Today and tomorrow, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Marko Mihkelson participates in the meeting of the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Baltic States, the Nordic Countries, the United Kingdom and Ireland in London, where the next steps in responding to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine will be jointly discussed.
Mihkelson said that both supporting Ukraine and putting pressure on Russia would be discussed at the meeting, and the threats arising from autocracies would also be spoken about more broadly. At the meeting, former Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service of the UK Alex Younger will deliver a report on that topic, Senior Associate Fellow of defence and security think tank the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) Mark Galeotti will outline the threats from Russia and Professor of Oxford University Rana Mitter will give an overview of issues relating to China. Journalist, writer and historian Anne Applebaum will also speak at the meeting. On Friday, the challenges connected with the Arctic and the polar regions will be discussed at the meeting of the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees with several experts.
Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of the United Kingdom, Ireland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden participate in the meeting held in London, UK.
At today’s sitting, the last regular plenary sitting of its spring session, the Riigikogu continued the second reading of the Bill raising child benefits. The Riigikogu voted in favour of shortening the working hours of the sitting and two motions to amend the Bill were voted on.
At the beginning of the sitting, which began at 10 a.m., the Estonian Centre Party Faction and the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction moved to conclude the sitting at 10.30 a.m. 61 members of the Riigikogu voted for the motion, one was against and there was one abstention. Thus, the motion was supported.
The second reading of the Bill started in the plenary of the Riigikogu at last Wednesday’s sitting. Starting from that sitting, the Riigikogu has been voting on the motions to amend the Bill and taking ten-minute recesses before votings in all regular sittings.
By the end of today’s sitting, two of the 1191 motions to amend entered on the list of motions to amend had been reviewed, which means that a total of 151 motions to amend have been reviewed. The second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (619 SE), initiated by 54 members of the Riigikogu, was adjourned due to the end of working hours.
According to the Bill, the child allowance for the first and second child will rise from 60 euro to 100 euro, that is, to the same level as the child allowance for the third and subsequent children. According to the Bill, the allowance for families with many children will rise from 300 euro to 700 euro per month for families with three to six children, and from 400 euro to 900 euro for families with seven or more children. In order that the allowance for families with many children would continue to be proportional to the rise in the standard of living, and that the amount of the allowance would not need to be changed every year, according to the Bill, the allowance will be indexed by 1 April of each year. The value of the index will depend to the extent of 20 per cent on the annual increase in the consumer price index and to the extent of 80 per cent on the annual increase in the receipt of the pension insurance part of social tax.
At present, the payment of the allowance for families with many children stops when the first child attains the age of majority. In the future, however, according to the Bill, it will be paid in the full amount for as long as the family is raising at least three children who are minors. In the case of families with many children, the allowance will be paid to the extent of two thirds of the allowance if two of the children are minors, and to the extent one third if one child is a minor. Before the second reading, the Social Affairs Committee had amended the Bill by adding a provision under which, in the case of a multiple birth, the allowance for families with many children would be paid until the children attain the age of 21 years. The committee had also made the amendment to the Bill under which the single parent’s child allowance would rise to 40 euro.
The Reform Party Faction had submitted about 1660 motions to amend the Bill, and the Social Democratic Party Faction had submitted four. The lead committee had not incorporated the motions. 1191 motions had been entered on the list of motions to amend. About 470 motions, submitted by the Reform Party Faction, requiring amendment of the State Budget for 2022 Act, had been excluded from the list.
15 minutes after the end of today’s sitting, that is, at 10.45 a.m., an additional sitting of the Riigikogu will start where the agenda will include a motion of no confidence in Minister of Education and Research Liina Kersna.
At 9 a.m. on Friday, an extraordinary session of the Riigikogu will start where the agenda will include the second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act (548 SE), initiated by Faction Isamaa.
At its today’s sitting the Riigikogu continued to review the motions to amend the Family Benefits Act. By the end of the sitting, the plenary had voted on 117 of nearly 1200 amendments.
At the beginning of the sitting, the Riigikogu observed a moment of silence in memory of the victims of the 1949 June deportation.
At the beginning of the sitting, Martin Helme submitted to the Riigikogu the motion of no confidence in Minister of Education and Research Liina Kersna. 39 members of the Riigikogu from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Faction and the Estonian Centre Party Faction have signed the motion of no confidence. Under the Riigikogu Rules of Procedure and Internal Rules Act, a motion to express no confidence in a minister is included in the agenda not earlier than on the second day after the presentation of the motion, unless the Government requests a speedier decision. At its extraordinary sitting today, the Government decided to apply for the motion to be deliberated at the earliest opportunity.
The second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (619 SE), initiated by 54 members of the Riigikogu, continued at the sitting of the Riigikogu. The Riigikogu has been voting on the motions to amend the Bill and taking ten-minute recesses before votings in all regular sittings since last Wednesday.
The Bill will raise the child allowance for the first and second child from EUR 60 to EUR 100, that is, to the same level as the child allowance for the third and subsequent children. According to the Bill, the allowance for families with many children will rise from 300 euro to 700 euro per month for families with three to six children, and from 400 euro to 900 euro for families with seven or more children. In order that the allowance for families with many children would continue to be proportional to the rise in the standard of living, and that the amount of the allowance would not need to be changed every year, the allowance will be indexed by 1 April of each year. The value of the index will depend to the extent of 20 per cent on the annual increase in the consumer price index and to the extent of 80 per cent on the annual increase in the receipt of the pension insurance part of social tax.
At present, the payment of the allowance for families with many children stops when the first child attains the age of majority. In the future, however, it will be paid in the full amount for as long as the family is raising at least three children who are minors. In the case of families with many children, the allowance will be paid to the extent of two thirds of the allowance if two of the children are minors, and to the extent one third if one child is a minor. Before the second reading, the Social Affairs Committee had amended the Bill by adding a provision under which, in the case of a multiple birth, the allowance for families with many children would be paid until the children attain the age of 21 years. The committee had also incorporated into the Bill the amendment under which the single parent’s child allowance would rise to 40 euro.
The Reform Party Faction had submitted about 1660 motions to amend the Bill, and the Social Democratic Party Faction had submitted four. The lead committee had not incorporated the motions. 1191 motions had been entered on the list of motions to amend. About 460 motions intended to amend the Act on this year’s state budget, submitted by the Reform Party Faction, had been excluded from the list.
The review of the motions entered on the list of motions to amend will continue at the Riigikogu sitting starting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday. The deliberation of all other items on today’s agenda will also be deferred.
At its today’s sitting the Riigikogu continued to review the motions to amend the Family Benefits Act that had been submitted for the second reading. The opportunity to ask for a ten-minute recess before each voting was used. 103 of 1191 motions to amend had been voted on by the end of today’s sitting. The review will continue at tomorrow’s sitting.
The Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (619 SE), initiated by 54 members of the Riigikogu, will raise the child allowance for the first and second child from 60 euro to 100 euro, that is, to the same level as the child allowance for the third and subsequent children. According to the Bill, the allowance for families with many children will rise from 300 euro to 700 euro per month for families with three to six children, and from 400 euro to 900 euro for families with seven or more children. In order that the allowance for families with many children would continue to be proportional to the rise in the standard of living, and that the amount of the allowance would not need to be changed every year, the allowance will be indexed by 1 April of each year. The value of the index will depend to the extent of 20 per cent on the annual increase in the consumer price index and to the extent of 80 per cent on the annual increase in the receipt of the pension insurance part of social tax. At present, the payment of the allowance for families with many children stops when the first child attains the age of majority. In the future, however, it will be paid in the full amount for as long as the family is raising at least three children who are minors. In the case of families with many children, the allowance will be paid to the extent of two thirds of the allowance if two of the children are minors, and to the extent one third if one child is a minor.
The Reform Party Faction had submitted about 1660 motions to amend the Bill by the deadline, and the Social Democratic Party Faction had submitted four. The lead committee had not incorporated the motions. The motions of the Reform Party Faction that were connected with amendment of State Budget for 2022 Act had not been entered in the table of motions to amend. There were about 470 such motions.
During the second reading, the Social Affairs Committee decided to amend the Bill by adding a provision under which the single parent’s child allowance would be doubled by raising it to 40 euro. The committee had also incorporated into the Bill the amendment under which, in the case of a multiple birth, the allowance for families with many children would be paid until the children attain the age of 21 years.
Today, the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of ten countries and the European Parliament made a Joint Statement in which they call on granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for the European Union membership in the forthcoming European Council.
The Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees welcome the European Council conclusions on Ukraine adopted on 30 May 2022 and note that the sixth package of sanctions against Russia that cover crude oil and petroleum products delivered from Russia into the Member States is a strong signal of European commitment to ending Europe’s energy dependence on Russia and limiting Europe’s susceptibility to energy weaponization attempts against the bloc.
“Today is a turning point for European history, providing momentum for the EU to exercise a proactive role at regional and global levels and build the Union’s geopolitical power whilst reducing Russia’s influence in EU neighbourhood countries,” they say.
In their Joint Statement, the Chairs of Foreign Affairs Committees highlight that the majority of Europeans support Ukraine’s accession to the EU, and an absolute majority of Ukrainians desire Ukraine to join the European Union. “Ukraine is an integral part of Europe, and we must be strong and convincing in our response to Ukraine’s desire to join the Union. We also acknowledge that there are other potential candidates who aspire to join the European Union,” they point out.
The Joint Statement underlines that Ukrainian people are fighting for their country, their own lives, freedom, and democracy, or for the same values we need to be fundamentally European. “Therefore, granting EU candidate status to Ukraine would be an important political signal of support and hope for Ukraine and would reaffirm our commitment to our political ideals and foundational beliefs. We call on the Member States of the European Union to open up to Ukraine a realistic prospect of membership in the European Union by granting it the status of a candidate country in the forthcoming European Council on 23-24 June 2022,” the Statement says.
The Joint Statement is signed by the Chairs of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the European Parliament. Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Marko Mihkelson signed the Statement on behalf of Estonia.
Today and tomorrow, the delegation of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) participates in the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the Parliaments of the Baltic States in Nida, Lithuania, where supporting Ukraine and strengthening the security of the region will be discussed.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Marko Mihkelson said that the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committees of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania would focus on the security situation that had changed due to the war launched by Russia and on the decisions necessary for strengthening of security expected from the NATO Summit, which would be held at the end of this month. “We will go to the summit in Madrid with a common position that the presence of NATO on our region must increase considerably,” he added.
Supporting of Ukraine will also be spoken about at the meeting, including granting Ukraine the status of a candidate country for the European Union membership as an important political signal. It will also be discussed how to support investigating Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine in international cooperation. “The war criminals must be held fully accountable for the crimes they have committed. If necessary, creating a special tribunal for that should be considered,” Mihkelson said.
The delegations of the Foreign Affairs Committees of the three Baltic States will also go to the external border of the European Union with Russia and visit Klaipėda naval base. Besides Mihkelson, members of the Foreign Affairs Committee Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski and Indrek Saar participate in the visit.
The second reading of a Bill increasing child benefits that had been adjourned at Wednesday’s sitting due to the end of working hours continued at today’s sitting of the Riigikogu. The reviewing of the motions to amend the Bill continued at today’s sitting. The Riigikogu had voted on 52 motions at yesterday’s sitting; 68 of 1191 motions to amend had been voted on by the end of today’s sitting.
Thus, the second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (619 SE), initiated by 54 members of the Riigikogu, was adjourned due to the end of the working hours of the sitting.
The Bill will raise the child allowance for the first and second child from 60 euro to 100 euro, that is, to the same level as the child allowance for the third and subsequent children. According to the Bill, the allowance for families with many children will rise from 300 euro to 700 euro per month for families with three to six children, and from 400 euro to 900 euro for families with seven or more children. In order that the allowance for families with many children would continue to be proportional to the rise in the standard of living, and that the amount of the allowance would not need to be changed every year, the allowance will be indexed by 1 April of each year. The value of the index will depend to the extent of 20 per cent on the annual increase in the consumer price index and to the extent of 80 per cent on the annual increase in the receipt of the pension insurance part of social tax. According to the Bill, the allowance for families with many children will decrease gradually. In the case of families with many children, the allowance will be paid to the extent of two thirds of the allowance if two of the children are minors, and to the extent one third if one child is a minor.
The Reform Party Faction had submitted about 1660 motions to amend the Bill by the deadline, and the Social Democratic Party Faction had submitted four. The lead committee had not incorporated the motions. The motions of the Reform Party Faction that were connected with amendment of State Budget for 2022 Act had not been entered in the table of motions to amend. There were about 470 such motions.
During the second reading, the Social Affairs Committee decided to amend the Bill by adding a provision under which the single parent’s child allowance will be doubled by raising it to 40 euro. The committee also incorporated into the Bill the amendment under which, in the case of a multiple birth, the allowance for families with many children will be paid until the children attain the age of 21 years.
The reviewing of the motions to amend the Bill that had been submitted began at the Wednesday’s sitting of the Riigikogu. By the end of the sitting, the plenary had voted on 52 of the 1191 motions entered on the list of motions to amend. The Riigikogu was able to review 16 more motions at the plenary sitting that started today at 10 a.m. The reviewing of the motions to amend will continue at the next regular sitting beginning at 3 p.m. on Monday.
The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Local Government Organisation Act and Associated Acts (626 SE), initiated by the Government, and the Bill on Amendments to the Aliens Act (561 SE), initiated by Faction Isamaa, and the second reading of the Bill on Amendments to the State Fees Act (598 SE), initiated by the Government, the Bill on Amendments to the Working Conditions of Employees Posted to Estonia Act, the Employment Contracts Act and the Unemployment Insurance Act (599 SE), initiated by the Government, and the Bill on Amendments to the Mental Health Act and the Health Services Organisation Act (600 SE), initiated by the Government, will be transferred to the agenda for the next working week due to the end of the working hours of the sitting.
From Sunday to Wednesday, First Vice-President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Hanno Pevkur was on a working visit to Ukraine, in the regions of Zhytomyr and Kyiv, where he visited cities destroyed by Russia’s attacks, including the site of Bucha massacre. In Kyiv, Pevkur met with the members of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) and the Government of Ukraine
“What I saw and heard during three days in Zhytomyr, Borodianka, Malyn, Bucha, Irpin and Kyiv is extremely harsh. There are simply no words and the mind refuses to take it all in. For example, 70% of the city of Irpin is damaged and 50% unusable,” Pevkur said. He added that it was especially shocking to see the ruins of a dwelling house around which no military objects could be seen up to the horizon. “In it, four people, two of whom were children, lost their lives in a moment as a result of a missile attack. And opposite that house, there is a rye field, where cornflowers are in bloom, and poppies, which in Estonia and Ukraine commemorate victims of war.”
At the meetings with the heads of state, reconstruction of Ukraine was also discussed, besides the situation of war. Pevkur assured that Estonia would help Ukraine restore the destroyed infrastructure, and emphasised that the Ukrainians are more united than ever before and would fight for their homeland until final victory. “It is our duty to support them in this and to help them to rebuild their country,” the Vice-President of the Riigikogu said.
In Ukraine, Pevkur was received by First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko and Chairman of Ukraine-Estonia parliamentary friendship group Arsenii Pushkarenko as well as other members of the Verkhovna Rada. Pevkur also met with Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov and Minister of Infrastructure Oleksandr Kubrakov, and also the Deputy Minister of the Interior and the leaders of Zhytomyr and Kyiv Oblasts.
Photo: First Vice-President of the Riigikogu Hanno Pevkur at the meeting with First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Oleksandr Korniyenko and members of the Verkhovna Rada.
Delegation of the Economic Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) meets with the delegation of the Committee on Economic Affairs of the German Bundestag today to discuss the economic and trade policy of the European internal market as well as energy policy.
Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee Kristen Michal said that the impact of the war in Ukraine on energy supplies could not be overlooked when discussing economic relations. “The war in Ukraine showed that the green transition is also a security transition for Estonia. The aggressor must be isolated economically, and for us and for Europe, this means a lot of problems that need to be solved. At the meeting, we will focus on finding these solutions,” the Chairman pointed out.
Another important issue that will be discussed is the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. “Before the war broke out, it was predicted that the European economy would experience a long-term and strong growth. Therefore, we now have to recover from two crises at the same time, the impact of which on different industries and businesses is very complex and depends on many factors, including the ability to adapt to supply chain disruptions and the availability of supplies,” Michal admitted.
The meeting will take place at 10.30 a.m. at the Riigikogu, and it will be attended by head of the Bundestag delegation Klaus-Peter Willsch and members of the Bundestag Bernd Westphal, Lena Werner, Maik Außendorf, Carl-Julius Cronenberg and Malte Kaufmann. From the Economic Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu, Chairman Kristen Michal, Deputy Chairman Sven Sester, and members Jüri Jaanson and Riho Breivel will participate in the meeting.
The Riigikogu passed an Act and concluded the first reading of a Bill and heard replies to two interpellations.
The Riigikogu passed one Act
The Act on Amendments to the National Library of Estonia Act and the Copyright Act (559 SE), initiated by the Government, transfers the tasks of the Repository Library of Estonia to the National Library of Estonia. As the responsibilities of the Repository Library are similar and partially overlap those of the National Library, its activities as a separate state agency will be terminated. The merger of the services will create preconditions for a user-centred innovation and coherent development of the services and will reduce the fragmentation of the library service.
The amendment will help improve the access of people with a visual impairment or any other print disability to publications and digital information, which is currently hindered due to the separation of services.
The new renovated building of the National Library is also planned to have premises necessary for the library for the blind, and better accessibility. The physical merger of the libraries is not likely to take place before 2025, when the renovation of the building of the National Library is due to be completed.
In the future, the repository and exchange stock of the Repository Library will be transferred to the planned Repository Archive, and the services of the library for the blind will begin to be provided in the renovated premises of the National Library in Tõnismäe (a city region in Tallinn).
65 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act.
A Bill passed the first reading
The Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (560 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Faction and Raimond Kaljulaid, provides for raising the child allowance for the first and each subsequent child of the family to 100 euro per month to improve the livelihood of families with children. Under the current Act, the amount of the child allowance for the first and second child of the family is 60 euro. The amount of the child allowance for the third and subsequent child is 100 euro. According to an amendment proposed in the Bill, the allowance for the first and second child will also be raised to 100 euro per month.
At today’s sitting, Tõnis Mölder (Centre Party) took the floor during the debate.
The Riigikogu heard replies to two interpellations
Minister of Finance Keit Pentus-Rosimannus replied to the interpellation concerning loan debtors, and Minister of Education and Research Liina Kersna replied to the interpellation concerning the funding of vocational education, submitted by members of the Riigikogu.
During the open microphone, Peeter Ernits took the floor.
