aliens.
During the debate, Toomas Kivimägi (Reform Party), Heljo Pikhof (Social Democratic Party) and Priit Sibul (Isamaa) took the floor.
Kivimägi said that the Reform Party Faction voted against the Act because of the amendments to the provisions concerning aliens, restrictions on foreign labour, and the Bankruptcy Act. He added that the Act included a number of amendments that had nothing to do with the emergency situation.
Pikhof said that there had been an evident wish to speed up the legislative proceeding of practical topics necessary for resolving the emergency situation but also to sneak in provisions that had nothing to do with resolving the emergency situation and that would require a more profound concentration and parliamentary debate. On the other hand, Pikhof expressed her satisfaction that the proposed amendments in the Emergency Act concerning the processing of personal data in the emergency situation and the processing of the data in databases had been omitted from the Act.
Sibul called the Act exceptional because it introduced amendments into more than 30 Acts. He admitted that the Act was not ideal from the legal technical point of view but that this was because of the lack of time caused by the emergency situation. After the many compromises made in it, Sibul declared Isamaa willing to support the passing of the Act.
One Bill passed the second reading in the Riigikogu.
The purpose of the Bill on Amendments to the Rural Development and Agricultural Market Regulation Act and the Labour Market Services and Benefits Act (124 SE), initiated by the Government, is to provide a legal basis for applying a ceiling to the agricultural de minimis aid in Estonia.
The Bill will allow Estonian farmers to obtain agricultural de minims aid to the maximum extent permitted by the European Union law, i.e. EUR 25,000 instead of the current EUR 20,000. It would also allow the Estonian state to use the maximum possible total amount of agricultural de minimis aid, i.e. EUR 13.7 million instead of the current EUR 11.4 million per three fiscal years.
Prime Minister Jüri Ratas replied to the interpellation concerning the future of Ida-Viru County, submitted by members of the Riigikogu Raimond Kaljulaid, Lauri Läänemets, Ivari Padar, Helmen Kütt, Indrek Saar, Heljo Pikhof, Jaak Juske, Riina Sikkut, Jevgeni Ossinovski, and Katri Raik.
The interpellators inquired about Estonia’s immediate climate goals, and the construction schedule of the new Eesti Energia oil plant. They also asked whether the proposal for the Just Transition Mechanism sent by the European Commission to the Member States for their positions confines eligibility for aid to Ida-Viru County or extends it to the whole Estonia.
Prime Minister Ratas ensured the interpellators that Ida-Viru County was very important for the Government. Concerning climate goals, Ratas said that Estonia had set itself the goal of reducing greenhouse gases 70% by 2030 compared to 1990, which means that by 2030 Estonia’s greenhouse gas emissions should be reduced to the level of 12 million tonnes per CO2 equivalent.
Regarding the new oil plant, the head of government said that the Government had authorised the Minister of Finance to increase Eesti Energia’s equity capital with a monetary contribution of EUR 125 million on 27 March. This would allow Eesti Energia to build the new Enefit 280 oil plant, which should be completed in 2024 if all goes as planned.
Regarding the Just Transition Mechanism, Ratas said that the European Commission proposal currently defines only Ida-Viru County as an eligible region. However, during the negotiations, Estonia would strongly advocate in favour of supporting Just Transition activities also outside the Just Transition region in justified cases, if this contributes to the transition of the concerned region.
During the debate, Mihhail Stalnuhhin (Centre Party), Katri Raik (Social Democratic Party), Jevgeni Ossinovski (Social Democratic Party), and Keit Pentus-Rosimannus (Reform Party) took the floor to speak about the future of Ida-Viru County.
During the open microphone, Jevgeni Ossinovski took the floor.
NordenBladet —The adoption of the supplementary budget at the Estonian Parliament gave a green light to direct 200 million euros to the agriculture, food, fisheries, forestry and other rural enterprise sectors to alleviate the impact of the coronavirus crisis to businesses and ensure the preservation of the country’s food security.
„We can see the importance of food production and self-supply capacity for a country and its people during a time of crisis. That is why agriculture has an extremely important role for a country’s food security,” Minister of Rural Affairs Arvo Aller said. “I am very pleased that the proposals of the Ministry of Rural Affairs were supported at the Estonian Parliament and 200 million euros will be channelled to the rural enterprise sector as part of the national crisis aid package to preserve our domestic food production capacity and mitigate economic difficulties. This will help our businesses to prepare for a price depression on the world market, as well as to support rural tourism enterprises facing difficulties.”
The Ministry of Rural Affairs will offer various measures with a total budget of 200 million euros to the agriculture and food sector, as well as rural enterprises through the Rural Development Foundation (RDF). “With that money, we will support our farmers, food industries and all other rural entrepreneurs,” Minister Aller stressed. In order to get out of this crisis as fast as possible and mitigate its negative impacts, the following measures are being developed:
1. Loan guarantees with a total budget of 50 million euros. Loan guarantees will be offered to agricultural and food sector businesses and rural enterprises for loans issued by commercial banks;
2. Working capital loans with a total budget of 100 million euros. Working capital loans will be offered to rural enterprises to overcome liquidity issues due to the COVID-19 outbreak;
3. Land capital with a total budget of 50 million euros. Sale and leaseback transactions will be offered to owners of arable land to overcome liquidity issues due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The budget for farmers’ back-up servicer support will be increased by 0.5 million euros to ensure the work replacement of not only livestock farmers but also for the plant production sector in the conditions of COVID-19. The frequency for payment application deadlines will also be changed. April and May are peak seasons in plant production and any disruptions in springtime land cultivation and sowing will have a long-term negative impact on food production.
NordenBladet —At the video conference today, the Speakers of the parliaments of the eight countries belonging to the Nordic-Baltic cooperation format NB8 underlined the need for closer parliamentary cooperation in planning the abolishing of restrictions established to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
The situation and the measures implemented nationally differ by countries, but the participants of the video conference spoke of the stabilisation of the situation, and also said that their countries remained cautious in mitigating the restrictions. They were still hopeful that the restrictions would be reduced in May, so that it would be possible to return step-by-step to the normal way of life as before the spread of the virus.
President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Henn Põlluaas emphasised the need to deepen the exchange of information and cooperation between countries and parliaments in coordinating the strategies of exiting the crisis. “We all live in the same world, and each decision we make has an impact on our neighbours, economy, the movement of our people and their working in the neighbouring countries,” he said.
Põlluaas pointed out that regional cooperation was essential for all countries in order to make exiting the crisis as fast and smooth as possible. All other Speakers participating in the conference agreed with him.
The Speakers of the eight parliaments also exchanged experience in organising the teleworking of parliaments and spoke about the possibility of holding electronic sittings in national parliaments. The importance of democracy in the times of crisis, the need for debate and preserving capability to work in all situations were underlined. Further cooperation, next meetings and possible mutual visits in the future were discussed as well.
The Nordic-Baltic cooperation format NB8 has been bringing the five Nordic Countries and the three Baltic States (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) together since 1992. This year, Estonia is the coordinator of NB8.
NordenBladet —The Bills on amendments to the Electronic Communications Act and on amendments to the Rescue Act and the Weapons Act passed the second reading in the Riigikogu today.
The Bill on Amendments to the Electronic Communications Act (138 SE), initiated by the National Defence Committee, will enable the Government to establish an information and authorisation requirement regarding the technology used in communication networks, in order to thereby ensure a high level of security of communication networks.
The explanatory memorandum to the Bill notes that, with a view to ensuring the quality of networks, to minimising the impact of cyber-attacks and to preventing political manipulations, it will have to be ensured that the establishment of communication networks and the provision of communications services by means thereof is effected with the help of secure technology and by reliable partners.
During the second reading, on the motion of the lead committee, an amendment arising from an opinion of the Government was incorporated into the Bill. In the Bill, coordination proceedings were replaced with information and authorisation proceedings. The Bill was amended by adding a clause according to which, in order to ensure national security, the Government may establish, by a regulation, an obligation for communications undertakings to inform of the hard- and software used in their communications networks and to apply for an authorisation to use the hard-and software of a network.
During the debate, Valdo Randpere (Reform Party), Riho Breivel (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Andres Metsoja (Isamaa) and Johannes Kert (Reform Party) took the floor.
The amendments proposed in the Bill on Amendments to the Rescue Act and the Weapons Act (128 SE), initiated by the Government, are linked to the launch of the crisis information service, the involvement of volunteer rescuers, the tasks of the Rescue Board, and the specification of the Weapons Act.
The Bill values the role of volunteer rescuers. According to the proposal, the social guarantees in place for volunteer rescuers engaged in rescue work will also be extended to volunteer rescuers engaged in prevention work. In addition, the five-year validity period of the medical certificate of rescuer will be eliminated. In the future, family physicians will be able to determine the validity period on the basis of the person’s health indicators. In the future, a medical certificate of a driver of a power-driven vehicle will be accepted as a certificate of medical examination. Moreover, in the future, an amendment will also allow volunteer rescuers to certify the absence of health disorders with other permitted medical certificates, e.g. a medical certificate of assistant police officer or police officer, a medical certificate obtained upon application for a weapons permit, etc.
The amendment will create a legal basis for the Rescue Board to process the causes of fires, and legal clarity about the content and activities of prevention work. In addition, the requirements for marking the locations for blasting explosives upon explosive ordnance disposal will be provided for, and the supply of food and drinking water to all people engaged in rescue work will be ensured.
Under the Bill, the Weapons Act will also be specified, and explosive ordnance specialists of the Explosive Ordnance Centre of the Rescue Board will be granted the right to carry and use firearms for self-defence.
The Bill will also amend the tasks of the Emergency Response Centre. The processing of help and information notifications, which also means provision of the crisis information service, is mentioned as a task of the Emergency Response Centre. The Emergency Response Centre may involve volunteers in the provision of the crisis information service.
During the second reading, amendments were incorporated to amend the classification of weapons. It is provided that the data of the weapons belonging to weapons collections of museums will not need to be entered in the Register of Service and Civilian Weapons. The requirement that a person may acquire, own and possess a sporting firearm only if he or she is a member of a shooting sports organisation or a shooting sports club will be restored.
If the Act is passed, it will enter into force on 15 May. By way of exception, clauses 2 and 4 concerning the amendment of the Weapons Act would enter into force retroactively as of 1 March.
During the debate, Toomas Kivimägi (Reform Party), Heljo Pikhof (Social Democratic Party), Jevgeni Ossinovski (Social Democratic Party), Urmas Kruuse (Reform Party), Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) and Hanno Pevkur (Reform Party) took the floor.
The Social Democratic Party Faction moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill; however, with 38 votes in favour and 47 against, the motion was not supported and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.
Due to the end of the working hours of the sitting, the second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Assistant Police Officer Act and Other Acts (measures related to the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 disease) (170 SE), initiated by the Government, was adjourned. The deliberation of the Bill will continue at Wednesday’s sitting.
NordenBladet —At today’s plenary sitting, the Riigikogu passed the Resolution under which the funds of the Stabilisation Reserve Fund can be used in the resolution of the emergency situation that has been declared due to coronavirus.
With the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Implementation of the Funds of the Stabilisation Reserve Fund” (168 OE), submitted by the Government, the Government proposed to the Riigikogu to implement the funds of the Stabilisation Reserve Fund to the full extent as necessary.
Under § 71 of the State Budget Act, the Stabilisation Reserve Fund is formed in order to finance expenditure and investment and financing transactions that have the following objectives: the reduction of economic risks; the prevention or mitigation of socio-economic crises; the resolution or prevention of an emergency situation, a state of emergency, a state of war or other extraordinary situation or a crisis with material effect, or performance of the obligations provided for in a collective self-defence agreement; the resolution and prevention of a financial crisis that may cause difficulties related to liquidity or solvency for the financial institutions or significant disruptions in the payment and settlement systems.
In connection with the emergency situation that has been declared due to the spread of COVID-19, a need to use the funds for all the abovementioned purposes may arise. As a result of the Resolution, it is possible to implement the funds of the Stabilisation Reserve Fund to the full extent to resolve the emergency situation that has been declared due to coronavirus and to mitigate the general economic crises and socio-economic crises related thereto according to the need to manage the state cash flow. It will be possible to finance expenditure, investments and financing transactions of the state budget for 2020 and 2021 at the expense of the funds.
During the debate, Aivar Sõerd (Reform Party) and Kaja Kallas (Reform Party) took the floor. They expressed their regrets that the Resolution did not include the principle according to which the Stabilisation Reserve Fund would be deployed only as the very last resort, and noted that Estonia should rather take loans.
58 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the passage of the Resolution.
Two Bills passed the second reading.
The Bill on the State’s Supplementary Budget for 2020 (171 SE), initiated by the Government, will include in the supplementary budget the budget necessary to implement the economic measures related to the spread of the coronavirus. The aim of the measures is to mitigate damages, to stimulate the economy and to accelerate the exit from the crisis.
The supplementary budget describes the procedure for the implementation of various measures of the aid package, and the funds to be allocated. In the drafting of the supplementary budget, the changed economic environment has been considered. It also takes into account the changes in the receipt of tax revenues in view of the new spring economic forecast (the expenses directly related to tax revenue under special Acts have also been adjusted accordingly) and the measure package. The non-tax revenue projections and the budgets of calculated expenditure which have been specified with the supplementary budget have also been re-assessed.
According to the supplementary budget, the government sector’s nominal budget deficit will amount to 2.62 billion euro together with the Government’s economic support measures. The measures will have an impact of 1.15 billion euro on the Government’s nominal budget position. The supplementary budget will reduce state budget revenues by 1.63 billion compared with this year’s budget. The supplementary budget’s measures will have an impact of 513 million in total on the current state budget’s expenditure. This will be supplemented by application of reserves.
The state budget has a nominal deficit of 10.1 per cent of GDP and the structural deficit amounts to 5.5 per cent of GDP. The forthcoming economic recession will bring about a large-scale reduction in tax revenues which will affect all government sector levels. The state budget revenue will fall from 11.8 billion euro to 10.2 billion euro which will be a 1.6-billion decrease.
According to the new forecast of the Ministry of Finance, compared to the base scenario of the state budget, the economic recession will be ten per cent, which was lowered from the 2.3-per cent growth forecast of last autumn to an eight-per cent fall.
During the debate, Kaja Kallas (Reform Party), Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party), Aivar Sõerd (Reform Party), Jürgen Ligi (Reform Party), Mart Võrklaev (Reform Party), Andres Sutt (Reform Party), Raimond Kaljulaid, Oudekki Loone (Centre Party), Indrek Saar (Social Democratic Party), Maris Lauri (Reform Party) and Urmas Kruuse (Reform Party) took the floor.
The Riigikogu set the deadline for submission of motions to amend the Bill as 9 a.m. on 14 April.
The Bill on Amendments to the Acts relating to the Act on the State’s Supplementary Budget for 2020 (measures related to the spread of the coronavirus that causes the COVID-19 disease) (169 SE), initiated by the Government, consolidates amendments to the special Acts that have an impact on the supplementary budget, that contain bases or rates for financial calculations and that need to be amended for adoption of the supplementary budget and implementation of the measures. The State Budget Act will also be amended by adding the provisions concerning the preparation of the budget strategy and the Bill on the state budget under the circumstances of an emergency situation.
The Bill will amend the Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act, the Support of Enterprise and State Loan Guarantees Act, the Estonian Defence League Act, the Environmental Charges Act, the Funded Pensions Act, the Value-Added Tax Act, the Creative Persons and Artistic Associations Act, the Taxation Act, the Social Benefits for Disabled Persons Act, the Health Insurance Act, the State Budget Act, the State Pension Insurance Act, the Social Welfare Act, the Social Tax Act, the Health Services Organisation Act, the Income Tax Act, the Unemployment Insurance Act and the Work Ability Allowance Act.
During the debate, Valdo Randpere (Reform Party), Ivari Padar (Social Democratic Party), Maris Lauri (Reform Party) and Indrek Saar (Social Democratic Party) took the floor.
A Bill passed the first reading.
The amendments to the Bill on Amendments to the Atmospheric Air Protection Act and the Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act (159 SE), initiated by the Government, will enable suppliers to fulfil their 2020 monthly obligation to reduce fuel life cycle greenhouse gas emissions flexibly – on a semester basis. The Atmospheric Air Protection Act will also be amended so that after 2020 suppliers will have to continue to fulfil their abovementioned obligation on a year basis. In addition, the definition of supplier will be amended in order to also include among reporting entities enterprises who make available electricity, gaseous fuels and hydrogen used in transport. Also, for the purposes of better functioning of the fuel monitoring database, the tasks of the chief processor of the Ministry of the Environment will be given to the Environment Agency who is the entity processing and collecting data, and the list of the data entered into the database will be specified.
The Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act will be amended to ensure legal clarity in the interpretation of the definition of shale-derived fuel oil. In addition, the Act will be amended by adding a new code of the combined nomenclature which will begin to be used in the definition of the main Estonian oil products in the future. The abovementioned amendment is due to the implementation of a new laboratory method for determination of aromatic compounds. The Ministry of Finance has submitted a relevant proposal.
The Riigikogu set the deadline for submission of motions to amend the Bill as 5.15 p.m. on 27 April.