On Wednesday and Thursday, the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) is on a visit to Sweden, where they will discuss the security situation and strengthening of security cooperation.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson said that the main topics of the discussions held in the Parliament as well as in the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sweden would be the security situation and the decisions relating to it. “The meetings will focus on the question of what more we can do to support Ukraine in its war with Russia. Helping Ukraine to victory is our most important task at the moment,” he added.
The cooperation between Estonia and Sweden and strengthening it also at the parliamentary level will be discussed at the meetings. Another important issue that will be spoken about is the debate on NATO membership, which involves all parliamentary parties in Sweden. “The debate held in recent weeks over Sweden’s possible accession to NATO shows how Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has had a significant impact on security in the Baltic Sea region,” Mihkelson said.
On Wednesday, the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee will meet with Speaker of the Riksdag (Parliament) of Sweden Andreas Norlén and members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Defence of the Riksdag and the delegation to NATO Parliamentary Assembly. On Thursday, the members of the Foreign Affairs Committee will have meetings with Minister of Defence of Sweden Peter Hultqvist and Director of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs Jakob Hallgren. The delegation will also have a meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The members of the Riigikogu will speak about the activities of the Estonians living in Sweden with Chair of the Association of Estonians in Sweden Sirle Sööt.
The visit will last until Thursday evening. The delegation includes Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson, Deputy Chairman Raivo Tamm and members of the Committee Henn Põlluaas, Valdo Randpere, Mailis Reps and Indrek Saar.
An exhibition about the twelve Estonian volunteers who together with the Brits, Frenchmen and Poles went to help the Norwegians to defend the freedom of Norway in April 1940 and took part in the battles under Narvik when Germany attacked Norway, was opened in the lobby of the Riigikogu Building.
President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas said that it was necessary to recall this little-known fact from decades ago here at Toompea, because the Estonians had always been ready to fight against aggression.
“It is necessary to acknowledge the academic research paper “Norwegian Boys. Estonian Volunteers in the Battle of Narvik 1940” by historian Peep Pillak, which is based on the archive documents, historical research and memories,” Ratas noted. He said that the diary Gustav Adolf Lepik kept during the war, the letters Arnold Soinla sent home from Finland and Norway, and the memoirs of August Nirk have been published as annexes of the paper. Unfortunately, one of the Estonian soldiers, Arnold Soinla, perished in the Battle of Narvik in North Norway as the first Estonian who fell in World War II.
The joint exhibition of Norway and Estonia “Under the North Star – Estonian Volunteers in the Battle of Narvik 1940” was first opened in the Narvik War and Peace Centre in autumn 2018, and later that year, the Estonian and English language version of the exhibition was opened in the Estonian War Museum, where also a conference on the same topic was held with the participation of Norwegian and Estonian historians. The exhibition has also been shown in the 1st Infantry Brigade at Tapa, where the NATO allied forces are based, at the Baltic Defence College in Tartu and at the Estonian Defence League Headquarters in Tallinn.
The exhibition consists of 11 stands, which give an overview of Norway in World War; the Polish submarine Orzel that had connections with Estonia, Great Britain and Norway in World War II; the Winter War in Finland and the volunteers who participated in it, focusing on the Estonian volunteers in the military unit Sisu; the journey of twelve Estonian volunteers from Finland to Norway after the end of the Winter War and their participation in the battles under Narvik, with a special focus on the attack on Lillebalak, where Arnold Soinla was killed and two men were wounded. Information about the further fate of the Estonian volunteers who fought in Norway is also given.
The exhibition was put together by Hege B. Grundekjøn (Norwegian-Estonian Association), Ulf Eirik Torgersen and Gaute Rønnebu (Narvik War and Peace Centre), and Peep Pillak (Estonian Heritage Society). One of the exhibits is a mannequin dressed in the wartime uniform of a Norwegian soldier, with a greatcoat and a backpack. The diary kept by Gustav Adolf Lepik during the campaign in Norway and the letters of Arnold Soinla, the originals of which are in the Estonian War Museum, can also be seen at the exhibition.
The opening of the exhibition was also attended by Minister of Defence of Norway Bjørn Arild Gram, who later met with the members of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu.
The exhibition was organised by the Embassy of Norway in Estonia in cooperation with the Chancellery of the Riigikogu.
The Foreign Affairs Committee re-elected Marko Mihkelson from the Reform Party faction as its Chairman and Raivo Tamm from Faction Isamaa as its Deputy Chairman.
The extraordinary elections of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman were necessary because of the resignation of the previous Deputy Chairman Mihhail Lotman.
In addition to Mihkelson, Tamm and Lotman, the Foreign Affairs Committee are Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Ruuben Kaalep, Eerik-Niiles Kross, Anneli Ott, Henn Põlluaas, Valdo Randpere, Mailis Reps, and Indrek Saar.
Members of the European Union Affairs Committee Oudekki Loone, Anti Poolamets, and Riina Sikkut are attending the Conference on the Future of Europe, which is held today and tomorrow in the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France. Chairman of the Committee Siim Kallas is attending remotely.
The goal of the plenary sitting is to approve the proposals that have been discussed in depth in the Working Groups. This time, the emphasis is on the meetings of the component groups, i.e., the groups of the European Parliament, national parliaments, the European Commission, and the Council of the European Union, to achieve consensus on all the proposals of the Working Groups.
The proposals on nine topics are based on suggestions from the citizens: stronger economy, social justice and jobs; education, culture, youth and sport; digital transformation; European democracy; values and rights, rule of law and security; climate change and the environment; health; EU in the world; and migration.
After the sitting, the plan is to draft the conclusions report which should also include the approved proposals. The intention is to present the final report to the Presidents of the Council, the Commission, and the European Parliament during the formal final event of the Conference on 9 May in Strasbourg. After this, the three institutions must decide the steps to be taken to implement the proposals.
The Conference on the Future of Europe is a citizens-led series of debates and discussions that enable people from across Europe to share their ideas and help shape our common future. This takes place on a multilingual digital platform where every European citizen can share their ideas through national as well as European citizens’ panels. The conclusions of the discussions are explored at the Plenary Session of the Conference. The Conference as a public forum offers an opportunity to engage in an open, inclusive, and transparent discussion with the citizens on a variety of priorities and problems.
President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas and President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades discussed bilateral cooperation and the situation in Ukraine at their meeting today.
Speaking of bilateral cooperation, Ratas underlined that Estonia was very interested in having closer cooperation with Cyprus, particularly in the digital sector, where Estonia could share its experience in building up e-governance, and in implementing the digital transition more widely. In his opinion, the two countries also have cooperation possibilities in tourism and marine sector.
As regards the tense situation in Ukraine, Ratas explained that the most important tasks of the West were to increase economic and political pressure on Russia and to give more support to Ukraine.
“Russia’s war in Ukraine has shown the countries of Europe that it is necessary to increase their economic independence and security,” Ratas said. “It is the duty of the Western countries to do everything in order to exert even more pressure on Russia through sanctions. Our aim should be to isolate Russia both politically and economically.”
Ratas pointed out that Ukraine also needed stronger military, economic and political support. “We support granting Ukraine the status of a candidate state of the European Union. Ukraine needs a clear EU perspective,” he added.
Chair of the Estonia-Cyprus Parliamentary Friendship Group Heljo Pikhof and Deputy Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Mihhail Lotman also participated in the meeting.
Today, the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of 18 national parliaments and the European Parliament made a Joint Statement calling on Russia’s authorities to immediately release activist, journalist and politician Vladimir Kara-Murza.
On 11 April, Kara-Murza was arrested outside of his Moscow home following an interview on CNN where he criticized Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The following day, he was sentenced to 15 days in prison for disobeying police orders. On 22 April, a Russian court charged Vladimir Kara-Murza under Russia’s new law that bans the spreading of “false” information about the Russian military, and he could now face up to 15 years in prison.
“These latest charges against Vladimir Kara-Murza are a blatant fabrication meant to distract attention from Putin’s war crimes and deter other courageous Russians from speaking out against the Kremlin. In 2015 and 2017, Vladimir Kara-Murza survived two near-fatal poisonings, traced by investigative journalists to Russian authorities. Consequently, we are deeply concerned about Vladimir Kara-Murza’s safety,” the Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees said in their Statement.
They point out that since Russia invaded Ukraine, over 15,000 Russians have been detained for criticizing or opposing the war, or peacefully demonstrating against it. “In addition, hundreds of Russians have been charged under the same Orwellian law that Vladimir Kara-Murza is accused of contravening. Putin and his regime have shown themselves to be willing to break any law, domestic or international, to suppress political opposition at home and subjugate neighbouring countries,” the Statement underlines.
The Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees call on all democratic nations and allies to oppose criminal behaviour like this to protect human rights in Russia and worldwide. “Together with the free world, we stand in solidarity both with Ukraine and with Russian civil society in these difficult times. We condemn the Putin regime’s brutal repression of free speech and independent media in Russia and demand the immediate release of Vladimir Kara-Murza and all the prisoners of conscience whom the Russian government has detained,” they say in their Statement.
The Joint Statement initiated by Estonia has been signed by the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the national parliaments of the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. The Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament also joined the Statement.
If passed, the Bill would prohibit the exhibition of symbols connected with the commission of an act of aggression, genocide, a crime against humanity, or a war crime in a manner that supports or justifies such acts.
Under the Bill on Amendments to the Penal Code and the Code of Misdemeanour Procedure (support of aggression) (585 SE) (consolidated Bills 556 SE and 576 SE), initiated by Faction Isamaa, amendments will be made to the Penal Code that have been prompted by Russia’s attack Ukraine and will ensure an appropriate sanction where a person takes part in a crime of aggression.
According to the Bill, joining the armed forces of a foreign state committing an act of aggression or any other armed unit participating in an act of aggression committed by a foreign state, participation in the commission or preparation of an act of aggression of a foreign state, or knowingly and directly supporting an act of aggression of a foreign state, including funding it, will be punishable as a criminal offence. An imprisonment of up to five years will be provided for such an act. If a legal person commits such an act, it will be sanctioned by a pecuniary punishment.
The Bill also provides that it will not be allowed to publicly exhibit symbols connected with the commission of an act of aggression, genocide, a crime against humanity, or a war crime in a manner that supports or justifies such acts. The Bill provides for a fine of up to three hundred fine units, that is, 1200 euro, or detention for such an act. If a legal person commits such an act, it will be punished by a fine of up to 32,000 euro. The section relating to the exhibition of symbols is planned to enter into force on the day following the day of publication in the Riigi Teataja.
During the debate, Raimond Kaljulaid (Social Democratic Party), Paul Puustusmaa (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Kalle Grünthal (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Heljo Pikhof (Social Democratic Party), Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), Tarmo Kruusimäe (Isamaa) and Hanno Pevkur (Reform Party) took the floor.
The Riigikogu passed an Act
The Act on Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act and Other Associated Acts (521 SE), initiated by the Government, transposes the relevant European Union directive on transparent and predictable working conditions in the European Union, which lays down minimum requirements relating to working conditions that apply to every worker in order to guarantee an adequate degree of transparency and predictability as regards the working conditions. The proposed amendments will enhance the protection of both employees and officials in employment and service relationships and will help ensure that they are informed about essential working and service conditions at as early a stage of an employment or service relationship as possible.
In the Employment Contracts Act, amendments are made to the set of data of which the employer must inform the employee in writing on commencement of employment. The employer will have the obligation to inform the employee of the training entitlement provided by the employer, the paid leave, the duration of the probationary period, the procedure for working overtime and compensation therefor, the form for cancellation of the employment contract and the obligation to provide justifications, as well as the institutions receiving the taxes and social contributions and the protection accompanying the payment thereof. In the event of changes to the data, information on the changes will have to be provided at the latest on the day on which the changes take effect.
It is also provided that, in the event of an impediment to work, the probationary period is extended correspondingly in relation to the duration of the absence, for example, in the event of temporary incapacity for work. The employee is given the right to request suitable working conditions, for example, to request full-time work instead of part-time work and to receive a response to the request from the employer. In addition, the Act provides for protection against unfavourable treatment for the case when an employee invokes their rights or draws attention to a breach of such rights. This means that, where an employee stands up for their rights, this must not be followed by adverse consequences, for example, where an employee draws attention to the fact that the employer is failing to meet the working hours and rest period requirements, the employer must not impose adverse consequences on the employee.
The Act also amends the Civil Service Act and amends the set of data that must be provided to officials in the acts concerning the organisation of work and in the salary guides of authorities. At the same time, the Working Conditions of Employees Posted to Estonia Act provides for the set of data of which the employer must inform the employer in writing in the event of a posting longer than one month, for example, information on the amount of and the currency to be used for the payment of remuneration, and repatriation. The Occupational Health and Safety Act is amended by adding the obligation of the employee to ensure that their working or provision of services at other persons providing employment does not endanger the employee’s or other people’s life or health. The amendment is important for drawing employees’ attention to the importance of meeting the working hours and rest period requirements for health protection purposes.
67 members of the Riigikogu voted for the Act and 11 were against.
Five Bills passed the first reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Health Services Organisation Act and Other Associated Acts a (569 SE) initiated by the Government, will harmonise the current fragmented databases in order to ensure that the data in the current national register of health care professionals, the national register of pharmacists and assistant pharmacists and the national register of activity licences for the provision of health services will be managed uniformly through a new information system. Basically, the essentially intertwined registers will be consolidated into a single health care management information system.
In addition, the possibility of digital registration of health care professionals is provided for. The digital registration of health care professionals will begin to take place on the basis of the Estonian personal identification code through the self-service portal of the Health Board. If the data certifying the qualifications of the person are contained in the Estonian Education Information System, no additional certifications will need to be submitted to the Health Board and the decision on registration as health care professional will be made automatically. Currently, in addition to applications, documents certifying education must be submitted on paper or as photocopies. For people who do not have an Estonian personal identification code the registration process will remain the same compared to the Health Services Organisation Act.
The Bill on Amendments to the Defence Forces Organisation Act and Other Acts (transfer of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board to the area of government of the Ministry of Defence) (572 SE), initiated by the Government, will create the legal bases for the transfer of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board to the Defence Forces from 1 January 2023.
According to the amendments, the Defence Forces will be responsible for creating maritime situational awareness, guarding the maritime border, and detecting and eliminating marine pollution in the Estonian marine area. The Defence Forces will also begin to be responsible for maritime surveillance, and will begin to manage and operate a maritime surveillance system, also ensuring among other things the availability of the service to domestic partners (e.g. Police and Border Guard Board, Transport Administration). Although marine rescue will continue to remain the task of the Police and Border Guard Board, the Defence Forces will participate in search and rescue at sea with the ships to be transferred. In addition, the Defence Forces will exercise state supervision in the territorial sea over the conformity of the equipment of recreational craft, ships with an overall length of less than 12 metres and personal watercraft, provide the marine assistance service, respond to emergencies at sea and provide professional assistance to other agencies, in particular outside the navigation period. For guarding the maritime border and ensuring maritime safety, the Defence Forces will be given law enforcement powers and the right to use direct coercion. The Defence Forces will also be given law enforcement powers to perform initial procedures for intervention in the event of threats to human life and health in small islands and the marine area.
The aim of the reform is to improve the situational awareness and response capability in the Estonian marine area, including to simplify the chain of command in order to ensure Estonia’s independent defence capabilities and the preconditions for allied response to conflicts taking place in the region. The consolidation of the ships of the Police and Border Guard Board under the Defence Forces will ensure better performance of national defence duties both in peace time and in situations of threat. During threat situations, the ships to be transferred will have both a security and a civil role.
During the debate, Martin Helme (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) and Mati Raidma (Reform Party) took the floor.
The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 10 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion and 48 voted against. Thus, the motion was not supported and the Bill passed the first reading.
The Insolvency of Natural Persons Bill (575 SE), initiated by the Government, provides for making the insolvency proceedings for natural persons quicker, more efficient and less costly.
A new Act will be established that will regulate the opening of insolvency proceedings, and debt adjustment and debt discharge proceedings for natural persons. The Debt Restructuring and Debt Protection Act that has been in force so far will be repealed. Bankruptcy proceedings will remain to be regulated by the Bankruptcy Act.
In the future, insolvency proceedings for a natural person will be opened by a request for insolvency proceedings, which may turn into bankruptcy proceedings, debt discharge proceedings as well as debt adjustment proceedings. The system for counselling debtors will also change. In the future, a trustee will be counselling and assisting a debtor from the beginning to the end. A person becomes a trustee when he or she passes the relevant examination. Courts will appoint trustees for individual proceedings from the list of trustees maintained at the Chamber of Bailiffs and Trustees in Bankruptcy. In addition, the awarding of the profession of practitioner in the field of restructuring in the restructuring procedure will be regulated.
In addition, trustees in bankruptcy will be given the right to open professional payment accounts upon carrying out bankruptcy proceedings. Under the current procedure, trustees in bankruptcy are allowed to use only debtors’ accounts for settlement but this has caused several problems in practice. For example, it is not unusual that the debtor’s account is closed when bankruptcy is declared but no new account is opened. In order to overcome this and several other problems, in the future, it will be possible for trustees in bankruptcy to open proceedings-based accounts.
The Bill on Amendments to the Police and Border Guard Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (532 SE), initiated by the Government, will make the necessary amendments to implement the Entry/Exit System (EES), which was established by a relevant European Union Regulation. The data of third-country nationals who cross the external borders with the aim of entering the European Union for the purpose of a short stay (90 days in any 180-day period) will be entered in the system.
The agency established for the operational management of large-scale EU IT systems (eu-LISA) will be managing the system, and Estonia will establish no new database. In Estonia, we will be able to use the system in border control, migration supervision, and visa proceedings. In addition, the Regulation enables the data entered in the system to be used for the prevention, detection or investigation of terrorist offences or of other serious criminal offences. No one will have an automatic right to view the data for such purposes. An application will have to be made to the relevant unit, and the conditions set out in the EU Regulation will have to be met.
In addition, amendments will be made that will enable officials of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency who are included in the activities of the police and customs to use their service weapons.
The amendments concerning the Entry/Exit System are planned to enter into force on the date that the European Commission will determine for the introduction thereof.
The amendments proposed by the Bill on Amendments to the State Borders Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (577 SE), initiated by the Government, will give the state better opportunities to fight mass immigration in emergency when foreigners are invading illegally across the state border of Estonia and are submitting unfounded applications for international protection.
According to the Bill, during an emergency, the Police and Border Guard Board may refuse to accept an application for international protection from an alien who has arrived in the country illegally and send them back without issuing a precept to leave or making a decision on prohibition on entry. It is allowed to enter Estonia through the external border only through open border crossing points.
At the same time, according to the Bill, the Police and Border Guard Board will be given the right to designate the places where aliens can submit applications for international protection.
The Bill also provides for more flexible involvement of the Defence Forces and the Defence League in the protection of public and constitutional order in the cases when the resources of the Police and Border Guard Board are insufficient. Currently, the Defence Forces or the Defence League can be involved for a period not exceeding 30 days, but this does not meet the changed security situation where it may be necessary to involve them for longer periods.
The explanatory memorandum notes that the artificially created migration pressure in the region has shown that the Estonian legal order needs to be ready to manage such hybrid attacks and to ensure security in a mass immigration emergency.
During the debate, Toomas Kivimägi (Reform Party) and Eduard Odinets (Social Democratic Party) took the floor.
Today, the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) goes on a two-day visit to Germany, where they will discuss the possibilities for supporting Ukraine as well as strengthening the deterrence and defence capability on NATO’s eastern flank.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson said that Ukraine needed more military and humanitarian aid from the countries of Europe, as well as rapid tightening of sanctions against Russia, in particular suspension of trade in energy sources. “We all must do more and act faster to help Ukraine to victory. We will focus on the opportunities for effectively supporting Ukraine also at the meetings held in Germany,” he added.
The preparations for the NATO summit that will take place in Madrid in June constitute another important topic to be discussed at the meetings. “We expect decisions from Madrid to strengthen deterrence, increase NATO presence and, through it, significantly improve the security of Estonia and also of our region more widely. Germany has been our firm ally who has already proven its commitment to strengthening NATO’s eastern flank,” Mihkelson said.
During their visit to Germany, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson, Deputy Chairman Mihhail Lotman and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski, Henn Põlluaas and Indrek Saar will meet with Chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the German Bundestag Michael Roth, member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the Bundestag Knut Abraham and Chair of the Germany-Baltic Friendship Group Alexander Graf Lambsdorff. The Foreign Affairs Committee delegation will also meet with Minister of State for Europe Anna Lührmann, and it is planned to have meetings at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany and the think tank Körber-Stiftung.
Mihkelson will meet with Head of Department for Foreign and Security Policy at the Federal Chancellery Christian Aulbach and deliver a speech at the media concern Axel Springer.
Monday evening the representatives of the Foreign Affairs Committee will be at the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, where Prime Minister of Estonia Kaja Kallas will deliver a speech.
On the open House Day of the Riigikogu, the Parliament of Estonia, nearly 4000 people came to Toompea to visit the Riigikogu, learn about the work of the Parliament, meet the politicians and see the rooms they work in. The most popular activities of the Open House Day were guided tours of the Riigikogu and visits to the Tall Hermann Tower. The representative rooms and working rooms of the Riigikogu as well as the offices of political groups, where the people could meet the members of the Riigikogu, were open all day.
Many visitors came from foreign countries, like Ukraine, Finland, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Brazil, India and Thailand.
The Riigikogu Open House Day began with a musical welcome by Tallinn Trumpet Ensemble on the balcony of Toompea Castle. President of the Riigikogu Jüri Ratas greeted the visitors in the courtyard of the Castle.
In the café of the Riigikogu, members of the Riigikogu Heiki Hepner, Raimond Kaljulaid, Henn Põlluaas, Mati Raidma, and Marko Šorin held a discussion on the protection of civilians. The discussion was moderated by Urmas Vaino.
Five school teams and two teams of the Riigikogu participated in the quiz of the Open House Day. The close-run competition for the first place was won by the team Riigikogu I, which consisted of member of the Riigikogu Jaak Juske, Advisers of the Legal and Research Department Toivo Mängel and Triinu Põdramägi and Head of State Electoral Office Arne Koitmäe. Team Gustav Adolf Grammar School I won the second place and was the best school team. The quiz was prepared and conducted by acknowledged quiz players Indrek Salis and Aare Olander.
To celebrate the Year of Libraries, the National Library brought along a pop-up library and web games, Tallinn Central Library set up a reading nest with comic books and virtual reality, and Katarina Jee Mobile Library came to Toompea.
The Defence League, Women’s Home Defence, Home Daughters, and Young Eagles held workshops in the Castle and its courtyard. The Estonian War Museum organised a sale in support of Ukraine, and the Women’s Home Defence sold the flower pins of the Blue Hepatica Campaign “Let Us Salute!” to support the war veterans. The students of the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre gave a concert dedicated to Ukraine. The Open House Day ended with the concert of the Defence League band Mustad Kolonelid.
With the Open House Day, the Riigikogu celebrated its 103rd anniversary.
The first representative body elected by the people in independent Estonia – the Constituent Assembly – convened in Tallinn on 23 April 1919. Since 1999, the Riigikogu has been celebrating the anniversary of that event with an Open House Day, which this year took place for the 22nd time, after a two-year pause.
Member of the Ukrainian parliament Olena Shuliak described the vote in the Riigikogu as historically important for Ukraine. She sees recognising Russia’s activities as a genocide against the Ukrainian people as important for honouring the memory of the tens of thousands of fallen, but also important for those who have been tortured or raped, for those whose houses have been destroyed, as well as for those who are today forced to hide in cellars of Mariupol to shelter from bombing. “Qualifying the crime as such will lead to irrevocable condemnation. Starting with the perpetrators and ending with Vladimir Putin in person,” she said.
Shuliak reminded us that it was our shared responsibility to do everything in our power to end the genocide. “It is our joint responsibility to make sure that this never again takes place, anytime, anywhere, in no country. I believe that together we can achieve this goal,” she said.
The Riigikogu adopted the Statement of the Riigikogu “On the War Crimes and Genocide Committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine” (584 AE), presented by 84 Members of the Riigikogu.
The Statement says that it has been ascertained that in the war of aggression waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, systematic and massive war crimes have been committed against the Ukrainian nation by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. These crimes are ideologically incited by Russia’s political and military leadership and its national propaganda authorities.
“In the temporarily occupied territories, in particular the towns of Bucha, Borodyanka, Hostomel, Irpin, Mariupol, and many other Ukrainian settlements, the Russian Federation has committed acts of genocide, inter alia mass atrocities against the civilian population. These have consisted of murders, enforced disappearances, deportations, imprisonment, torture, rape, and desecration of corpses,” says the Statement.
In its Statement, the Riigikogu recognizes as genocide against the Ukrainian people the actions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and calls on national parliaments and international organisations to do the same. The Riigikogu calls to support the investigation of these crimes, the prosecution of the perpetrators and the establishment of an international court for this purpose.
The Riigikogu also calls on countries around the world to immediately strengthen the sanctions against the Russian Federation, including by ending the trade of energy carriers with Russia with no exceptions, and to increase military assistance and humanitarian aid of critical importance to Ukraine. The Riigikogu expresses deep respect to the Ukrainian nation in their fight for freedom, commemorates the fallen, and mourns the victims.
During the debate, Anti Poolamets (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Mati Raidma (Reform Party), Mihhail Lotman (Isamaa), Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party), and Enn Eesmaa (Centre Party) took the floor.
86 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Statement.