Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali said that the European Union’s common list of safe countries would reduce the time spent on procedures for persons coming from safe countries. “For these asylum seekers, an accelerated procedure or border procedure can be applied, because it is known that the person is not at risk in their home country,” Tali explained.
“Member States have the right to make their own lists of safe countries, but the aim of the draft is to create a common list for the European Union in order to prevent abuse of the asylum system and reduce costs and bureaucracy. The list will help speed up asylum procedures and make returns more efficient, which is why we support the initiative. However, as Estonia has also stated in its positions, the list has to be reviewed regularly and updated when necessary.”
It was decided that, according to the draft, a whole country or a specific part of it could be designated as safe. It is also possible to make exceptions and to assess for whom the country is safe and for whom it is not safe. The European Commission has proposed declaring Kosovo, Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt, India, Morocco, and Tunisia, as well as EU candidate countries, as safe countries of origin.
The Committee also supported to initiative according to which it will be possible to reject asylum applications as inadmissible and to return the applicant to the transit country through which they transited to the European Union if that country is sufficiently safe. The amendment will accelerate decision-making and reduce abuse of the asylum system.
At the Committee sitting, Minister of the Interior Igor Taro outlined the positions of the Government regarding the initiatives and proposals on establishing a European Union list of safe countries of origin and the draft regulation on the application of the ‘safe third country’ concept.
The European Union Affairs Committee decided by consensus to support the positions presented by the Government on both points, in line with the opinion of the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu.
Chairman of the Management Board of the Financial Supervision Authority Kilvar Kessler, who also had given the Riigikogu an overview of the work done in 2024 and in earlier years, pointed out that the annual reports presented to the Riigikogu set out four important issues on Estonia’s financial market. “First, mergers of companies in the financial market, alongside rapid growth of new banks and other financial intermediaries, a review of business models and moving away from non-transparent business practices, and successful risk mitigation in crises, like the ID-card crisis, COVID crisis and the initial phase of hot war in Ukraine,” the head if the Financial Supervision Authority said.
Among other things, Kessler explained that at the end of last year, one of the region’s largest banks, Sweden’s SEB, announced that it had decided to merge its Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian banks into a single entity and to bring the Baltic headquarters to Estonia. “This headquarters will not be established in Riga, nor in Vilnius, but here, in Tallinn. And this clearly demonstrates confidence in Estonia’s financial supervision,” he noted, adding that seven years ago, the Financial Supervision Authority had also convincingly demonstrated the best business environment to Luminor, which established a new bank, the headquarters of the merged bank, in Tallinn.
The head of the Financial Supervision Authority predicted that these mergers would also encourage other credit institutions operating across the Baltic region to review their structures. “Our financial supervision operates professionally, objectively, and transparently. I think that it would be unreasonable for the state not to use the work of the Financial Supervision Authority in shaping our business environment when selling Estonia’s favourable environment to investors. Tallinn and Estonia as banking centre clearly gives the foreign investors a signal of the suitability of the environment here, provides work for our financial experts, and, under certain conditions, increases competition. This can have a snowball effect in a good sense,” he said.
Secondly, Kessler addressed the legal framework and overregulation on the one hand, and the diversification of the supervisory toolbox, including issues related to the size of fines and to procedures, on the other. Thirdly, he outlined the work being done in new areas of financial supervision, such as the establishment of euro area banking supervision and crisis resolution and integration into its activities, supervision of credit providers, supervision of crowdfunding, supervision of credit collectors, and supervision of crypto-asset markets.
Fourthly, the head of the Financial Supervision Authority emphasized the maturation of the Financial Supervision Authority, the establishment of a crisis resolution function from zero, the merger of the Guarantee Fund with the Financial Supervision Authority for the sake of more efficient operation, and the achievement of outstanding results with very modest resources in the financial education of young people. Kessler assured that over the years, the Financial Supervision Authority had grown into one of the most efficient and effective institutions in Estonia. “We have fulfilled the tasks assigned to us in accordance with the law on a risk-based basis, we have implemented the current strategy, we have kept the financial sector running smoothly and the risks mitigated. We have not lost a single important court case. Our employees hold the Financial Supervision Authority in very high regard as an employer, and our staff turnover is low. We have achieved all this by acting decisively, professionally, and with an open mind,” he said.
During the debate, Maris Lauri (Reform Party) and Andre Hanimägi (Social Democratic Party) took the floor on behalf of their parliamentary groups.
In the letter, the members of Parliaments thank the USA for supporting the security of the Baltic States, which over the years has evolved into a robust political, economic and military partnership, and note that the Congress has played a vital role in advancing this relationship. According to them, the Congress has for the last few years appropriated funds for the Baltic Security Initiative, which have been used to accelerate national military capability development and enhance regional and collective defence and deterrence.
Members of the Baltic Parliaments underline that historically the Baltic nations have been strong allies of the United States. “We were together with you in Iraq and Afghanistan, we stand by Taiwan, Israel and the democratic opposition in Cuba, we resist autocracies in Belarus and Russia, we fight alongside you for freedom democracy, peace worldwide. We work with the United States for the security, sovereignty, territorial integrity of Ukraine, and its transatlantic future,” they write, adding that the million strong Baltic American community is the bedrock of strong transatlantic links between our nations.
The MPs say in the letter that they fully recognize that the U.S. resources are stretched nationally and across the globe. “That is why we are resolute in our commitment to defend ourselves. Baltic countries will spend beyond 5% of GDP next year and provide the highest per capita military support to Ukraine. We have long spent above NATO’s minimum threshold for defense spending. We will continue enhancing our national resilience and civil preparedness, and we will further invest in host-nation support for U.S. forces stationed in our country,” they write.
Baltic MPs assure that security cooperation with the U.S. remains a strategic priority for all three countries. “This strong and successful ongoing military cooperation among our militaries provides key capabilities that benefit the NATO Alliance and are designed to prevent further conflict in Europe. We hope this enduring partnership will continue to receive strong support in the Congress,” the MPs write. “Your support will be instrumental in continuing the Baltic Security Initiative. Therefore, we kindly ask you to support the funding of the Baltic Security Initiative in the Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Bill and its authorization in the National Defense Appropriations Act.”
The letter was sent to the leaders of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Committee on Appropriations, the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the House National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Subcommittee, the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the House Europe Subcommittee, and the House Baltic Caucus, and to the Senate Committee on Armed Services, the Senate Committee on Appropriations, the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and the Senate Baltic Freedom Caucus.
The joint letter was signed by 36 members of the Parliaments of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Members of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) from all parliamentary groups signed the letter: President of the Riigikogu Lauri Hussar, Chairman of the European Union Affairs Committee Peeter Tali, Chairman of the National Defence Committee Kalev Stoicescu, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson and members of the Riigikogu Mart Helme, Leo Kunnas, Urmas Reinsalu, Luisa Rõivas, Kristo Enn Vaga, Henn Põlluaas, Lauri Laats and Raimond Kaljulaid.
25 members of the Riigikogu supported the vote of no confidence in the Minister. At least 51 votes would have been needed to express no confidence.
Martin Helme, who represented the initiators of the motion of no confidence, justified the motion first by pointing to the Estonian Health Insurance Fund’s glamorous summer retreat. According to him, no one has assumed political responsibility for organising that. “Yes, the Head of the Health Insurance Fund resigned, but the Minister distanced herself from the whole issue and thought that if her subordinate had already been dismissed, that was enough. Actually it is not enough,” he said.
Helme also said that it was irresponsible of the Minister to turn her back on the social sphere. “When Minister Joller took office, she said that she would focus solely on healthcare issues in her work, leaving the rest of her responsibilities, that is, the social sphere, to be handled by officials. This is not the way to run a ministry,” he said.
One of the reasons Helme mentioned was also the fact that the healthcare system was constantly lacking money and operated on reserves, but those reserves were running out. “Unfortunately, Minister Joller has not taken any steps to solve the problem. The budget deficit is just getting worse. The Minister’s passivity only serves the interests of private medicine, which is getting richer by grabbing the taxpayers’ money,” he said. Helme also criticized Joller for calling the US Secretary of Health a quack, thereby damaging bilateral relations and Estonia’s reputation in the world.
Joller said before the Riigikogu that she did not consider herself to be such a capable person that she would be able to “botch up” the entire Health Insurance Fund budget in just a few months. “I became minister precisely because of these problems, and I plan to go ahead and solve them,” she claimed.
Speaking of the summer retreat and the luxurious office of the Health Insurance Fund, the Minister said that it had also offended her sense of justice. “However, I can say that the Health Insurance Fund’s summer retreat is only a symptom that characterizes the spending of money in the entire sector,” the Minister pointed out. She added that the Health Insurance Fund had received around a billion euro over the past five years, though it remained unclear where exactly that money had gone. “But I have already started with these changes.”
Joller noted that although she had to focus on health care issues as a minister, social and population policy had not been less important for her. “I think that these two spheres have taken up more of my time and energy than the health issues. I have thoroughly acquainted myself with both fields,” she said, and pointed out that she had brought to the government the need to increase subsistence benefits, signed a regulation that decoupled technical aids from the diagnosing of disability, dealt with issues related to assessing the severity of disabilities, and made preparations for improving the interaction between the health and social sectors.
Joller underlined that changes did not take place overnight. “Whatever we start today cannot be completed quickly, because the medical system is large. For me, it is important that funding is transparent and that Estonian people receive help at the right time, with the right quality, and in the right place. Each euro the tax payers pay, that the Estonian people pay and entrust to the Estonian state, should be used for the benefit of the people,” she said.
In her speech, the Minister also rejected the claim that she had insulted the US Secretary of Health.
During the debate, Lauri Laats Estonian Centre Party Parliamentary Group, Mart Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor. Tanel Kiik took the floor on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.
Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur began his speech by recalling recent history, pointing out that, in 1993, Estonia’s defence budget had been only 8 million euro, but in 2026 it would be over 2 billion euro and in four years a total of over 10 billion euro. “This represents more than five percent of our national wealth, which is being directed toward strengthening Estonia’s independent defence capabilities. This is 250,000 – I emphasize, 250,000 – times more than the first defence budgets of the newly independent Estonia,“ Pevkur said.
The minister emphasized that Estonia had made remarkable progress over the past 30 years, economically surpassing all former Soviet Union countries and significantly reducing the gap with Finland. “Today, Estonia is not just a survivor, but a role model – proof that a free nation, however small, can rise, develop, and bear responsibility. Estonia is no longer weak and troubled, but strong and upright. Estonia is capable of defending its freedom, home, and peace on its own,” Pevkur said.
The Minister of Defence highlighted Russia’s continued aggression in Ukraine and emphasised the need to maintain pressure on Russia and support Ukraine. “We all, including our allies today, know that Russia understands only force. What is happening in Ukraine only confirms this historical rule. Therefore, our choice can only be one – to provide Ukraine with as much and more military assistance as possible and to keep Russia under constant pressure with all the means at our disposal, including sanctions,” Pevkur emphasized.
Pevkur thanked the Estonian people and all political parties who had supported the increase in defence spending and called on the Riigikogu to also approve the 5% defence spending level in the national security concept in the long term. “Of course, it has not been an easy road, because everyone knows that money does not grow on trees or come out of walls. It is collected at the expense of all our daily needs and habits. At the same time, we are proving that, for Estonians, their country and freedom outweigh inconveniences such as tax increases.”
The Minister also introduced specific steps for developing Estonia’s defence capabilities: “Currently, our wartime structure consists of approximately 44,000 active-duty personnel, reservists, members of the Defence League, and allied units. Here today, in front of you, I say that our goal is to increase this number to 55,000 within the next ten years.” He emphasized that increasing defence spending would enable the development of an air defence brigade, strengthen the navy, invest in infrastructure and ammunition, and support the domestic defence industry.
Pevkur emphasized that people were the backbone of Estonia’s defence capabilities: “The backbone of Estonia’s defence capability, through the national will to defend, is our people – trained active-duty personnel, conscripts, and reservists, whose preparation requires years and whose combat readiness requires consistent training, motivation, and support from society.” According to the minister, allowances for conscripts and reservists will be increased, salaries for active-duty personnel will be raised, and investments will be made in training.
To conclude his speech, Pevkur affirmed: “I repeat here clearly and without hesitation – as Minister of Defence, I do not intend to sit idly by and wait for a Russian boot to step on Estonian territory. We must act quickly and precisely. We must continue to strengthen Estonia’s national defence and increase its defence capability through planned activities at an accelerated pace.”
Kalev Stoicescu from the Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Raimond Kaljulaid from the Social Democratic Party Group, Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Kristo-Enn Vaga from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Peeter Ernits took the of the floor on behalf of the Estonian Centre Party Parliamentary Group.
A Bill passed the first reading
At today’s sitting, the Bill on Amendments to the Savings and Loan Associations Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (671 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. Its aim is to increase the transparency of savings and loan associations and the activity of their members, and to guide associations towards a form of bank or association bank operating under greater supervision. Currently, the activities of savings and loan associations are not subject to financial supervision. The amendments will increase the credibility of associations.
The reform will be implemented in three stages between 2025 and 2029. In the first stage, the establishment of new associations and the advertising of deposit interest rates will be prohibited, and membership fees and contributions for new members will also be increased. In the second stage, authorization and the conclusion of loan and deposit agreements will be restricted, members’ rights will be strengthened, and management and control requirements will be tightened. In the third stage, associations wishing to accept deposits over time will have to reorganize their activities into an association bank and apply for an operating license from the Financial Supervision Authority. It will be possible to continue as a payment institution or creditor, but those ceasing operations will have to officially notify this.
Helir-Valdor Seeder from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.
Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 12 members of the Riigikogu supported rejection and 41 were against it.
According to Hussar, the question we hear more and more often in today’s information society is, “What time is this we are living in?” According to him, it seems to reflect the attitude that never before has the world been so anxious and out of balance. “We live in an age of anxiety disorder, where fears ranging from swine flu to car taxes, from war to online elections, from inflation to electricity prices, form a kind of ‘cluster anxiety’,” he said.
According to Hussar, a chain of fears triggers a flood of information and emotions that makes worries overwhelming but it should not and does not have to be that way. “So what helps? The whole of society has a role to play here, from the media to civil society, but the most important of these is certainly the role of constitutional institutions, and above all, parliament. As a parliament, we have all the necessary means at our disposal under the constitution. If we use them responsibly, trust will be restored – and trust is the basis for democracy to function. Parliament, government, president – all are ultimately based on the trust of the people,” he said.
Looking back on the past year, Hussar acknowledged the parliament’s decision to define the non-participation of Russian citizens in Estonian local elections. He expressed his satisfaction that several parliamentary groups had submitted a bill regulating the presidential elections and that amendments to the Political Parties Act had also entered the process. “And finally, I would also like to thank you for the solidarity cut, a decision I also referred to in my speech a year ago. The 400,000 euro saved is not a large amount when looking at the overall figures for the state budget, but it is certainly significant,” he said.
According to Hussar, the most important task of the Riigikogu in the upcoming busy and hard-working autumn is to adopt next year’s state budget. According to him, this decision will determine how much funding will be allocated to national defence, teachers, police officers, and healthcare but how these funds are collected is no less important. “Taxes should not be confusing slogans or ideological rhetoric. People are waiting for clarity. And this can be granted by parliament, which imposes, amends, and repeals taxes – on a regular basis, not on an extraordinary basis,” he said. He added that the responsibility of the Riigikogu for the country’s finances was final and absolute. “We need commitment, precision, and clarity – not cheap juggling with billions. The budget must be understandable, and not mysterious.“
Hussar thanked the members of the Riigikogu for their decision made in the spring to introduce end-of-life declaration but called for broader consideration of the next step, which would give terminally ill and suffering people the opportunity to make their own decision to leave this world with dignity. “A dignified way to end unbearable pain and incurable illness can certainly be formulated in a way that does not question the value of life but recognizes a person’s right to decide to end their suffering,” he said.
At the opening sitting of the autumn session, the Speaker of the Riigikogu also emphasized the need for continued support for Ukraine. “To prevent the axis of evil from expanding, it is even more important for all of us to stand united behind Ukraine and continue to support them. Estonia’s role and example have been decisive here, and we have done everything in our power to convince our partners of this as well. Parliamentary diplomacy has also played a significant role here, through which we have strongly supported Ukraine,” Hussar said before the Riigikogu.
“Regardless of the full-scale war, Ukraine has set itself the goal of reforming its education system at all levels, from early childhood education to higher education and research. We are also carrying out several reforms in education. We can share lessons learned with each other,” Chair of the Cultural Affairs Committee Liina Kersna said. She acknowledged Ukraine’s efforts in reforming general, vocational and higher education.
Deputy Chair of the Committee Tõnis Lukas said that the aim of the visit was to exchange experience and to learn from each other so that the young people would have good possibilities for shaping their future in their homeland. “Through educational cooperation, we can invest in knowledge and skills that will help both our nations to survive and, in the case of Ukrainians, to rebuild their country,” he underlined, and added, “We will surely gain diverse experience in the field of civil protection.”
The visit will begin today with the opening of the vocational education project of the Estonian Centre for International Development and Tallinn University. The aim of the project is to support the vocational education reform in Ukraine. The Chair of the Cultural Affairs Committee will give a speech at the opening of the project and, in the second half of the week, at a seminar where the representatives of Estonia will share their experience in implementing educational reforms.
During the visit, Kersna and Lukas will meet with Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Education, Science and Innovations Serhii Babak, Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi and Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Mykola Tochytsky. The leaders of the Cultural Affairs Committee will also attend seminars dedicated to the vocational education and higher education reform, and visit universities in Zhytomyr and Kyiv.
Kersna and Lukas also plan to visit the office of the International Criminal Court, headed by Kaupo Känd.
“This is the first format of discussion of the organisation where military and civilian uses were discussed openly as parallel, as was the need to enhance military capability,” said the head of the Estonian delegation Mario Kadastik.
The plenary reviewed the EISC statutes and adopted a resolution expressing the need to develop cooperation in the use of space technology.
The key words of the resolution are space, security, and resilience in Europe.
“The plenary was unanimous in acknowledging the important role of space technology in strengthening Europe’s security and resilience,” Kadastik stressed. He explained that in light of the changing nature of the global security architecture and Europe’s security needs, we needed to consider the dual use nature of space technology in the field of security and resilience before anything else.
The participants commended the EU Space Act legislative initiative, which rests on three main columns: safety, resilience, and sustainability. “This is an attempt to harmonise the legal framework all over the EU by integrating the requirements into national legislations on space,” Kadastik explained. The resolution emphasised the need for comprehensive and targeted space strategies to ensure security and resilience, which would enhance the safety and autonomy of European space systems and services. European countries need to act as a single front to protect regional space capabilities and assets.
The resolution highlights the need to ensure resilience and crisis preparedness in the use of space data. There is also a need for close cooperation to better deal with climate change, civil security, and disaster and crisis management, which affect security in Europe and the whole world.
The resolution accentuates the need for joint efforts between countries, interests, and parties to drive international cooperation in space. “The EU must continue investing into its space presence, study the limits of technology, and improve its ability to act independently in the field of space,” the resolution says.
The Tallinn meeting brought together representatives from the EISC member states, the European Space Agency, and the European Space Policy Institute.
The head of the Estonian delegation Mario Kadastik, Director of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) Hermann Ludwig Moeller, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) Josef Aschbacher, Policy Officer for Space in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence, Major R. Toni Pfaffenbauer, security expert Rainer Saks, and expert of the Estonian Defence Forces Ivo Peets took part in the discussion.
Friday will include visits to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and cyber security company CybExer Technologies. The company is known for its cyber range platform solutions.
The aim of the EISC is to facilitate information exchange, discussion, and analysis in the space policy sector for the national parliaments in Europe. The resolutions adopted at the meetings of the EISC are not binding for national parliaments, but the organisation helps to define the role of the European legislators in space issues.
Photos (will be added in accordance with the programme; author: Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)
The plenary sitting of the European Interparliamentary Space Conference (EISC) and the related meetings will focus on the common ground in the field of space. The head of the Estonian delegation Mario Kadastik said that the components of military vs. civilian use had been kept apart so far; however, the changed global situation had introduced cross-usage into the field of space. “The new reality in turn has highlighted the need to use and develop both the civilian and military infrastructures more efficiently as a foundation for future space-based security,” Kadastik said.
This meeting brings to Tallinn representatives from the EISC member states, the European Space Agency, and the European Space Policy Institute.
Politicians and space management experts will take part in panel discussions in the Riigikogu Conference Hall, discussing the topics of shifting boundaries in space over the next decade as well as the integration of the space dimension into military structures and operations.
Taking part in the discussion are the head of the Estonian delegation Mario Kadastik, Director of the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI) Hermann Ludwig Moeller, Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA) Josef Aschbacher, Policy Officer for Space in the Austrian Federal Ministry of Defence, Major R. Toni Pfaffenbauer, security expert Rainer Saks, and expert of the Estonian Defence Forces Ivo Peets.
Friday will include visits to the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and cyber security company CybExer Technologies. The company is known for its cyber range platform solutions.
The European Interparliamentary Space Conference was established in 1999. Its full members are the national parliaments of the Member States of the European Union and/or the European Space Agency that have established a parliamentary body dealing with space affairs.
The aim of the EISC is to facilitate information exchange, discussion, and analysis in the space policy sector for the national parliaments in Europe. The resolutions adopted at the meetings of the EISC are not binding for national parliaments, but the organisation helps to define the role of the European legislators in space issues.
The organisation currently has 15 full members. The official languages of the EISC are English, French, and German.
The chairmanship of the EISC rotates, and one country holds it for one year. The task of the presidency is to organise a workshop on topics of space from a practical perspective, as well as a plenary session, where a resolution on hot topics of the year is passed.
Estonia last held the presidency of the EISC in 2017. The aim of our presidency at the time was to launch a discussion on how to use entrepreneurship in the space industry, and how to deal with the legislation regulating these issues.
Photos (will be added in accordance with the programme; author: Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)