NordenBladet – There are 259,341 children aged 0–17 living in Estonia. This is 9.1% more than ten years ago. Children constitute 19.5% of the total population of Estonia. The share of children is the lowest in Hiiu and Ida-Viru counties and the highest in Harju and Tartu counties, as revealed by the census results published today.
There are 26,656 children aged under two, 71,779 children aged 2–6, 57,200 children aged 7–10 and 62,157 children aged 11–14 living in Estonia. Terje Trasberg, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that 11-year-old boys are the biggest group among children – there are 8,905 of them. “These boys were one year old during the previous census 10 years ago, when they were also the biggest group. The overall number of children is bigger than 10 years ago, but there are now fewer children aged under 4 in Estonia than in 2011. This reflects the low birth rates of recent years,” said Trasberg.
62% of children live in Tartu and Harju counties, with the remaining share living in other counties. Regionally, the share of children is the biggest in Tartu county where children account for over a fifth of the population (21.5%). The share of children is above the Estonian average (19.5%) also in Harju and Rapla counties. Their share is the lowest in Hiiu (15.5%) and Ida-Viru (16%) counties.
Among local governments, the share of children was noticeably higher in Rae (31.5%), Kiili (28.5%) and Kambja (27.5%) rural municipalities. “I should also mention Luunja rural municipality where the share of children aged under two was 3.2% of the population – this is the second-highest share in Estonia after Rae rural municipality (3.6%). The share of children was especially low on the small islands of Ruhnu and Vormsi, and also in Loksa city – under 13% of the population,” explained Trasberg.
The census results show a decrease in the share of women with one or two children, while there has been a rise in the number of women with three or four children. 12.5% of women have given birth to three children, and 3% of women have given birth to four children. The average number of children born to a woman has not changed significantly. According to the 2021 census, women in Estonia (aged 15 and over) have 1.55 children on average. The number of children per woman is the highest in Jõgeva county (1.88) and the lowest in Harju county (1.38).
“At the same time, the average number of children did fall among younger women, with the biggest decrease recorded among women aged 27–30, which reflects the fact that the current average age at the birth of the first child is considerably higher,” added Trasberg. The average age at the birth of the first child is the lowest among women in Valga county and the highest in Harju county. There has also been a rise in the number of women of reproductive age (15–49) who have not given birth at all – they currently represent 39.59% of women.
This overview is based on the data of the 2021 Population and Housing Census. Statistics Estonia will publish the census results gradually by topic, starting from today until the end of the year. More information and the release dates are available on the census website at census.ee.
Featured image: NordenBladet Source: Rahvaloendus.ee
NordenBladet – A total of 737,873 dwellings were counted in the 2021 Population and Housing Census, based on registers. Compared to the 2011 census, 47,793 new dwellings have been built, which is 1000 fewer than in the previous ten years (2001–2011). According to census data, there are now 14% more private houses than 10 years ago and 24% of all dwellings are vacant.
At the census moment, i.e. 31 December 2021, there were 737,873 dwellings enumerated in Estonia, including private houses and blocks of flats, collective living quarters and other housing units. 557,146 (76%) of all the enumerated dwellings were occupied, i.e. had at least one permanent resident, and 175,690 (24%) were without permanent residents. The share of dwellings without permanent residents has increased between the two censuses. In 2011, 84% of dwellings were occupied, compared to 87% in 2000.
“These numbers suggest that people have been acquiring, for instance, summer-houses and other properties they do not constantly inhabit. Dwellings that have already been completed according to the building register but that have not yet been inhabited are also included here,” explained Terje Trasberg, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia.
Liina Osila, Population and Housing Census project manager at Statistics Estonia, noted that compared to the previous census, the number of dwellings with permanent residents in Estonia has increased by 2.2%. “In general, the quality of people’s living spaces in Estonia has certainly improved. The number of dwellings with a water supply system, bathing facilities, toilet facilities, as well as with central heating has increased. Living in a private house has become increasingly popular,” stated Osila.
Narva has the largest apartment buildings
The number of residential buildings in Estonia is 266,475 based on the 2021 census. Of these, 77.5% (206,529) are one-family dwellings, 18% (47, 847) are blocks of flats, 3.2% (8,572) are semi-detached houses and 1.3% (3527) non-residential buildings, with at least one living space.
Narva has the biggest blocks of flats, with an average of 64 flats per building. Estonia’s largest block of flats, with a total of 360 flats, is also located in Narva. The smallest apartment buildings are in Hiiumaa, where the average number of flats per building is 9.05. There is only one municipality in Estonia – Ruhnu – where there are no blocks of flats.
The largest number of people lives in buildings completed in 1961
69.8% (389,101) of the dwellings with permanent residents are located in blocks of flats (buildings with three or more flats), 27.7% (154,426) are in private houses, 1.6% (8736) in semi-detached houses and 0.9% (4883) are in non-residential buildings.
17,167 new buildings with conventional dwellings have been added to the dwelling stock since the previous census (i.e. their year of construction is 2012 or later). 82.1% of these are private houses, 11.2% are blocks of flats, 6% semi-detached houses and 0.7% are non-residential buildings. “Since blocks of flats contain more dwellings, there has been a bigger increase in dwellings located in apartment buildings: of the dwellings added in the last ten years, 29.8% are in private houses and 64.4% in blocks of flats,” Trasberg explained. By year of construction, however, the largest number of occupied dwellings is found in buildings completed in 1961.
On average, the largest dwellings are in Kiili, the smallest in Sillamäe
The total area of occupied dwellings is 38,970,750 m2 – a rise by 1.38% (530,488 m2) compared to 2011. The total area of vacant (unoccupied) dwellings is 10,689, 971 m2.
Across all types of dwellings (private houses, blocks of flats), the area per inhabitant has, on average, decreased slightly compared to 2011: from 30.5 m2 in 2011 to 30.1 m2 in 2021. A decrease has also occurred in the average number of rooms per inhabitant, from 1.24 in the 2011 census to 1.21 in 2021.
Rae municipality has the highest number of inhabitants per occupied dwelling (3.1), while the number is lowest in Sillamäe city (1.95). The largest dwellings are in Kiili municipality and the smallest in Sillamäe city.
Estonians and Finns are the only people in the world who bathe in saunas
The availability of comfort characteristics has improved in all dwellings (both in occupied and vacant ones): the number of dwellings with a water supply system, with bathing facilities, with indoor flush toilet facilities, and with central heating has increased. 93.3% of occupied dwellings have a water supply system, 93.1% of dwellings have bathing facilities, 91.1% have toilet facilities (flush toilet) and 68.5% have central heating. Sillamäe has the highest coverage of flush toilets (99% of dwellings).
Compared to the previous census, the number of dwellings that have toilet facilities has risen by 5.2% (25,295) and a big increase has also occured in the number of dwellings with bathing facilities – up by 11,335. There has been a similar rise in the number of dwellings with central heating (up by 11,597). “Estonia and Finland are the only countries where saunas are considered as bathing facilities in a population and housing census,” Trasberg added.
NordenBladet —The speakers of NB8 parliaments met in Kaunas, Lithuania, with the President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas chairing a discussion under the title “Security and Defence: NB8-NATO Club: New Opportunities for Enhanced Nordic-Baltic Cooperation on Security and Defence”.
Ratas described the current year as extraordinary in our recent history. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is posing the gravest threat to Euro-Atlantic security.
He emphasised that the response by the democratic world to Russia’s aggression had been quick and decisive. In the field of security and defence this has meant giving military aid to Ukraine, raising the defence expenditures in our countries, and very importantly, in the case of Finland and Sweden, has led to the decision to apply for the NATO membership.
“Finland’s and Sweden’s accession is a game changer for our region and an important contribution to the security of the whole Euro-Atlantic area. This creates new possibilities for regional security and defence cooperation – NB8 co-operation will gain a new strategic dimension,” Ratas declared. “The Riigikogu was among the first to ratify both accession protocols on July 5.”
He added that there were many areas where we could and should intensify our cooperation even further – for example, the integration of our defence plans, participation at each others’ military exercises, joint procurements of defence capabilities, and cooperation in the defence industry.
Ratas warned that Russia would remain the most significant and direct threat to NATO for years to come. This has been clearly stated in NATO’s new strategic concept adopted at the Madrid Summit. The decision that was made there to significantly strengthen the defence and deterrence posture of the Alliance in our region was crucial.
Now we need to focus on its speedy implementation. This would mean increasing Allied presence in our region, prepositioning stocks and equipment, and strengthening military capabilities in land, sea, and air. Also essential was the decision to transform NATO’s Baltic air policing mission to air defence. “Our posture must prevent any possible attempts of aggression,” Ratas stressed.
Speaking of Ukraine, Ratas stated that “We need to further raise the cost of aggression for Russia and avoid its expansion. For this we need to further strengthen sanctions against Russia and increase our military support to Ukraine.”
Ratas expressed his hope that when our countries gather for the next NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next year, Finland and Sweden would have been full-fledged members of NATO already for a while.
Other key topics at the meeting of the Speakers of the Nordic and Baltic Parliaments (NB8) in Kaunas were the 31 years long cooperation of the NB8 countries and its perspectives in the new economic, cultural and security situation, as well as economic cooperation in the region.
The Nordic-Baltic cooperation, or NB8, has been bringing together Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania since 1992. The first meeting of the NB8 Speakers took place in 1997 in Karlskrona, Sweden.
NordenBladet – During the population and housing census, information on the highest level of education attained by inhabitants of Estonia was also gathered. Collected data revealed that the educational attainment of the population continues to rise. The level of education of foreigners living in here has also increased significantly. Below we will take a closer look at the educational attainment of the native Estonian- and Russian-speaking population as well as that of other mother tongue speakers and see how it has changed since the previous censuses.
As at the end of 2021, 18% of the native Estonian-speaking population aged 25 and over have basic education (or less), 43% have secondary education (or vocational education after secondary education), and 39% have higher education (or secondary specialised education after secondary education). The proportion of people with basic education is lower among native Russian speakers (11%), which means that the share of persons with secondary or higher education is a few percent higher than among the native Estonian-speaking population. Among native speakers of other languages, as many as 64% have higher education, and only 8% have basic education.
There are 13.5% fewer people with basic education or less among native Estonian speakers than at the time of the 2000 census. The drop is slightly smaller among the Russian-speaking population (-11.2%), while for people with other mother tongues, the decrease is almost twice as large (-25.6%). The share of people with secondary education has not changed significantly in the native Estonian- and Russian-speaking populations. However, among native speakers of other languages, there are now nearly 10% fewer people with secondary education than 20 years ago.
While the shares of people with basic and secondary education in the population have tended to decrease, the proportion of those with higher education has increased – by 13.2% for native Estonian speakers, by 9.5% for native speakers of Russian, and by 35.2% for the population speaking some other mother tongue. It is worth noting that while the percentage of people with higher education is rising in all three aforementioned groups, the proportion of the highly educated has increased much faster among other mother tongue speakers. This suggests that it is the highly educated foreigners that tend to migrate to Estonia nowadays.
The biggest changes in educational attainment among the Estonian- and Russian-speaking population occurred between the censuses of 2000 and 2011, but the most significant change among the population with some other mother tongue was seen after the census of 2011.
The gender gap in higher education is widest among native Estonian speakers
In most age groups, the share of people with tertiary education is highest among native speakers of languages other than Estonian or Russian. In the Estonian- and Russian-speaking population, less than 1.5% of people in each age group have a doctorate. Among native speakers of other languages, the share of doctoral degree holders is higher in all age groups under the age of 75. It is particularly high in the 35–49 age group – over 4%. The highest percentages of young people with a master’s and a bachelor’s degree are also found among those whose mother tongue is not Estonian or Russian: the proportion of master’s degree holders is highest in the 30–34 age group (36.1%) and the highest share of bachelor’s degree holders was recorded among those aged 25 to 29 (40.7%). For comparison: 15.3% of the 30–34-year-old native Estonian speakers and 11.9% of native Russian speakers have a master’s degree. People with a bachelor’s degree make up less than 25% of both Estonian and Russian native speakers aged 25–29. Therefore, the young and working-age foreigners staying here permanently are quite highly educated. They are likely to have come here to work in a professional capacity or to further their education.
The proportion of tertiary-educated people is higher among women than men, and the gender gap is particularly wide in the native Estonian-speaking population. Especially among the native Estonian but also Russian speakers, the share of young and working-age women with higher education is much higher than that of men. In older age groups, it is the other way round: the percentage of men with higher education is higher. Among the population with some other mother tongue, the differences are not as pronounced. In the native Estonian-speaking female population, the share of those with tertiary education is highest in the 40–44 age group, reaching 57.8%. In this age group, 34.4% of Estonian-speaking men, 49.1% of Russian-speaking women and 33.1% of Russian-speaking men, and 73.8% of women and 67.4% of men with some other mother tongue have higher education.
In older age groups, the proportions of the highly educated are roughly the same across different mother tongues: less than 10% of people aged 55 and over have a bachelor’s degree and 19–25% of 55–74-year-olds have a master’s degree. The share of people with secondary specialised education (after secondary education) is higher among other mother tongue speakers and native Russian speakers over the age of 40. This makes sense since in Estonia, students were last admitted to schools offering such an education in 1999. Such educational institutions are more common in Russia, for instance.
Basic and secondary education are the highest completed educational levels in younger age groups of various mother tongues. Among older age groups, the proportions of people with basic and secondary education tend to be similar across different mother tongue groups. However, among 25–55-year-old native speakers of languages other than Estonian or Russian, the share of people with basic or secondary education is significantly lower than among the Estonian- and Russian-speaking population.
More highly educated people of other mother tongues live in Estonia than ever before
The educational attainment of the population with some other mother tongue has risen in all age groups since 2000, most notably among 25–34-year-olds. In 2000, higher education was recorded for 38% and in 2021 for 78.8% of them. These are young people who have either obtained a higher education in Estonia and then stayed here, or who have come to work and live in this country after completing their tertiary studies elsewhere. When it comes to older people, a major change occurred, for instance, in the 65–74 age group: the share of the highly educated among them is now 33.9% higher than 20 years ago. Overall, educational attainment of men and women rose equally.
NordenBladet – The aim of celebrating the Day of Living in the Countryside is to open doors to active and brilliant people, to help them find a suitable living place in the countryside. This year the municipalities are welcoming you and will be introducing to the guests the kindergartens, schools, society houses, health centers, sports centers, and businesses. Besides they are offering information about free places of residence and will talk about possibilities of creating a job for oneself.
The program of the Day of Living in the Countryside is compiled by municipalities together with communities all over Estonia. The program schedule will help find information about what and where is going to happen. Take your family along and become assured that people actually live in the countryside! In the process of choosing you can get to know stories from the people that recently moved from town to the countryside. News about the Day of Living in the Countryside will be published here. With questions, please turn to the organisers of the Day of Living in the Countryside (Maal elmaise päev).
The programs of the Day of Living in the Countryside are held all over Estonia for the fourth time already. Mostly, events will accumulate in the society houses and village centers, those are welcoming guests and are offering common activities, taste experiences and bits of inspiration regarding life and entrepreneurship in the countryside.
Introducing your home side success stories to the guests, every member of the community feels that it is good to live in the countryside and it will be the home side celebration day!
NordenBladet —On Monday and Tuesday, President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas will participate in the meeting of the Speakers of the Nordic and Baltic Parliaments (NB8), where the discussions will focus on the 31 years-long cooperation of the NB8 countries and its proepects in the new economic, cultural and security situation, economic cooperation in the region and the security situation in Europe.
All these issues will be spoken about at different panel discussions. Ratas will lead the discussion of security issues on Tuesday.
The Nordic-Baltic cooperation, or NB8, has been bringing Finland, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania around the same table since 1992. The first meeting of the NB8 Speakers took place in 1997 in Karlskrona, Sweden.
NordenBladet —At the traditional festive meeting of the August 20th Club, held in the White Hall of Toompea Castle today, the participants recalled the events of 31 years ago, thanked their supporters and commemorated the members of the Club who had passed away.
President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas delivered the welcoming addresses. Member of the August 20 Club Johannes Kass gave the keynote speech.
Ratas said that in politics, history was made every day, but there were moments in history when everything really depended on one bold decision. “As long as we hold Estonia’s freedom dear, and as long as we are caring and strive for cooperation in our decisions, we will serve the most important task of all, which is to ensure the survival of the Estonian nation and an independent and protected Estonia,” Ratas emphasised.
“We hear and see the tragic stories about the gravity of war and suffering of innocent people from the war front in Ukraine, who is fighting for its independence for itself and for all of us. Russia’s large-scale war against the state and the people of Ukraine, and the brave resistance of Ukrainians show how important it is to stand together as a nation and value your friends and allies. It is our role and our moral obligation to support Ukraine in every way we can,” Ratas said.
Ratas pointed out that celebrating common anniversaries and keeping Estonia as our common home for generations helped us build a future in which the events that threaten our sovereignty could never happen again. “Safeguarding the Republic of Estonia is in our own hands. We must act all together, and each of us individually. Just as previous generations did their best, it is now our turn to carry forward an Estonia that will last for countless years and countless generations also in the future,” Ratas underlined.
Kallas recalled the time 31 years ago, when she as a teenager eagerly followed the decisive events at Toompea with her grandparents.
“You will understand the price of freedom only when it has been taken away from you. I have lived in a society where there was no freedom, and therefore I can appreciate freedom,” Kallas said. “Our young people take freedom for granted.”
President of the August 20th Club Ants Veetõusme chaired the meeting.
The August 20 Club unites the people who were elected to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia in 1990, and voted for the resolution of the restoration of the independence of Estonia 31 years ago.
NordenBladet —On Saturday, 20 August, the 31st anniversary of restoration of independence of Estonia, the Tall Hermann Tower will be open to visitors.
The Tall Hermann Tower is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance is from the Governor’s Garden. In order to ensure smooth entrance, visitors will be distributed free tickets showing the time of entry to the tower. The number of free tickets is limited.
The celebrations will begin at 11 a.m. with a memorial ceremony at the 20 August Memorial Stone at Toompea. Mr Ants Veetõusme, President of the August 20th Club, will deliver a speech. President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas will lay flowers at the memorial stone on behalf of the Riigikogu.
At noon, the August 20 Club will hold its traditional festive meeting in the White Hall of Toompea Castle. President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas and Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will deliver the welcoming address to the Club. Member of the August 20 Club Johannes Kass will give the keynote speech.
The August 20 Club, founded in 1994, unites the people who were elected to the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia in 1990, and voted for the resolution to restore the independence of Estonia.
31 years ago, on 20 August 1991 at 11.03 p.m., the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia adopted the Resolution on the National Independence of Estonia, with 69 votes in favour.
At today’s extraordinary session, the Riigikogu heard the oaths of office of new members who came to the Riigikogu as the Government changed. An extraordinary election of new Vice-Presidents was held, and 12 Acts were passed.
At the beginning of the sitting, Toomas Jürgenstein and Reili Rand took an oath of office. They had not taken an oath of office earlier in this Riigikogu.
The Riigikogu elected Vice-Presidents
The Riigikogu elected Helir-Valdor Seeder the First Vice-President and Martin Helme the Second Vice-President. Deputy Chairman of Faction Isamaa Priit Sibul nominated Seeder as a candidate for a Vice-President, and member of the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction Siim Pohlak nominated Helme.
At the secret ballot, 46 members of the Riigikogu supported Seeder and 35 supported Helme. There were three invalid ballot papers on which no name had been marked. A total of 84 members of the Riigikogu participated in the election of Vice-Presidents.
The extraordinary election of the Vice-Presidents of the Riigikogu was held because the sitting Vice-President of the Riigikogu Hanno Pevkur resigned on Friday last week as he became Minister of Defence in the new Government. According to law, Vice Presidents are elected at the same time. Jüri Ratas remains the President of the Riigikogu.
The Riigikogu passed 12 Acts
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Natural Gas Act and Other Acts (596 SE), initiated by the Government. The purpose of the Act is to ensure the resilience of Estonian gas system in the event of prolonged interruptions to gas supply. The Act creates a regulation to ensure the continuity of the gas system and to cover the costs relating to the storage of a strategic gas reserve. According to the Act, from 1 May 2023, the costs of managing the gas reserve will be covered from the stockpiling fee collected from balance providers. The costs of storage for the first year will be covered from the state budget.
The Act also specifies the obligation to coordinate the conditions for the use and the methodology for calculating the tariffs for the use of LNG terminals. The Competition Act is amended by adding a regulation concerning the obligation of LNG terminal operators to contribute to the budget of the Competition Authority as regulated persons.
In addition, the amendments will impose an obligation on possessors of wind power stations to pay a charge to local governments and local residents from 1 July next year to facilitate renewable energy generation. According to an amendment, people residing up to three kilometres away from a land-based wind turbine will begin to receive a charge in an amount of up to six months’ minimum wage. In the case of offshore wind farms, the local government whose coastline is closer than 20 kilometres to a wind farm will receive a charge calculated according to a formula. Fishery undertakings will begin to receive a compensation in the case when their catch diminishes because of a wind power station. The obligation to pay a wind turbine charge will not extend to the wind farms that are already operating.
Kristen Michal from the Reform Party Faction took the floor during the debate.
55 members of the Riigikogu voted for the Act and 18 were against.
The Riigikogu passed with 70 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Public Procurement Act (610 SE), initiated by the Government, which makes amendments that will enable the implementation of the sanctions imposed by the EU. Under an EU sanction, it is prohibited to award any public contract to or continue the execution of any public contract with a person who is a citizen or resident of the Russian Federation or an undertaking established there.
The Act provides that, in the event of doubt, contracting authorities and entities have the right to require additional data and certificates from the economic operators participating in procurement procedures to check that no sanction is involved. The grounds for exclusion and for rejection of tenders is also amended by including both international and Government sanctions. In addition, it will be possible to extraordinarily terminate early the contracts already awarded to which subjects of sanctions are parties.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Citizenship Act (582 SE), initiated by the Government. It gives the Government the right to make a discretionary decision that a person who has acquired Estonian citizenship by naturalisation is deprived of citizenship if he or she enters the public service or military service or a military organisation of a foreign state and if such a service involves a threat to public order or national security. For example, this will enable people who go to fight in Ukraine on the Russian side to be deprived of Estonian citizenship.
According to the Act, a person who has acquired Estonian citizenship by naturalisation may also be deprived of citizenship by the Government in the case when the person is convicted of crimes against humanity or crimes of aggression.
At the same time, according to the Act, the Government has the right to not deprive a person of Estonian citizenship if the person’s service in the foreign country does not endanger Estonia’s security, for example if the person goes to war on the Ukrainian side in order to defend the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of the Ukrainian state. At the same time, the state does not recommend Estonian citizens to go to fight for any foreign country, as the state cannot ensure protection of Estonian citizens in areas of military conflict.
52 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 17 voted against.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Population Register Act (609 SE), initiated by the Government. It allows local governments to terminate the validity of the data on residence of a person who has left Estonia if his or her address had been entered in the register to an accuracy of city and city district or rural municipality. The local authority will have to establish beforehand that the person is not residing in its territory or anywhere else in Estonia and identify that no data of the person’s place of stay, for example, a social welfare institution, has been entered in the register.
According to the explanatory memorandum, there have been cases where local governments have hesitated whether to enter the data on residence of Ukrainian war refugees into the register to an accuracy of local government, as under the current Act it is impossible later to terminate the validity of such data if no new notice of residence is submitted, even if it can be presumed that the person has left Estonia. The Act gives local governments the relevant right which applies to war refugees as well as to everyone else whose place of residence is registered to an accuracy of local government.
50 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 17 were against, and there was one abstention.
The Riigikogu passed with 68 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the State Borders Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (630 SE), initiated by Faction Isamaa and the Government. Its aim is to ensure the protection of public order and national security in a mass immigration emergency, at the same time taking into account the provisions of EU and international law as well as case law.
The Act provides that, in the event of a threat to public order or national security, the Police and Border Guard Board may, in emergencies caused by mass immigration, refuse to accept an application for international protection from an alien who has crossed the external border illegally and send them back without issuing a precept to leave or making a decision on prohibition on entry. Immediate removal of an alien who has come across the border illegally is permitted only in the event of a threat to public order or national security and on the condition that they have not used the option of entering Estonia legally, that is, through an open border crossing point.
According to the Act, the Police and Border Guard Board may designate border crossing points where applications for international protection are registered. In an emergency, the Police and Border Guard Board may refuse to accept applications submitted outside such locations. At the same time, the Act provides that, in a mass immigration emergency, in the event of a threat to public order or national security, an alien who submits an application at a designated location may also be deemed to be an applicant for international protection. The Act also provides that the Police and Border Guard Board can allow an alien to Estonia for humane considerations.
Among other things, the Act provides for more flexible involvement of the Defence Forces and the Defence League in situations where the resources of the Police and Border Guard Board are insufficient. Currently, the Defence Forces or the Defence League can be involved in prevention and obstruction of an illegal crossing of the state border or a temporary control line for a period not exceeding 30 days, but if a need arises to extend the involvement in a changed security situation it will be possible to do this by 30 days as a maximum in the future.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Cybersecurity Act and Other Acts (531 SE), initiated by the Government, under which the Government will be authorised to establish, by a Regulation, the requirements necessary to ensure the cybersecurity of systems, and the new Estonian Information Security Standard (E-ITS) will be part of them. The Act also regulates the nomination of the national cybersecurity industrial, technology and research coordination centre and the organisation of its tasks, and defines the national cybersecurity certification authority, its supervisory powers and the liability relating to breach of the certification requirements.
Under the amendments made before the second reading, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority will have the right to eliminate or restrict access to the information disseminated to the public through an information society service. The restriction of information is allowed only in the case when it incites hatred, violence or discrimination because of citizenship, ethnic origin, language, religion or other circumstances. At the same time, it is allowed to restrict access to the information disseminated to the public through an information society service in the case when the information incites war or justifies war crimes. In the amendment, the possibility of restricting information is further restricted by the condition that the restriction of information inciting hatred must be necessary to ensure national security.
The purpose of the amendment is to ensure domestically the existence of measures with which it is possible to restrict content that propagates war and incites hatred, which is used within the framework of informational influence activities directed against Estonia to shape the attitudes of the people residing or staying in Estonia.
51 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 17 were against.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Government of the Republic Act and Other Acts (reorganisation of the National Centre for Defence Investments into a governmental authority) (590 SE), initiated by the Government, under which the division of tasks in the area of government of the Ministry of Defence is changed and the National Centre for Defence Investments will be reorganised into a governmental authority. The purpose of the amendments is to consolidate the administration of the assets necessary for national defence and the ensurance of the functional capacity of the construction works that serve national defence purposes into a single whole.
In order to ensure more effective independent defence capability, the functions and the exercise of supervision related to the duties imposed in the interests of national defence will be transferred from the Defence Resources Agency to the National Centre for Defence Investments. The acts relating to the ensurance of the functional capacity of the construction works that serve national defence purposes will be transferred from the Ministry of Defence to the National Centre for Defence Investments.
The Defence Resources Agency, which so far engaged with the resources necessary for national defence, including the imposition of duties on assets and resources necessary for national defence, will be organising only the services and tasks related to human resources in the future. According to the Act, the Ministry of Defence, which thus far has been performing the acts relating to the ensurance of the functional capacity of the construction works that serve national defence purposes, including the approval of spatial plans and the Earth’s Crust Act, will be focusing mainly on shaping the sectoral policy and on capability planning. Since the functions to be transferred are connected with the exercise of public authority, the National Centre for Defence Investments will be reorganised from an administered state agency into a governmental authority.
In addition, the Act will allow for more flexible and faster transfer of or grant of temporary use of state assets to authorities who need them for the resolution of an emergency, increased defence readiness or a state of war, or for supporting a mobilisation or a demobilisation or for the organisation thereof.
52 members of the Riigikogu voted for the Act, and there was one abstention.
The Riigikogu passed with 71 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Performing Arts Institutions Act and the National Opera Act (419 SE), initiated by the Government. It will make the funding of performing arts institutions clearer and more flexible and will update the working processes of performing arts institutions.
The purpose of the Act is to better support the diversity of the performing arts institutions sector and the availability of performing arts across Estonia. The amendments will reduce the obligations and administrative burden of performing arts institutions. At the same time, all organisers of public performances and concerts will have an additional obligation to disclose information on the accessibility of performances and concerts and their venues to people with special needs. The amendment of the Act will affect all performing arts institutions in Estonia, which number about 50.
In order that it would not become complicated for residents to acquire theatre tickets, performing arts institutions will be supported from the state budget in the future as well, and this will also be done in the case of municipal and private performing arts institutions, besides performing arts institutions operating as foundations established by the state. According to the amendments made during the second reading, when granting subsidies to performing arts institutions, the volume of work relating to the creative activity of a performing arts institution will also be used as a reference unit in order to ensure that the subsidies granted to performing arts institutions will be mutually comparable as units. The more detailed description of the funding system will be provided for by a regulation of a minister, in order that it would be easier to keep the regulation up to date.
The list of the objectives for subsidising performing arts institutions was amended as well. According to the Act, the objective for subsidising municipal performing arts institutions and private performing arts institutions will be to ensure the diversity of the performing arts sector and regional availability of performances. During the second reading, the objective of the promotion of national culture was added. During the proceedings, a provision was also included under which the body granting the subsidy will form a committee for the allocation of the subsidy granted to performing arts institutions from the state budget.
In addition, an amendment was made that will allow the director of a performing arts institution to be appointed without competition for up to one year if a vacant position of the director of a performing arts institution operating as a foundation cannot be filled under public competition for a good reason.
Üllar Saaremäe from Faction Isamaa took the floor during the debate.
The Riigikogu passed with 72 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Criminal Records Database Act, the Penal Code and the Child Protection Act (581 SE), initiated by the Government. The purpose of the Act is to enhance the control over the people to whom the prohibition on working with children is applied, that is, who are not allowed to work with children because of the offences they have committed.
According to the Act, in the future, checks on whether a person is allowed to work with children will have to be carried out at the time of hiring, as well as once every 12 months. Systematic failure to comply with the obligation to carry out the checks will be punishable under misdemeanour procedure, and a legal person may be imposed a fine of up to 32,000 euro for failing to carry out the checks. The amendments also give the legal representatives of children the right to check with a query, without having to pay a state fee, if, for example, the person to be employed as a child carer is allowed to work with children.
The Act also updates the list of offences in the case of which the names of the persons punished for such offences are not replaced by initials or letter combinations in court decisions, as well as the list of offences in the case of which the persons punished for such offences are not allowed to work with children. Besides that, the Act resolves a legal impediment that prevents imposing the supervision of conduct after service of sentence on persons who fail to inform the court of their place of residence.
The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Imprisonment Act and the Probation Supervision Act (580 SE), initiated by the Government. The Act specifies the provisions relating to the organisation of work of the prison service with a view to organising the work of the prison service more flexibly where necessary. This means, for example, the possibility of organising some of prison’s tasks through a central structural unit or place of service.
The amendments will give the Minister of Justice more opportunities to organise the work of the prison system and to allocate the tasks provided for by law. The Act also updates the provisions on service law in the Imprisonment Act and eliminates specifications where it is more expedient to follow the Civil Service Act.
54 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 18 were against.
The Riigikogu passed with 70 votes in favour the Act on Amendments to the Law Enforcement Act, the Child Protection Act and the Act on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances and Precursors thereof (573 SE), initiated by the Government. According to the Act, a new government committee, a prevention council, will be formed of the Child Protection Council, the Offence Prevention Council and the Government Committee on Drug Prevention for better coordination of cross-sectoral prevention. At present, the prevention of offences and risk behaviour is fragmented, and the resource is directed particularly at the consequences of risk behaviour.
The prevention council will begin to manage cross-sectoral prevention, which will involve the development of purposeful prevention policies and the organisation of cooperation on prevention between ministries and other partners. The function of the council will be to strategically prioritise, set the directions of and coordinate cross-sectoral activities in organising drug, criminal and child protection policies, including advising the Government on these issues.
The Riigikogu also passed the Act on Amendments to the Government of the Republic Act (595 SE), initiated by the Government. It updates the regulations relating to the Government. The Act organises the restrictions on activities in place for members of the Government for the time they are in office and explicitly prohibits members of the Government to be members of the management boards and supervisory boards of public limited companies, private limited companies and commercial associations.
Under a new restriction, a member of the Government may not, within half a year after he or she is released from office, act as a member of the management or controlling body in a legal person governed by private law that falls within the area of government of the ministry he or she has been directing if, during his or her term of office, he or she has made decisions with a significant impact concerning the activities of the legal person or if the legal person has contractual relationships with the ministry he or she has been directing.
Under the amendments, no dwelling provided by the employer will be granted to members of the Government anymore. According to the Act, from 2023, this will be substituted with a possibility to receive a housing expenses allowance to the extent of up to 15 per cent of the salary in the case when a minister is residing outside the municipality that is the location of the ministry or the municipalities bordering on it. Thus, the regulation will become more similar to the compensation of housing expenses for members of the Riigikogu. The payment of the compensation paid upon termination of the authority of a member of the Government will also change. The Act amends the bases in the case of which no compensation is paid and makes the amount of the compensation dependent on the time served as a member of the Government.
In addition, the Act specifies the tasks of the Government Office, and the employment contracts of heads of administered state authorities entered into for an unspecified term are made employment contracts entered into for a specified term.
53 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 16 were against.
At its first extraordinary session today, the Riigikogu heard the political statement of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, in which she announced the resignation of the Government.
At the beginning of the sitting, Vice-President of the Riigikogu Hanno Pevkur announced his resignation.
The second extraordinary session of the Riigikogu will begin today, one hour after the end of the first session, that is, at 10.07 a.m. The agenda of that session will include authorisation of the candidate for Prime Minister Kaja Kallas to form a Government, and the third reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Fertilisers Act, the Chemicals Act and the Product Conformity Act (614 SE), initiated by the Government.
At the debate on the authorisation to form a Government, Kaja Kallas will present a twenty-minute report on the bases for the formation of the Government. Each member of the Riigikogu may pose up to two oral questions to the candidate for Prime Minister. After the questions and answers, voting will be held. The candidate for Prime Minister will be authorised by the Riigikogu to form the Government if more members of the Riigikogu vote in favour of it than against.
If the candidate for Prime Minister is authorised by the Riigikogu to form the Government, the third extraordinary session will be held on Monday, starting at 3 p.m. The agenda for the session will include the Government’s oath of office, and the third reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Law of Ship Flag and Registers of Ships Act and the Maritime Safety Act (571 SE), initiated by the Government.
