NordenBladet — The Bill on Amendments to the Medical Devices Act, the Emergency Act and Other Acts (165 SE), initiated by the Government, will bring the Medical Devices Act into conformity with European Union law. During the proceedings, the Social Affairs Committee included motions to amend the Emergency Act, the Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Act, the Health Services Organisation Act and the Health Insurance Act, according to proposals by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

During the second reading, an amendment was voted into the Emergency Act under which, in order to resolve an emergency, the authority coordinating the resolution of the emergency may give authorities of executive power, local authorities and other public authorities orders taking into account the powers and authorities of such authorities and persons. Such orders include issue of administrative acts or performance of acts, termination of performance of acts or prohibition of performance of acts, and partial or full suspension of performance of acts.

The amendments to the Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Act are due to the urgent need to ensure that, after the emergency situation, the Health Board will have legal clarity and security to tackle situations that may arise. The purpose of the amendments is to ensure efficient and effective prevention of the spread of communicable diseases by giving the Health Board the right to implement various requirements and measures to control viruses, based on its powers and authorities.

The directives on medical devices, active implantable medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices have been regulating the field of medical devices in the European Union so far. Two new EU Regulations will be applied gradually in the future to replace them. The regulations aim to establish a more robust, transparent, predictable and sustainable regulatory framework for medical devices. This will ensure better safety of devices and a high level of health whilst supporting innovation. In connection with the application of the Regulations, the Medical Devices Act and other associated Acts need to be amended.

During the debate, Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa), Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Signe Riisalo (Reform Party), Kalle Laanet (Reform Party) and Mihhail Lotman (Isamaa) took the floor and pointed out problems and shortcomings relating to the Bill.

The Estonian Reform Party Faction moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. The result of voting: 37 votes in favour, 47 against, one abstention. The motion was not supported. The Bill was sent to the third reading.

Another Bill passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Product Conformity Attestation Act (125 SE), initiated by the Government, will implement in Estonia the new directly applicable EU Regulation that replaces the Regulation that was in force before and concerns the mutual recognition of the conformity of goods marketed in another Member State. The Regulation helps stimulate trade in goods in the European single market and speed up and enhance the work of competent authorities in the evaluation of goods. The implementation of the new Regulation will make it simpler for Estonian economic operators to take their products to the EU market.

According to the principle of mutual recognition, products that have been placed on the market in a Member State under the rules in force there must be allowed to be freely placed on the market in EU Member States also when different requirements have been established for them in the country of destination. The Bill provides for the right of competent authorities to prohibit goods from being placed on the market and to require withdrawal of goods from the market in Estonia in pursuance of the procedure provided for in the directly applicable Regulation. Based on the Regulation, competent authorities must clearly justify restriction on market access. This can be done for example on the basis of overriding reasons of public interest, and it must be evaluated whether the restrictions are proportionate to the aim pursued.

For example, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, the Health Board, the Maritime Administration, the Agricultural Board, the Environmental Inspectorate, the Road Administration and the Veterinary and Food Board will be the competent authorities on the basis of the legislation regulating the sector. In addition, the Act regulates the obligation of these authorities to exchange information with the competent authorities of other Member States.

A Bill passed the first reading:

The Bill on Amendments to the Public Procurement Act and the Commissioning of Artworks Act (177 SE), initiated by the Government, will amend the provisions regulating electronic information exchange. As a result of an amendment, suppliers will be released from the obligation of electronic information exchange in public procurements of small value, less than 30 000 euro in the case of supplies and services, and less than 60 000 in the case of works.

Under the current Act, high-security electronic exchange of information must be used in the case of every public procurement regardless of the value. The purpose of the amendment is to enable simpler electronic information exchange (e.g. by e-mail) in public procurements of smaller value whereby the workload of contracting authorities and the administrative burden of tenderers will be significantly reduced. In the case of reopening a competition on the basis of a framework agreement, the obligation of electronic information exchange would not apply where the estimated value of the public contract to be awarded is below the simple procurement threshold, that is, below 30 000 euro in the case of supplies and services. In the case of public procurements that do not fall within a simplified procurement threshold provided for by law, the obligation of electronic information exchange would apply starting from the public procurement threshold.

On the proposal of the Ministry of Culture, after the coordination with the relevant parties, an amendment has been included in the Commissioning of Artworks Act to increase the threshold that requires the commissioning of artworks in connection with contracting for works. The current threshold is 450 000 euro and will be raised to 750 000 euro. In addition, the Minister of the Environment will be given the authority to establish mandatory environmentally sound criteria in procurements to purchase furniture, cleaning products and services, office IT-equipment, and copying and graphic paper.

The Riigikogu heard replies to three interpellations

Members of the Riigikogu Hele Everaus, Urmas Kruuse, Urve Tiidus, Vilja Toomast, Ants Laaneots, Maris Lauri, Hanno Pevkur, Kaja Kallas, Erkki Keldo, Toomas Kivimägi, Jüri Jaanson, Signe Riisalo and Andrus Seeme had submitted an interpellation concerning ensuring the availability of family physician service (No. 20) to the Minister of Social Affairs Tanel Kiik.

The interpellators wished to know if the Ministry of Social Affairs had planned strategic systematic action to ensure sustainability of family medical practice in all regions of Estonia.

Kiik confirmed that the availability of primary medical care was undoubtedly a national health care organisational priority. The Ministry of Social Affairs together with the Health Board, the Estonian Health Insurance Fund and the Estonian Family Physicians’ Association is adhering to and continues to comply with the cooperation agreement jointly signed on 19 March last year which aimed to agree on objectives and actions that would be implemented in cooperation to ensure availability and development of family medical care in the coming years.

Kiik explained that, in view of the objective of the agreement, the parties met regularly within the framework of separate working groups. “I for one participate in several such meetings, in particular with representatives of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund and the Health Board and the Estonian Family Physicians’ Association, to discuss the potential needs in the service management model and the funding model, issues relating to the establishment of health care centres, the issue of working hours, as well as the issue of the mobility of doctors, and certainly the issues of new generations,” Kiik said.

He added that, as a recent noteworthy change to be pointed out, with a view to ensuring the sustainability of family medical care, an amendment had entered into force on 1 April, as a result of which the current additional remunerations to family physicians had increased by several times, and the range of the persons who received the remuneration outside Tallinn and Tartu and the municipalities bordering thereon would be extended.

Kiik said that financial motivation was just one part of the motivational package. A modern working environment, a supporting team, work offering flexible challenges, and the above-mentioned good cooperation between local governments and family physicians were equally important. By the same token, all activities directed at increasing the availability of family medical care and the quality of the family medical services agreed upon earlier, also arising from the above-mentioned agreement or the good practice agreement between the Estonian Family Physicians’ Association, the Estonian Health Insurance Fund, the ministry and the Health Board, continue.

The Minister of Social Affairs also replied to interpellations concerning care home fees (No. 30) and the unjustifiably high prices of medicinal products (No. 32).

The sitting ended at 9.41 p.m.

NordenBladet — Today, the Riigikogu passed an Act that would authorise the Government to introduce the obligation to provide information about the technology used in communication networks in order to ensure a high level of security in communication networks.

The explanatory memorandum of the Act on Amendments to the Electronic Communications Act (138 SE), initiated by the National Defence Committee, says that with a view to ensure the quality of networks, minimise the impact of cyber-attacks, and prevent political manipulations, it must 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. Under the Act and in order to ensure national security, the Government may compel, by a regulation, communications undertakings to provide information about the hardware and software used in their communications networks and to apply for an authorisation to use the hardware and software of a network.

During the second reading, an amendment based on the opinion of the Government was introduced into the Bill. The coordination procedure was replaced by the notification and authorisation procedure, and the Act was complemented with a provision authorising the Government to compel, by a regulation, communications undertakings to provide information about the hardware and software used in their communications networks and to apply for an authorisation to use the hardware and software of a network.

Kristen Michal (Reform Party) took the floor during the debate.

83 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the Act, and 4 against it.

The Riigikogu passed one other Act

The Act on Amendments to the Radiation Act and the State Fees Act (144 SE), initiated by the Government, specifies provisions of the Radiation Act to bring these 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 must submit to the Environmental Board analyses of events in the course of which persons were exposed to radiation doses above the permitted level. At present, the Board must only be notified of the occurrences of such incidents.

The Act was 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 was 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 the 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.

88 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act.

The Riigikogu passed one Resolution

The Resolution of the Riigikogu “Amendment of the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Formation of the Estonian Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europeˮ” (160 OE), initiated by the Foreign Affairs Committee, appoints Raimond Kaljulaid as substitute member of the Estonian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, replacing Indrek Saar. The motion for substitution came from the Social Democratic Party faction.

57 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Resolution, 18 against it, and 4 abstained.

One Bill passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act (176 SE), initiated by the Constitutional Committee, provides the possibility to conduct sittings by remote attendance with the members of the Riigikogu and other participants of the sitting attending the sitting via electronic means without being physically present. 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, protesting, voting, and other activities) from a remote location, and also have the possibility to report any 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 appointed date. Shorter notice is allowed in case of compelling reasons.

The original version of the Bill required the quorum to be as high as at additional and extraordinary sittings of the Riigikogu. An amendment between two readings of the Bill ensured that the higher quorum requirement would not be applied.

Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) took the floor during the debate.

One Bill passed the first reading

The Act on Amendment to the Police and Border Guard Act (161 SE), initiated by the Legal Affairs Committee, requires ensuring that police officers and border guard officials as well as their family members who are beneficiaries of disability or survivor’s pensions receive a pension that is at minimum equal to what they would have received if the bases for calculating their pensions had not been reduced by 8 % as of 1 July 2009.

The Bill was occasioned by the need to ensure equal treatment to the beneficiaries of both the superannuated pensions of police officers as well as the beneficiaries of the disability or survivor’s pensions of police officers or border guard officials.

NordenBladet — At its meeting today, the National Defence Committee heard about the business continuity of communication networks and cross-use of infrastructure as well as the concept of national communication, and concluded that from the viewpoint of comprehensive national defence, the organisation of communication needed more extensive coordination between authorities.

The Chairman of the Committee Andres Metsoja highlighted the main problem of the communication network: the government does not have a full overview of the communication networks. “We have a detailed overview of the power grid, but the communication network is largely built up by private businesses and exists in their data bases,” Metsoja said. “The valid Act makes cross-use of networks mandatory, but as networks are non-digitalised property of private companies, the government does not have complete information about the existence of networks, which makes cross-use difficult.”

Metsoja thinks that the state authorities should digitalise and map the communication networks because otherwise the government would be unable to set national defence duties to communication networks needed for national defence purposes. Under the Bill on Amendments to the Electronic Communications Act, which the Riigikogu is currently proceeding, communication businesses will have to provide information about the technology they use, which will allow the government to gain an overview of the communications used in the country.

Metsoja explained that in addition to the private sector, several state run agencies manage communication networks. For him, one possible goal would be the integration of the communication network with the power grid. We would also need to involve the rail network, Elektrilevi, and Levira, and define the roles.

Member of the Committee Johannes Kert said that the crucial question for any kind of crisis management preparedness is the organisation and functioning of communication, and in the case of Estonia, also the cross-use of communication between authorities. “Cross-use of communications is a question of comprehensive national defence but today there is still a lot of room for development,” Kert admitted. He expressed his hope that the Committee would regularly return to the topic until this important national defence issue is solved.

The goal of national communication is to ensure robust and secure communication for services and target groups of national importance. The Committee heard clarifications from representatives of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Ministry of Defence, Information System Authority, Defence Forces, and State Infocommunication Foundation.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

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.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

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.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

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.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

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.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

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.

Source: Parliament of Estonia