Hussar said at the Conference that Ukraine’s security was Europe’s security, and an independent and sovereign Ukraine as part of the European family was the best guarantee against Russia’s imperialism. “Russia’s recent attacks and actions show no real intention to end the aggression. Our message must be clear: we will not leave Ukraine alone,” he emphasised.
In his speech, Hussar reaffirmed that the future of Ukraine, as well as Moldova, was in the European Union. “Their accession will strengthen Europe’s resilience, security and credibility, and send a strong message against Russia’s aggression The EU accession process is our most powerful tool to give hope to the Ukrainian people,” he said, and underlined that Estonia wanted to move as soon as possible to the next stage – the actual start of negotiations.
According to Hussar, the EU enlargement must remain performance-based, but at the same time, no Member State should hinder the progress of candidate countries if they have done their homework properly.
He pointed out that at the same time as supporting Ukraine, pressure on Russia must be increased. “Europe is facing a difficult decision: whether to use the 200 billion euros of Russia’s central bank’s frozen assets for the benefit of Ukraine, or to return them to Russia as a bonus in a few months’ time. If someone wants to release the frozen assets and return them to Russia, it must be understood that this money will go directly to finance the aggression against Ukraine and a hybrid war against us all,” he said.
Hussar believes that it must be ensured that the assets remain frozen, and that there must be a clear plan on how to use them in the future. He called on EU countries to mobilise their political will and to pay serious attention to this issue.
In response to the leaders of Hungary who support energy trade with Russia, Hussar said that cheap Russian energy drenched in the blood of Ukrainians was not cheap, and was not the solution in standing for European principles.
The Conference of Speakers, held in Budapest, Hungary, will discuss the future of the EU and the challenges facing Europe, as well as the issues relating to regionalism in Europe and safeguarding Europe’s cultural identity.
At the Conference, Hussar will have separate meetings with Walter Rosenkranz, the President of the lower house of the Austrian Parliament, the National Council of Austria, and Martin Bosma, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands. They will discuss cooperation between their countries, further support to Ukraine, increasing pressure on Russia and relations with the United States. Hussar and Bosma will also speak about the forthcoming NATO Summit in the Netherlands.
At the Conference, the Speakers will speak about the challenges facing Europe and the future of the European Union. President of the National Council of Austria Walter Rosenkranz and President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola will be the keynote speakers at the session dedicated to the future of the Union.
Hussar will also speak at the discussion on the future of Europe. He will underline the importance of continuing support to Ukraine, and use of Russia’s frozen assets. He will highlight that the future of Ukraine, as well as Moldova, is in the European Union. At the afternoon session, the Speakers will discuss issues relating to regionalism in Europe, and safeguarding Europe’s cultural identity.
At the Conference in Budapest, Hussar will have separate meetings with Walter Rosenkranz, the President of the lower house of the Austrian Parliament, the National Council of Austria, and Martin Bosma, the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands, the lower house of the bicameral parliament of the Netherlands. They will discuss cooperation between their countries, further support to Ukraine, increasing pressure on Russia and relations with the United States. Hussar and Bosma will also speak about the forthcoming NATO Summit in the Netherlands.
“The Albanian parliamentary elections are a historical event because this is the first time the country admits votes by its citizens residing abroad and has made important changes in the election system,” said member of the Estonian delegation to the OSCE PA Heljo Pikhof. “Albania is engaged in accession negotiations with the European Union, which makes these elections an important litmus test for the democratic institutions of the country.”
Member of the delegation Kersti Sarapuu added that the task of the observers was to ensure that the elections respected the law and democratic values. “We place great emphasis on the transparency of the election process and equal treatment, especially as the political climate in the country is highly polarised. We also look at how independently the media is allowed to work and whether the results are reported as they should.”
Nearly 100 parliamentarians from 31 national parliaments will observe the Albanian parliamentary elections within the framework of the OSCE PA election observation mission. The purpose of the mission is to make sure that the elections adhere to the democratic commitments contained in the OSCE’s 1990 Copenhagen Document.
Deploying of election observation missions has been an important part of OSCE’s activities since 1993. The OSCE mission is observing elections in Albania for the tenth time, ever since 1996.
The observers’ preliminary findings and conclusions will be delivered at a press conference on Monday, May 12 at 4 p.m., which is streamed live on the website of the OSCE PA.
For more information, please contact:
Heljo Pikhof +372 511 9637
Kersti Sarapuu +372 503 9113
The IMF delegation asked for an overview of the state of the economy, the impact of inflation on the competitiveness of businesses, and the impact of trade tariffs and international insecurity on Estonia’s economy. IMF also asked about the financing of defence spending and considerations around increasing tax revenue, but also about reforms for promoting competitiveness, improving investment environment, reducing bureaucracy, and labour policy.
The Chairman of the Finance Committee Annely Akkermann explained that Estonia had overcome three crises in a row and that the economy was showing a modest upturn. The new insecurities are the repercussions of policy changes in the USA, to a lesser extent also of trade tensions, but the strongest impact on Estonia’ budget has come from the need to increase our defence spending to 5 percent of the GDP. A better consolidated EU capital and energy market would give a huge boost to Estonia’s economic development.
The Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee Marek Reinaas referred to the fact that the IMF has acknowledged the steps taken by the Estonian government over the last few years to improve our budgetary position and turn the economy on a path to growth. It has also recommended giving more attention to developing an innovative and openminded economy and carrying out reforms with a longer perspective—recommendations we can absolutely agree with.
Also present at the meeting were members of the Finance Committee Riina Sikkut and Mart Võrklaev.
The IMF delegation will also meet with the Government, Bank of Estonia, ministries, and state authorities, as well as the leaders and analysts of the Financial Supervision Authority during its visit. There are also meetings scheduled with commercial banks, professional organisations, and representatives of private businesses.
The head of the IMF delegation Vincenzo Guzzo will present the conclusions of the visit at the press conference held in the Bank of Estonia on 19 May.
The International Monetary Fund discusses important economic policy issues with every member state once a year. The outcome of the consultation is a report reflecting the IMF experts’ assessment of Estonia’s economic policy.
The forum is organised by the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia). The leaders of Defence Committees will discuss collective defence, the increasing of defence spending, and regional defence cooperation, as well as Russia’s ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine and its implications for the international security architecture. Chairman of the National Defence Committee Kalev Stoicescu underlined that discussing security challenges and strengthening cooperation was particularly important in the current tense security situation.
Lieutenant General Bertrand Toujouse, Commander of French Forces Europe/Commander French LANDCOM, who is on a visit to Estonia, will participate in the forum as a special guest. Brigadier (Ret’d) Robbie Boyd from the United Kingdom will also deliver a report. Undersecretary for Defence Policy of the Ministry of the Defence of Estonia Tuuli Duneton and Undersecretary for Political Affairs of the Ministry of the Foreign Affairs of Estonia Martin Roger will give an overview of Estonia’s positions.
The forum will be held in the Conference Hall of the Riigikogu. The key topics of discussion will be the priorities and challenges of defence and security policy in a broader sense, and the steps needed to achieve a militarily stronger Europe as soon as possible. On Friday, the representatives of Defence Committees will visit Ämari Airbase, where one of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing aviation units is located.
Leaders of the National Defence Committees of the parliaments of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden will participate in the forum. Chair of the National Defence Committee of the Parliament of the Netherlands will attend the forum as an observer. Representatives of Germany and France will also take part in the forum held in Tallinn.
The National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu has held annual working meetings with the National Defence Committees of the Baltic States since 1998. From 2011, the representatives of the National Defence Committees of the of the Nordic Countries, Germany and Poland have also been taking part in these meetings.
Photos (will be added in accordance with the programme; photographer: Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi presented to the Riigikogu the report for 2025 on the implementation of the long-term national strategy “Estonia 2035”, in the framework of which he also gave an overview of the development trends in the civil service in 2024.
The minister noted that democracy needed protective mechanisms and bearers of continuity, which, in addition to rules and institutions, also included civil servants. “Their professionalism and motivation help ensure that the public tasks assigned to the state and local government are fulfilled and that the state is consistent,” he said. Ligi specified that the civil service made up one fifth of the public sector, 130,000 people. “While there are often big news stories around about how the number of officials keeps on growing, these are poorly informed news stories. The public sector is overwhelmingly composed of non-officials. Nearly 50,000 of these 136,000 are educators; this includes medical professionals, but also electricians, for example. So the word ‘officials’ is being misused when talking about an over-inflated state, which in turn is not true,” he emphasised.
The minister explained that, in 2024, there were 28,456 people in the civil service, of whom 22,787 worked in state institutions and 5,672 in local governments. “The size of the civil service has been fairly stable over the years. But the changes here reflect the overall situation, the security situation, which requires a separate and greater effort. But we have set a goal that the proportion of the civil service in the working-age population would not increase, and it has remained below three percent,” Ligi explained.
The Minister of Finance pointed out that, among other things, cuts were necessary to motivate committed and competent staff. “This means that what is cut from elsewhere is still channelled into motivating people. Since the public sector has higher education requirements compared to the general labour market, the average total salary in the civil service in 2024 is EUR 2,473, which was last year, and that was higher than the Estonian average 1981. However, if we compare jobs of similar complexity in the civil service and the private sector, the higher the rank, the lower the salaries in the civil service compared to the private sector,” he explained.
The minister also spoke about the gender pay gap and composition, human resources policy, recruitment, and creating remote work opportunities, as well as making the state apparatus more efficient. “In summary, it can be said that the health of the civil service is quite good, and our officials are professional. And we need to start having more respect for those people who have decided to serve their country.”
Ligi also gave an overview of the implementation of Estonia’s long-term development strategy in 2024. “Our strategic goal is to ensure security, sustainability, and competitiveness in a rapidly changing world. The Ministry of Finance touches on every horizontal area, from budget and taxes to financial literacy, security, and spatial planning,” Ligi said. He pointed out the ministry’s contribution to developing financial literacy and making the pension system more flexible. The economy and the climate, investments in the updates to tax services and the customs system, expectations for public real estate, the centralisation of state shared services, and the use of European Union structural funds were also discussed. “73 percent of the funds for the period 2021–2027 have now been committed and this reflects our ability to implement the funds in a targeted manner. We are among the best in the European Union again, third after Luxembourg and the Netherlands,” he noted.
Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), Anti Allas (Social Democratic Party) and Annely Akkermann (Reform Party) took the floor during the debate.
An Act was passed
The Act on Amendments to the Municipal Council Election Act and the Churches and Congregations Act (544 SE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group, postpones the deadlines for the formation of electoral districts for this year’s municipal council elections, taking into account the constitutional amendment adopted in March this year.
The parliament introduced an amendment into the Act, according to which, as an exception, this year electoral districts will be formed by 11 August at the latest and local councils will distribute mandates between electoral districts on the basis of the number of voters according to the population register as of 15 July. Typically, electoral districts are formed no later than the 90th day before election day and mandates are distributed based on the situation as of 1 June.
Another amendment was made to the Act concerning elections which provides that Estonian and EU citizens and stateless residents who are at least 16 years old and whose permanent place of residence is in the respective rural municipality or city would be able participate in the local elections to be held in October this year, and after this year’s elections, only Estonian and EU citizens would have the right to vote. Earlier, the right to participate in local elections extended to third-country nationals who resided in Estonia on the basis of a long-term residence permit or the permanent right of residence, in addition to Estonian and EU citizens.
The motion to amend arose from a constitutional amendment adopted by the Riigikogu at the end of March and coming into force in July this year, according to which, this year the right to vote in local elections is revoked for third-country nationals residing in Estonia, and from the next elections after the coming elections, for stateless persons as well. The amendment brought the provisions regulating the right to vote in the Act concerning elections into line with the Constitution.
In addition, the parliament supported the proposal to amend, in the interests of legal clarity, the Churches and Congregations Act, which until now linked the right to be a minister of religion with the right to vote in local elections. The purpose of the amendment introduced into the bill is to avoid the interpretation that the amendments to the Constitution could lead to some ministers of religion being deprived of their rights as ministers of religion. While the Act currently provides that a person who has the right to vote in local elections can be a minister of religion of a religious association, according to the new wording, an adult person with active legal capacity who has a legal basis to stay in Estonia can be minister of religion.
At the final vote, 64 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and six were against.
A Bill passed the second reading
The purpose of the Bill on Amendments to the Hunting Act (553 SE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group, is to give the Environmental Board the right to organise hunting all year round to prevent damage caused by wild game. Under the current Act, the Board can organise hunting outside the hunting season to prevent damage caused by game. However, during the hunting season, the Board cannot currently organise game hunting, including the hunting of problem individuals, after the hunting quota is filled.
The lead committee submitted a motion to amend for the second reading, according to which, if necessary, wounded game could also be tracked outside the hunting area where the wound was inflicted, with a hunting permit issued by the hunting area. When capturing game, monitoring data should also be submitted for only one permit. In this case, the user of the hunting area would have the obligation to ask for the consent of the other hunting area for tracking and killing the game, in order to avoid getting involved in a driven hunt in the other hunting area when tracking the wounded game.
Tiit Maran (Social Democratic Party) and Peeter Ernits took the floor during the debate.
A meeting to establish Saaremaa Support Group on the initiative of Marek Reinaas will be held after the sitting.