Mihkelson said that Estonia strongly condemned Hamas terrorist attacks and was concerned about the expansion of terrorist activities in the region. He added that the efforts of terrorist regimes to create instability in the Middle East must be resisted, terrorist organisations and the regimes that support them must be held to account, and every effort must be made to prevent further escalation of the conflict.
“The international community must coordinate support to Israel, and at the same time not to lose attention on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. It is also necessary to think how to continue the political process that should lead to a lasting peace and thereby ensure Israel’s security,” he said.
During the visit, the Chairs of the Baltic Foreign Affairs Committees plan to meet with Speaker of the Knesset (Parliament) of Israel Amir Ohana, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee of the Knesset Yuli Edelstein and leader of the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania Parliamentary Friendship Group Simon Davidson. They also intend to attend the opening of the Winter Session of the Knesset and have a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen.
Besides Mihkelson, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Saeima (Parliament) of Latvia Rihards Kols and Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Seimas (Parliament) of Lithuania Žygimantas Pavilionis participate in the visit. From Jerusalem, they will travel on to the meeting of the Chairs of the Nordic and Baltic (NB8) Foreign Affairs Committees that will be held in Stockholm, Sweden, on Thursday and Friday.
The meeting will focus on the Nordic-Baltic cooperation, Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine and further support to Ukraine. In addition to the tightening of sanctions, using of Russia’s frozen assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine will also be discussed.
The meeting, which is held in NB8 format, brings together the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.
Deputy Chair of the Committee Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski said that while renewable energy was the preferred energy source, in the light of the experience of recent years with the security and energy crisis, it seemed reasonable not to completely exclude the use of fossil fuels. “It is a positive trend that the use of fossil fuels is gradually decreasing, but we cannot put all the stakes on green energy. We must keep in mind that supply security should be ensured also when there is not enough renewable energy for some reason,” the Deputy Chair of the European Union Affairs Committee said. “At the sitting, I proposed to amend the positions so that the goal would be to move towards reducing the use of fossil fuels, not ending it. Unfortunately, this proposal was not supported by the Committee, although the members from the opposition were in favour of the amendment.”
Member of the Committee Tiit Maran underlined that if we wished to talk about solving the environmental crisis, the objectives could not be reduced. “If we had amended the position and decided that the goal would be to move towards gradually reducing the use of fossil fuels, it would have been unforgivable softening from the point of view of environment targets,” Maran said. He stated that there was no deadline for the phase-out of fossil fuels, and that this option would not disappear suddenly. “If we really want to see a reduction in climate change, we need to have targets in place, as well as interim targets to monitor whether countries are really making the necessary and promised changes.”
It was pointed out at the sitting that phase-out of fossil fuels was also the goal of the Paris Agreement, and it was important for companies that the targets were clear and unchanging to maintain investment security. It was also emphasised as an important aspect that the EU’s efforts would be of use only if the same targets were met elsewhere in the world.
Estonia considers it important to increase the climate mitigation targets and to agree upon the mitigation work programme at the COP28. In our opinion, the pillars of this are the agreements made at the COP26 to phase out fossil fuels, to end the inefficient use of coal, to end inefficient subsidies for fossil fuels in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally and to achieve stopping of emissions growth by 2025 at the latest and reduction of emissions thereafter.
Within the framework of legislative discussions, the meeting of the EU Environment Council plans to achieve a general approach to the review of urban wastewater treatment directive and the regulation for CO2 emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles, as well as to approve Council conclusions on the climate change conference COP28 and update the nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the Paris Agreement of the European Union.
Deputy Secretary General for Green Transition Kristi Klaas, Deputy Secretary General for Maritime and Water Affairs Kaupo Läänerand, Chief Specialist of Foreign Relations Eliise Merila, Adviser of the Foreign Relations Department Johanna Maarja Tiik, Adviser of the Water Department Anni Mandel and Advisers of the Climate Department Reet Ulm and Silver Sillak from the Ministry of Climate attended the sitting of the European Union Affairs Committee.
Vaga expects the Polish parliamentary elections to turn out tense. “The right-wing Law and Justice Party (PiS), which has been in power since 2015, is aiming for its third successive election victory under the leadership of Jarosław Kaczyński. However, the polls show that neither the PiS nor the Civic Platform Party (PO), led by former Prime Minister Donald Tusk, are likely to receive enough support to govern alone,” Vaga said.
“Poland is one of our key partners on the NATO eastern flank and their election results will also significantly affect the future of Europe and Estonia,” Vaga predicted. He added that the task of the international observers is to make sure that the elections take place fairly and that all the candidates receive equal treatment.
A referendum is carried out in parallel to the parliamentary elections, gauging the people’s opinion on the sale of state property, increasing retirement age, removing the barrier from the Poland-Belarus border, and allowing illegal immigration.
More than 80 members of 31 national parliaments will observe the parliamentary elections in Poland within the framework of the mission organised by the OSCE PA. The OSCE PA delegation involves more than one hundred observers. The purpose of the mission is to make sure that the elections conform to the democratic principles set out in the OSCE Copenhagen Document from 1990.
Election observation missions have been an important part of OSCE’s activities since 1993. The missions monitor whether the elections are conducted legitimately and respect the democratic standards.
For more information, please contact:
Kristo Enn Vaga +372 5626 7733
The Riigikogu did not support the Bill on Amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Health Insurance Act (205 SE), initiated by the Estonian Centre Party Group. Its intention had been to amend the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Health Insurance Act in force since 1 July in a way to retain the procedure of paying sickness benefits under which only the first day of sick leave would be the employee’s own liability, the employer would pay the benefit from the second to the fifth day, and the Estonian Health Insurance Fund from the sixth day onwards. It also proposed an increase in the sickness benefit to 80 percent of the average remuneration of the employee.
The Social Affairs Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. The result of voting: 44 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour and 12 against. The motion was supported. The Bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu“Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to abandon the plan to eliminate the increased basic exemption for a loan interests” (44 OE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group, intended to make the relevant proposal to the Government.
The Riigikogu did not support the Resolution. 7 members of the Riigikogu supported passing the Resolution and nobody voted against it. At least 51 votes in favour were needed to pass the Resolution. The draft Resolution was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to initiate a Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act to establish an increased tax allowance starting from the first child” (59 OE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group, intended to make the relevant proposal to the Government.
The Riigikogu did not support the Resolution. 8 members of the Riigikogu supported passing the Resolution and nobody voted against it. At least 51 votes in favour were needed to pass the Resolution. The draft Resolution was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to abandon the plan to eliminate the increased basic exemption for a loan interests” (62 OE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group, intended to make the relevant proposal to the Government.
The Riigikogu did not support the Resolution. 7 members of the Riigikogu supported passing the Resolution and nobody voted against it. At least 51 votes in favour were needed to pass the Resolution. The draft Resolution was dropped from the legislative proceedings.
Kõve assured that the judicial system was functioning, and that independent and impartial administration of justice, as well as generally the resolution of court cases within a reasonable period of time were ensured. “At the same time, we are facing worrying tendencies and problems that are continuing remain unsolved,” he added.
In his report, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said that, on the European Union Justice Scoreboard, the Estonian judicial system was continuing to rank high among European Union countries in terms of the efficiency and speed of proceedings. Estonia is continuing to rank second among European Union Member States, after Denmark, in the comparison of the total time spent on the resolution of civil and administrative cases at first instance. In summary, the speed of court proceedings at three instances in Estonia is ranking sixth in Europe in civil and commercial cases, and fourth in administrative cases. “At the same time, the financial contribution of our state into the judicial system, and the number of judges and lawyers per 1,000 inhabitants remain in the last third of the table. We must also admit that the courts’ workload is on the rise and performance is in decline, and the time limits for proceedings are getting longer. This is a fact that cannot be denied,” Kõve pointed out.
When speaking of the reliability and independence of courts, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said that reliability continued to be at a high level. A study of the reliability of institutions was conducted in 2022, and according to it, 67% of respondents trusted Estonian courts. The reliability of the judicial system is also confirmed by the fact that the number of disciplinary offences of judges is small, and the system is able to work out its problems itself.
According to Kõve, the main concern in the judicial system is a generational shift of judges. Over the next five years, 65 judges may retire. “Last year I announced five competitions. The Ministry of Justice announced five competitions to find judges of the courts of first instance and the courts of appeal. However, as few as 27 people applied for the 20 positions of judges in district courts,” he gave an example. Therefore, it is hard to speak of a great interest in the office of judge.
From what the Chief Justice said, it became clear that we had reached a situation where our primary concern was no longer so much a shortage of material resources as a shortage of people, and not only in terms of judges, but in the prosecutor’s office and the bar association as well. “We simply no longer have candidates with sufficient qualifications and suitable personal qualities to fill the gap caused by the generational shift,” he added.
Kõve’s report revealed that, in addition to judges, they were also no longer able to find law clerks. Competitions for the posts of law clerks are failing consistently without a candidate being found. “All this despite the fact that, every year, hundreds of young people graduate from university with a diploma in law, and the salary of a judge or law clerk is not that bad in itself, and efforts are also made to search for suitable candidates,” the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court said. According to Kõve, it is clear that the judicial system and the rule of law need prosecutor’s offices and a bar association that are manned with high-quality professionals.
During the debate, Jaanus Karilaid took the floor, as well as Hendrik Johannes Terras on behalf of Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group, Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart on behalf of the Centre Party Group, Anti Allas on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group, and Mart Helme on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group.
A draft Resolution passed the first reading
At today’s sitting of the Riigikogu, a draft Resolution passed the first reading.
With the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “The Covering of the Interest Costs of the Loan to Ukraine” (258 OE), submitted by the Government, in 2024–2027, Estonia undertakes to pay to the European Union budget the interest payments of the loan grated to Ukraine by the European Union to a maximum extent of 5,890,628 euro.
Under a relevant EU Regulation, an instrument for providing support to Ukraine for 2023 (MFA+) has been established. In order to make loans more favourable for Ukraine, EU Member States have decided to cover the interest costs of loans until 2027 by paying them as external revenue to the EU budget. For that, an agreement is entered into with every Member State in which the Member States participate according to their share of EU GNI. The payment of interest payments by Member States will enable Ukraine to reduce the burden on their state budget in the complicated time by giving an opportunity to support their national economy. The Commission has also entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Ukraine that sets out the conditions for the disbursement of the loan, and a loan agreement that lays down the detailed financial terms of the support in the form of loans.
The Resolution of the Riigikogu will involve an impact on Estonia’s state budget in 2024–2027. If distributed evenly over four years, the maximum annual amount paid in interest support would be 1.47 million euro. This will be added to Estonia’s contribution to the EU budget and has been planned in the state budget strategy.
During the debate, Martin Helme took the floor on behalf of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Igor Taro on behalf of Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group. The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group moved to reject the draft Resolution at the first reading. The result of voting: 14 in favour, 63 against. The motion was not supported, and the first reading was concluded.
The first reading of a draft Resolution was adjourned
The first reading of the Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Increasing the Holding of the Republic of Estonia in the Council of Europe Development Bank” (259 OE), initiated by the Government, will continue at the plenary sitting beginning at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The Riigikogu will grant its consent to increasing Estonia’s holding in the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) by 9,872,000 euro.
The first reading of five Bill was deferred to the agenda for the next sitting
Due to the end of the working hours of the sitting, the first reading of five Bills was also deferred to tomorrow’s plenary sitting. They are the Bill on Amendments to the Atmospheric Air Protection Act (27 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Rain Epler and Martin Helme, the Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act (71 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Kalle Grünthal and Arvo Aller, the Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act (75 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Evelin Poolamets, Helle-Moonika Helme and Rain Epler, the Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act (82 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Kalle Grünthal and Rain Epler, and the Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act (88 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Kert Kingo, Arvo Aller and Siim Pohlak.
In their interpellation (No. 78), Members of the Riigikogu Kersti Sarapuu, Ester Karuse and Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski pointed out that people earning a salary of under 1200 euro and less and pensioners would not gain much from the elimination of the tapering of the personal allowance and the increase in the personal allowance. At the same time, people’s incomes would decrease due to an increase in VAT, income tax and excise duties, the car tax, the rising price of the shopping basket, and decreasing family allowances.
The Minister of Finance admitted that money came into the state budget from tax revenue, and a state could not be maintained only by lowering taxes and paying benefits. “With the elimination of the tapering of the personal allowance, labour taxes will fall, and people will have more disposable income,” Võrklaev said. He added that, with an increase in the personal allowance, subsistence benefits and pensions, people with lower incomes would have more disposable income. “However, the country must get tax revenue from somewhere.”
Võrklaev underlined that public finances were in a bad state, and the state budget needed additional funds due to additional expenditure, such as an increase in defence expenditure. “We cannot lower taxes and put the state budget in order at the same time,” he emphasised. Pointing out the VAT increase, the raising of excise duties, and the motor vehicle tax, Võrklaev said that those were additional taxes in the case of which it was possible for people to choose whether to opt for a smaller or a bigger car and how much and what to consume. “In fact, all in all, richer people pay more VAT because they consume more, and more expensive products.”
The Minister pointed out that, together with the elimination of the tapering of the personal allowance, from 2025, the personal allowance would also be raised from 654 euro to 700 euro, and the personal allowance for pensioners would be raised from 700 euro to 776 euro. “Pensioners have lower incomes, and they also have different tax benefits,” Võrklaev said.
The Minister of Finance also replied to the interpellations concerning the lack of impact analyses in the minister’s policy sector (No. 19), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (No. 52), the VAT for accommodation providers (No. 63), the VAT on foodstuffs (No. 76), the increase of VAT (No. 101), the establishment of a car tax (No. 118), the state budget deficit (No. 121), and the integral impact of the tax package (No. 140), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu.
The Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo replied to the interpellations concerning the increase of the VAT for accommodation providers (No. 69), the impact of inflation on the area of administration of the ministry managed by the minister (No. 137), and the impact of the green transition on the area of administration of the ministry managed by the minister (No. 138), submitted by Members of the Riigikogu.
The Minister of Climate Kristen Michal replied to the interpellations concerning investments in the transport sector (No. 11), the establishment of a nuclear power station (No. 21), the use of mineral resources (No. 20), the renovation of apartment buildings in Ida-Viru County (No. 55), the environmental impact of mandatory renovation of buildings and people’s ability to pay (No. 123), and the integral impact of the tax package (No. 141).
According to an agreement between interpellators and ministers, the interpellations concerning deceitful policy (No. 80 and No. 89) were excluded from the agenda for the sitting. The interpellation concerning the implementation of the forestry development plan (No. 28) which the interpellators withdrew was also excluded from the agenda.
Chairman of the National Defence Committee Kalev Stoicescu said that the defence committees of both countries agreed that Russia posed a long-term threat to NATO and the allies had to be prepared for that. The meeting focused on the plans of the countries for strengthening their defence capability.
Stoicescu pointed out that next year Estonia’s defence budget would exceed three per cent of GDP for the first time and reach to around 3.2 per cent of GDP from the current 2.85 per cent. According to him, it is important that, in addition to the large defence investments which account for more than half of the defence budget, the state also contributes to civil protection. Sweden is also planning to increase its defence budget significantly, bringing defence spending to two per cent of GDP next year.
Stoicescu stated that Estonia would also continue providing Ukraine the military assistance it needed to win the war of aggression launched by Russia as soon as possible. “It is crucial to continue working on the introduction of new sanctions as well as on a more effective implementation of existing ones, in order to stop all trade with Russia. There is no other way to stop Russia than by weakening that country to the point where they are unable to continue the war,” he said.
At the meeting, the members of the National Defence Committee said they very much looked forward to Sweden becoming a member of NATO as soon as possible, like Finland. By today, 29 states out of 31 have approved Sweden’s accession. “Our views and understanding on the challenges of security and defence are the same, and Sweden will be a very good ally for us in NATO,” Stoicescu said.
NATO’s Regional Defence Plans that were endorsed at the Vilnius Summit and need to be jointly exercised and filled with real military capabilities by the allies were also discussed at the meeting. The members of the Committees also underlined the need to urgently increase the capabilities of European defence industries in order to ensure adequate supplies of arms and ammunition.
Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
The previous composition of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) sent a similar Bill (742 SE) to the first reading in last December, but it was dropped from the proceedings due to the termination of the mandate of the composition. Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee Priit Lomp said that the legislative proceedings on the Bill must be completed because there was no room for terrorist incitements in the legal space of democracies. “We must improve the cooperation of the state with web hosts to make the public space of us all more secure. After the passing of this Act, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority as well as the Estonian Internal Security Service will also be able to detect radicalisation attempts and provocations against Estonia more efficiently,” he explained.
Deputy Chairman of the Committee Lauri Laats added that not only must it be safe to live in Estonia, but the people’s freedom of speech had to be protected as well and web hosts should not be forced to conduct surveillance activities. “People must be able to express their views even when they do not agree with the opinion of the majority. Therefore, it is necessary to be very careful in defining the terrorist content, and at the same time sufficiently strict so that Estonia would be protected from provocations coming from any regime,” Laats pointed out.
The Bill on Amendments to the Information Society Services Act and the Penal Code will bring the Estonian national law into conformity with the European Union Regulation that has the main aim of improving cooperation with web content mediators, incl. web companies, NGOs, associations and news portals to enhance the removal of terrorist content online. The content of a post is considered terrorist if it incites or glorifies the commission of terrorist acts. It also includes promoting the activities of groups or the dissemination of detailed instructions to commit terrorist acts. The regulation only applies to public websites. Web hosting service providers are obliged to remove terrorist content or block access to it. The rules have been agreed upon by the European Union, and they are supported by hosting service providers, like Google, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Cooperation between states is organised by the Europol.
The Penal Code will also be amended to ensure that persons can be prosecuted not only for incitements made in public but also, for example, in moderated forums and groups.
The Economic Affairs Committee decided to send the Bill on Amendments to the Information Society Services Act and the Penal Code (224 SE) to the first reading at the plenary sitting of the Riigikogu on 18 October with the motion to conclude the first reading.
Riigikogu Press Service
Maris Meiessaar +372 631 6353, +372 5558 3993 maris.meiessaar@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee
“I strongly condemn the extensive attacks by the terrorist organisation Hamas against the State of Israel and its people over more than twenty-four hours. The number of the dead and wounded as well as the people taken hostage is growing continuously. I extend my deepest condolences to the families of all victims and to the people of Israel,” he said.
Mihkelson said he was concerned about the expansion of terrorist activity in the region and expressed support to Israel who has the right to defend itself against brutal attacks on land, on sea and in the air. He called on nations and international organisations to confront the attempts of terrorist regimes to create instability and chaos in the whole Middle East region, and underlined that terrorist organisations and the regimes supporting them must be held to account.
“I invite the international community to coordinate support to Israel, and at the same time not to lose attention on Russia’s aggression against Ukraine,” Mihkelson said, and added that Estonia was following closely any further developments.
In case of emergency, the citizens of Estonia staying in Israel can contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs helpline +372 5301 9999.
„The Estonia-Israel Parliamentary Friendship Group of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) strongly and unequivocally condemns the terrorist attacks against the State of Israel and its people.
We express our deepest condolences to the close ones of all victims, to the people and the Government of Israel as well as to our colleagues in the Knesset.
It is the right and the duty of the State of Israel to defend itself. Terrorist group Hamas and the regimes that support and assist it must get the punishment they deserve.
We are convinced that Israel will win the war that broke out as a result of an unjustified and criminal attack against its cities and civilian population.
Our thoughts are with the people of Israel and we express our respect for the defenders of Israel.“
Members of the Parliamentary Friendship Group are Eerik-Niiles Kross, Yoko Alender, Vadim Belobrovtsev, Meelis Kiili, Andrei Korobeinik, Lauri Laats, Jürgen Ligi, Riina Solman, Aivar Sõerd, Peeter Tali, Vilja Toomast and Kristo Enn Vaga.