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.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

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.

The sitting ended at 7.47 p.m.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

NordenBladet — At its today’s sitting, the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) decided to submit a Bill amending the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act for legislative proceedings. The Bill will enable to conduct the plenary sittings of the Riigikogu by remote attendance.

Chairman of the Committee Paul Puustusmaa said that although the Committees of the Riigikogu had held their sittings via electronic means during the emergency situation, such an option was not available to the plenary sittings according to current legislation, and thus the members of the Riigikogu had to be physically present at Toompea to attend sittings.

“The present outbreak of the coronavirus has shown that when such circumstances occur, it is important that it would be possible to hold sittings also by remote attendance,” he pointed out the need for the amendment. “Pursuant to the Constitution, the efficient functioning of the Riigikogu as a constitutional institution has to be ensured, and this also applies to the cases when the Riigikogu is not able to come together in the Session Hall at Toompea due to compelling reasons.”

The amendment would enable the Riigikogu to convene in the remote attendance format with the help of electronic means, and continue its regular work, i.e. initiating of Bills, conducting proceedings on them, holding of Question Times, submitting of interpellations, appointing higher state officials to office.

Hanno Pevkur, whom the Committee appointed to present the Bill, said that pursuant to the Bill, the Board of the Riigikogu would make the decision on holding a sitting by remote attendance for serious reasons and establish the requirements for conducting of such a sitting and the procedure for opening the sitting. Pevkur added that, pursuant to the motion, the electronic sitting could be conducted if more than half of the members of the Riigikogu were present.

Remote voting is already being used in the lower houses of the parliaments of Belgium and Spain. In connection with the current COVID-19 pandemic, the parliaments of Cyprus, Latvia, Poland and Slovenia have started to work for allowing remote voting at plenary sittings or conducting plenary sittings by remote attendance.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

NordenBladet — At its meeting today, the National Defence Committee heard about the plan of the consortium of Estonia’s defence companies to take part in an Estonian, Finnish, and Latvian joint procurement of armoured vehicles, as well as to start producing these vehicles if possible.

The Chairman of the Committee Andres Metsoja said that the companies outlined their plans to the Committee, and the Committee decided to support the project. “This is a step in the right direction,” Metsoja said. “This is a large scale project, and international cooperation with Latvia and Finland would have an extensive impact.”

Metsoja believes that Estonia’s defence companies would create completely new capabilities. “It is clear to us that all this should be carried out with the support of the government and the parliament,” Metsoja explained. “At the same time, we must critically review the needs of Estonia’s national defence in light of the decrease in economic indicators and the consequent possible reduction in the defence budget.”

Member of the Committee Alar Laneman recommends further efforts in developing defence industry as part of Estonia’s defence capabilities, and using the synergy thus generated. “The Committee consensually supported Estonian defence companies because the value of the consortium project surpasses the proposed armoured vehicle. The project would increase our knowledge, skills, employment, and indirectly – our economy and industry,” Laneman said.

The defence industry consortium project was presented to the Committee by the Estonian Defence Industry Union Chief Executive Tarmo Ränisoo, Director of the Centre for Defence Investments Kusti Salm, and representatives of AS Milrem and Milrem Robotics, AS Cybernetica and Baltic Marine Group AS.

The Committee was told that there have been discussions on the possibility of acquiring the licence of the Finnish defence company Patria for producing armoured vehicles in Estonia, managing the supply chain along with designing the necessary modifications, and ensuring their life cycle. However, it is also an option for the Estonian consortium to develop its own 6×6 armoured vehicle based on the needs of our Defence Forces. In both cases, the project would have a clear positive impact on Estonia’s economy and defence capabilities.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

NordenBladet — Today, the Riigikogu passed an Act which enables the payment of a higher allowance to foster parents, and creates the possibility to pay the social benefit for a child with a disability for children with orphan diseases.

The major amendments proposed in the Act on Amendments to the Social Welfare Act, the Social Benefits for Disabled Persons Act and the Labour Market Services and Benefits Act (146 SE), initiated by the Government, concern the social rehabilitation service, the alternative care service and foster parent allowances, the payment of allowances to children with orphan diseases, the identification of disabilities and the degree of severity of disabilities, and mitigation of the coping difficulties arising from emergency situation.

The Act creates flexibility that will enable to increase the number of children reared in a foster family and in a family of a family home or substitute home, in the interests of children. This is possible in the case when children of one family need to be placed or there is another situation where an opportunity for children to be reared together needs to be ensured. Flexibility in terms of the number of children may also be important in the current emergency situation. The Act also amends the minimum amount in which local governments are required to support foster families upon caring for one child. The minimum allowance or fee for foster parents is doubled compared to the current rates.

The Act creates the possibility for the Social Insurance Board to begin to pay the social benefit for a child with a disability for children with orphan diseases, to compensate for additional costs related to the disease, also in the case when they do not have a developed disability. The aim is to provide for a state allowance for children with orphan diseases who do not have the characteristics of a developed disability but who need financial support in order to prevent a disability.

With the amendments to the Social Benefits for Disabled Persons Act, medical experts of the Social Insurance Board are given the possibility to identify a person’s disability and the degree of severity of the disability in persons of working age on the basis of their health data. At present, applicants need to describe the restrictions they are experiencing by spheres of activities in order for the degree of severity of their disability to be identified. In addition, in the case of a child with a severe or profound disability whose condition is constant and unchanging or progressive, the duration of the degree of severity of the disability can be identified for until he or she attains working age. At present, the degree of severity of disability is determined for one to three years.

The amendment to the Labour Market Services and Benefits Act will enable the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund to use counselling of the unemployed by telephone or through the information system of the Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund, instead of inviting them to face-to-face counselling, in justified cases. In addition, the Act provides for the implementation of financial measures in extraordinary situations to mitigate the coping difficulties arising from the emergency situation in the case of specifically vulnerable target groups.

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

Source: Parliament of Estonia

NordenBladet — The Bill that would give the Defence Forces additional rights in performing background checks and implementing authorisation for use of human intelligence sources passed the first reading in the Riigikogu today.

The Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and the Chancellor of Justice Act (152 SE), initiated by the Security Authorities Surveillance Select Committee, provides for increasing the right of the Defence Forces to conduct background checks to the extent that would ensure meeting the initial objective of the check, i.e. verifying a person’s suitability to serve or be employed in the Defence Forces or to cooperate with the Defence Forces. Pursuant to the planned amendments, the Defence Forces will be able to perform acts that go beyond the current verification against registers in order to obtain the information needed for background check. The Defence Forces will be given the right to use covert measures for collecting information for circumstances assessed within the framework of background checks, ensuring that the collection of information is concealed.

The Bill will give the Defence Forces a new task: collection and processing of information to protect the restricted military area of the Defence Forces and prevent threats. For that, it is provided that in the case of persons posing a direct threat to the restricted military area of the Defence Forces, the Defence Forces can verify personal data, and do it covertly, use shadow information and covert measures as well as monitor the person secretly. The Bill establishes more specific and effective guarantees for interfering with the fundamental rights of a person that ensure the observance of notification obligation.

The Bill also amends the Chancellor of Justice Act. At least every two years, the Chancellor of Justice will perform a surveillance of the legitimacy of failure to notify persons of the activities pursuant to the Defence Forces Organisation Act.

The Supreme Court declared the Act on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act, passed by the Riigikogu on 29 May 2019, to be in conflict with the Constitution.

One Bill was dropped from the proceedings of the Riigikogu.

The Bill on Amendments to the Health Insurance Act (162 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction, provided for amending the Health Insurance Act in order to ensure sickness benefit from the first day of sick leave in the case of suspicion of communicable disease.

The explanatory memorandum to the Bill notes that the Health Insurance Act currently in force does not enable to pay sickness benefit for staying at home because of suspicion of communicable disease. The current Act provides that no sickness benefit is paid for the first three days of sick leave; from the fourth day to the eighth day the benefit is paid by the employer in the amount of 70% of the average salary of the employee, and from the ninth day, the sickness benefit is paid by the Estonian Health Insurance Fund in the amount of 70% of the average salary of the previous calendar year on the basis of the daily income of the employee.

The lead committee moved to reject the draft Resolution at the first reading. 53 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and five voted against. Thus, the Bill was rejected and it was dropped from the proceedings.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

NordenBladet — Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu will give the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) an updated overview of the emergency situation and its impact on foreign policy at the public sitting of the Committee today.

“In recent weeks, we have been in contact with the Foreign Minister and the Ambassadors of Estonia in various foreign countries via a video bridge at the sittings of the Committee. Such a frequent and operational exchange of information is invaluable in the current situation,” Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Enn Eesmaa said.

Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson noted that the Committee hoped that, at the sitting, the Minister would provide them with the latest information about the ongoing situation, returning home of the citizens of Estonia, and the international policy decisions of recent times. “The Minister’s overviews of the emergency situation and the latest international developments make an excellent basis for discussion and finding answers to questions that are necessary for shaping the foreign policy of Estonia in the present complicated situation,” he added.

At the sitting of the Committee, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will also present Estonia’s positions at the video conference of the European Union foreign affairs ministers (development) that will be held on 8 April.

Public sitting of the Foreign Affairs Committee starts at 11 a.m. and it will be streamed online.

Video recording of the sitting can also be viewed later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Source: Parliament of Estonia

NordenBladet —

Source: Parliament of Estonia