Regarding the committees of the Riigikogu, the biggest burden fell on the Economic Affairs Committee, which was the lead committee for 20 Bills that were passed. The Legal Affairs Committee was the lead committee for 15 Bills, and both the Constitutional Committee and Finance Committee were the lead committees of 12 Bills. Altogether, the 15th Riigikogu has passed 413 legislative acts: 113 of them were passed last year, 130 in 2024 and 70 in 2023.

During the spring session, 81 interpellations of the members of the Riigikogu got a reply, and 17 collective proposals with at least one thousand signatures of support were submitted for parliamentary proceedings.

According to the Constitution of Estonia, regular sessions of the Riigikogu take place from the second Monday of January to the third Thursday of June, and from the second Monday of September to the third Thursday of December. The Riigikogu will convene again for regular sittings on 14 September.

In the meantime, the committees of the Riigikogu will continue their work and members of the Riigikogu will perform their other functions. If necessary, extraordinary sessions may be held between the regular sessions. Extraordinary sessions can be convened by the President of the Riigikogu on the proposal of the President of the Republic, the Government of the Republic or at least 21 members of the Riigikogu.

More information on the legislation and the topics discussed by the Riigikogu

Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
karin.kangro@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: The Riigikogu concluded its spring session

Among other things, the directive specifies the liability of legal persons, improves data collection, and strengthens cooperation and coordination at both the national and EU levels. Systems are also being developed that help to identify victims of trafficking in human beings at an early stage and provide them with the necessary assistance.

The Act will include surrogacy against a woman’s will and illegal adoption to the necessary elements of trafficking in human beings in the Penal Code. Also, the use of a service will become punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment if the user knows that the person providing the service is a victim of trafficking in human beings. In this regard, the standard duty of care will apply.

Evelin Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Lea Danilson-Järg from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

39 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and three voted against.

One draft Resolution was dropped from legislative proceedings

Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to develop a comprehensive package of measures to restore confidence among families with children and stop the birth rate crisis” (870 OE), submitted by Isamaa Parliamentary Group, proposed that the Government develop such a  comprehensive package of measures. To this end, it is proposed that the Government submit bills aimed at restoring confidence among families, addressing various factors affecting family formation and childbirth, including families’ economic security, housing policy, education, health, etc. In developing the package of measures, it is proposed that the Government rely on recommendations made by researchers and on the analysis prepared by the Ministry of Social Affairs, ‘Supporting Having and Raising Children: Analysis and Proposals’, while taking a comprehensive approach to all issues and challenges identified in the analysis.

Riina Sikkut from the Social Democratic Party Group, Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group and Signe Riisalo  from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Henn Põlluaas presented comments on behalf of Isamaa Parliamentary Group.

19 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the draft Resolution. The draft Resolution dropped from the legislative proceedings as a majority vote of the members of the Riigikogu was needed for the Resolution to be passed.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Maiki Vaikla
+372 631 6456, +372 5666 9508
maiki.vaikla@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: The Riigikogu passed an Act

The Act expands the possibilities of court hearings in situations where the accused evades the court. At present, a hearing cannot normally be held without the accused, but according to an amendment it will also be possible to hold a hearing without the accused being present in the courtroom all the time. The Act provides for the possibility of appointing a substitute defence counsel by way of state legal aid so that proceedings do not remain pending because of substitutions.

The Act also allows parties to agree on aspects in which they do not have a dispute and which do not need to be investigated within the framework of court proceedings; gives the court the opportunity to set a reasonable time for speeches made at court hearings; specifies the rules of adversarial examination to avoid disputes over the order of questioning, and makes it easier to conduct trials via video bridge.

74 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act, and one was against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Courts Act and Other Acts (speeding up court proceedings) (854 SE), initiated by the Government. It makes amendments to courts administration, civil and administrative court proceedings, and court fees to speed up court proceedings. The amendments to procedural law are intended to simplify the hearing of simple cases in order to optimise and reduce the workload of the courts. For example, in administrative court procedure, in clear-cut cases, the court will be able to make a decision during the preliminary procedure without holding a hearing.

The aim of the changes to the court system is to streamline court administration and improve the organization of the work and specialization of the courts in order to speed up the hearing of more complex cases. According to the Act, the courts of first instance and the courts of appeal will become independent constitutional institutions alongside the Supreme Court in terms of court administration and budgetary procedure. The strategic management of the court system will be directed by the council of courts, and the day-to-day support services for the courts will be organised by a new court administration service. In order to increase the specialisation of judges, the Act provides for nine areas of specialisation instead of the current two. In addition, the system of lay judges is abolished.

According to the explanatory memorandum, raising the rates for statutory fees in civil and administrative court proceedings will help at least partially cover the increase in operational costs of courts, prevent malicious and non-viable legal recourse applications, and encourage parties to disputes to reach a compromise. Fees will increase by an average of 50 per cent in civil cases, and by an average of 200 per cent for appeals to administrative courts. Less well-off people will retain the opportunity for financial aid, and applicants for international protection will be exempt from statutory fee.

During the proceedings, several amendments were incorporated into the Act, one of which provided that there would be a total of 164 judge positions in district courts, 47 in circuit courts of appeal, and 25 in administrative courts. The amendment will not preclude a temporary increase in the number of judges in exceptional cases provided for by law but will ensure that the normal functioning of the court system is based on a clearly defined number of judges. In addition, the maximum age limit for judges is raised to 71 years and the procedure for extending the age limit is abolished.

During the debate, Ando Kiviberg from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor and Peeter Ernits spoke on behalf of the Centre Party Group.

56 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act and eight were against.

The Riigikogu passed the Nuclear Energy and Safety Act (856 SE), initiated by the Government. It establishes a legal framework for the production and use of peaceful nuclear energy in Estonia. The Act sets out the rules for selecting the location of a nuclear power plant and for its construction, testing, and operation, as well as the rules for its decommissioning, and the final disposal of nuclear waste.

The function of the national nuclear regulator, along with all the rights and obligations associated with that role, will be established under the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority. Among other things, a phased licensing system is established for the construction of a plant, consisting of a preliminary assessment, a construction license, a testing license, an operating license, and a decommissioning license. The nuclear regulator will begin operations on 1 January 2027.

The Act also establishes the principle that the developer and operator of a nuclear power plant bears full responsibility for the safety of the facility and for the costs incurred at the end of its life cycle. A national decommissioning fund will be established for the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant; during the plant’s operational life, the operator will contribute funds to it for dismantling the plant and the final disposal of waste. The Act also provides for the principles of nuclear security, physical protection, emergency preparedness, and the implementation of international safeguards.

During the proceedings, the Riigikogu amended the Act by introducing an additional level of political decision-making to the procedure for constructing a nuclear power plant – in addition to the nuclear regulator and the government, the Riigikogu will also have to give its approval when a decision on the construction of a nuclear power plant is made.

Mario Kadastik from the Reform Party Group, Rain Epler from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Riina Sikkut from the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

63 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act, 10 were against and there was one abstention.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on the State’s Supplementary Budget for 2026 (910 SE), initiated by the Government. According to it, state revenues will reduce by EUR 24 million, and expenditures will increase by EUR 4.4 million. Investments will decrease by EUR 1.5 million and the budget for financing transactions will increase by EUR 37.9 million.

The Act will direct EUR 10.98 million in expenses and investments to the projects of the Estonian artificial intelligence development programme Eesti.ai, which, among other things, aim to improve people’s AI skills and make the public sector more efficient. EUR 17 million will be allocated for the construction of the eastern border to pay for contractual obligations already undertaken. The investments of the State Real Estate Ltd and Hexest Materials Ltd are also specified. The allocation to the Estonian Cultural Endowment will be increased by the amount of voluntary payments made to the state budget by gambling operators and the income tax paid on those payments.

The cancellation of the fuel excise duty increase, which started from 1 May, will lead to the largest decrease in revenue, amounting to EUR 36 million. An additional 20 million in dividends will be taken from the net profit of the State Forest Management Centre to increase revenues.

The budget deficit will remain at 4.3 percent of GDP, i.e. at the same level as in the Ministry of Finance’s spring forecast. Next year’s budget deficit will decrease by 0.1 percent of GDP as a result of the proposals.

During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the supplementary budget that increased the single parent’s child allowance from 80 to 100 euros per month as of 1 September. The amendment will result in additional expenditure of EUR 600,000 which will be covered from the budget for IT investments in the area of government of the Ministry of Social Affairs. The additional expenditure will be taken into account when preparing the state budget strategy as of 2027.

Revenues totalled EUR 18.6 billion and expenditures 19.5 billion, while investments totalled EUR 1.3 billion and financing transactions 1.5 billion in the 2026 state budget adopted by the Riigikogu last December.

Andrei Korobeinik from the Centre Party Group, Õnne Pillak from the Reform Party Group, Riina Sikkut from the social Democratic Party Group and Aivar Kokk from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

49 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 31 voted against.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Nature Conservation Act and Other Acts (612 SE), initiated by the Government. It specifies the procedure for placing natural objects under protection and makes derogations in nature conservation restrictions to meet the national defence objectives.

During the proceedings, amendments were made to the Act, the most important of which arise from the Chancellor of Justice’s recommendation to create legal clarity in shore and bank protection. Nature conservation restrictions must be justified and clearly worded. Local governments will gain more decision-making freedom in designating shore and bank protection zones in cities, towns and small towns, which aligns with the direction of the national spatial plan to densify existing densely populated areas.

The Act provides how compensation and mitigation areas will be designated the purpose of which will be to offset the impact of activities that harm a species or habitat. Compensation and mitigation areas will be coordinated with the Environmental Board and entered into the Estonian Nature Information System.

The role of the local government as the entity bringing comprehensive plans into effect is to balance various interests so that construction does not jeopardize the objectives of shore and bank protection. In certain cases, it is necessary to provide for the determination of the value of a plot of land and the forest growing on it.

The Act specifies the extent of the building exclusion zone on banks and shores in areas at risk of flooding. It is specified that all restrictions begin at the shoreline, and if a flooding extends beyond the width of the building exclusion zone established by law, the boundary of the flooding area will be the boundary of the zone. Under the Act, the building exclusion zones of shores and banks may be reduced only with the consent of the Environmental Board outside cities, towns and small towns.

According to the Act, for the purpose of public good, it will be possible to permit, by a discretionary decision which means a lower time and resource cost, sports and recreational facilities intended for public use for which it is not necessary to reduce the building exclusion zone by spatial planning to be built in building exclusion zones, and in the future the local government will decide on permitting them in a building exclusion zone in a city, town or small town. Local authorities may extend the building exclusion zone of a shore or bank by a comprehensive plan.

The Act provides the possibility that nature conservation work does not always have to be carried out with the permission of the Environmental Board in areas important for national defence. For example, restoration of mire habitats may be waived for reasons of national defence if it does not have a major impact on nature conservation and the damage to nature can be mitigated in other ways. During increased defence readiness, mobilisation, demobilisation, state of emergency or state of war, buildings may be constructed in building exclusion zones without the consent of the Environment Board.

The Hunting Act is also amended to allow for the issuance of electronic hunting permits. The management of hunting-related data will be consolidated into a hunting information system.

48 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act, seven were against and there were two abstentions.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Language Act, the statutory fees Act and the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act (740 SE), initiated by the Government. It centralizes the organization of language learning into the area of administration of the Ministry of Education and Research in order to end fragmentation between several ministries and ensure more functional solutions for society and the labour market.

The purpose of the amendments is to improve compliance with the requirements for the use of the Estonian language and to enhance supervision. Supervision of compliance with language requirements will become stricter and non-compliance levies and fines will be increased. The Act increases the upper limit of non-compliance levy from EUR 640 to EUR 1,280 for private individuals, and to 9,600 for legal entities. The rates of the fines for legal entities for violating the obligation to use the Estonian language are also adjusted. An upper fine limit of EUR 10,000, and up to EUR 15,000 in certain cases with a wider impact, is provided for. Currently, non-compliance levies and fines are small, which often means that non-compliance levies and fines are paid where necessary, but the activity is not corrected.

The amendments introduce a broader definition of the language of administration into the Act. Estonian-language administration will be required in all bodies providing public sector services, as well as in bodies governed by public law, and in municipalities. Thus, administration will be expected to be in Estonian, for example, in universities and municipal councils and committees where discussions will have to be held in Estonian. Exceptions to language requirements remain in place for top specialists and teachers temporarily arriving from abroad in international and foreign-language curricula.

The Act establishes a statutory fee of EUR 50 for taking a language exam at the same level for the third or subsequent time so that the exam is not used as a learning tool. Currently, many appeals are filed in the hope that the exam result will improve. The possibility that the result may also fall is included in the Act.

The distribution of grants and scholarships will also be consolidated into a single system in order to reduce administrative burden and improve the targeting of funding.

During the proceedings, it was decided to specify two historical language varieties of the regional varieties of the Estonian language in the Language Act. The current provision according to which the state promotes the protection, use and development of the regional varieties of the Estonian language is thereby given clearer content. According to an amendment, language varieties that have developed in the historical language areas of North and South Estonia are regional varieties of the Estonian language. In a traditional usage area of a regional variety of the Estonian language, a text in accordance with the Literary Standard may be accompanied by a text of the same content in the corresponding variety.

The motion to amend is based on requests from communities and linguists to grant regional language varieties stronger legislative status and to distinguish between the North Estonian and South Estonian varieties of the Estonian language, while treating all language varieties equally.

Margit Sutrop from the Reform Party Group, Anti Allas from the Social Democratic Party Group, Tõnis Lukas from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.

59 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Building Code and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (743 SE), initiated by the Government. It updates construction law and makes construction and planning processes simpler, faster, and more flexible.

The major amendments concern design specifications. According to the Act, it will no longer be necessary to amend the detailed spatial plan and instead it will be sufficient to specify the design specifications if a smaller outbuilding such as a sauna, shed, or garage is to be added to the plot. It will also be sufficient to specify the design specifications if a person wishes to change the ground projection area or number of floors of a building to be constructed, specify the type of civil engineering works, for example, replace electric heating with ground source heating, or build a shelter next to a new building. Every new building will need to have a shelter in the future.

It is planned to abandon the requirement to apply for a use and occupancy permit in the case of private houses and semi-detached houses. According to the Act, a simplified use and occupancy notice in the register of buildings which reflects the basic data of the building will be sufficient. According to an amendment, the validity of the building notice will be extended to four years. This will mean that, in the event of a delay in construction, it will not be necessary to notify the local government several times.

The Act also introduces changes to the legalization of old buildings in the register. The entry of buildings without a legal basis into the register will become clearer, giving people the opportunity to enter their registered immovables and buildings into the register correctly. The safety of a building will be the prerequisite for legalization for buildings constructed before 1 July 2015, and buildings constructed before 22 July 1995 will automatically be deemed to be legal. In addition, the previous statutory fee of EUR 500 which had to be paid when entering unauthorized buildings into the register is abolished.

During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the Act, specifying the definition of the remodelling of a utility network line or utility work and providing that, among other things, a situation where a utility network line or utility work is demolished and an essentially similar utility network line or utility work is built in its place would also be deemed to be remodelling.

The Act was also amended to include a section that allowed for electronic communications infrastructure to be deployed as part of public roads. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure the cost-effective deployment of electronic communications infrastructure and to exploit the benefits of joint construction. The explanatory memorandum states that this way it will be possible to avoid later additional costs and the possibility that roads that have already been built will have to be rebuilt later.

66 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and three voted against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act and the Explosives Act (779 SE), initiated by the Government. Its idea is to protect consumers from unfair commercial practices and to ensure that green-related claims used as sales arguments for products are actually true.

If a trader wants to use claims such as “environmentally friendly,” “biodegradable,” or “energy efficient” when marketing their products, then they will have to prove the truthfulness of their claims and obtain confirmation from an expert. The Act prohibits self-invented sustainability labels and claims that mislead consumers about products’ lifespan and repairability. Labels will have to be based on a certification scheme or be established by public authorities. The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, which is already exercising supervision over the use of unfair commercial practices, will begin to exercise supervision.

During the proceedings, the Act was amended to specify that producers and traders may use a corrective label for one year for goods and packaging produced before the entry into force of the new requirements, that is, before 27 September of this year, if the environmental claims or sustainability labels presented on the packaging of goods do not comply with the new requirements.

65 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and one was against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Postal Act, the Competition Act and the Statutory Fees Act (781 SE), initiated by the Government. It modernizes the Estonian postal market.

In the area of traditional postal services, it is essentially a monopoly market, while there is active competition in courier services. The changing market and international trends necessitate a renewal of the organization and financing of the universal postal service and the requirements applicable to the entire postal market. The Act simplifies the licensing procedure for the provision of postal services and licensing will remain mandatory only for the provision of the universal postal service. Submission of a notice of economic activity will be sufficient for other postal services.

During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the Act which included the service of delivering periodical publications within the scope of the universal postal service. This will ensure that newspapers and magazines are available throughout the country, including in areas where the market does not function and the service is not economically viable. In addition, the establishment of a maximum affordable price for the universal postal service will be abandoned and replaced with a justified price coordinated by the Competition Authority and established by the minister, where the principle of cost-based pricing will be taken into account.

Lauri Laats from the Centre Party Group, Anti Allas from the Social Democratic Party Group and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

49 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act and 34 voted against.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Energy Sector Organisation Act (812 SE), initiated by the Government. It implements the European Union regulation on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure.

The Act will enable the creation of a comprehensive overview of the locations of recharging and refuelling points for electric and other alternative fuels and their availability, including whether chargers are currently vacant. This will improve consumers’ ability to plan their movement and will support the development of mobility services and digital solutions.

The amendments concern operators of recharging and refuelling infrastructure as well as providers of digital services that aggregate and display movement information to consumers. The amendment will primarily affect larger energy and fuel companies and infrastructure operators, including Enefit, Eleport, Alexela, Elektrum, Terminal, Neste, Ignitis, and Circle K. They will have an obligation to make infrastructure data available in a standardized manner which will increase their administrative burden to some extent but will improve the quality of services and the reliability of the data.

The Act designates the Transport Administration as the competent authority and proposes the Estonian open data portal as the national access point. The establishment of the national access point function will be funded within the framework of the data management reform of the Estonian Recovery and Resilience Plan.

70 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act, five were against and there was one abstention.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Estonian Public Broadcasting Act (819 SE), initiated by the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group and Members of the Riigikogu Jaak Aab, Ester Karuse, Tanel Kiik, Andre Hanimägi and Züleyxa Izmailova. Its aim is to improve the gender balance and political independence of the Estonian Public Broadcasting Council.

According to the Act, the Estonian Public Broadcasting Council will have to include people of both sexes. According to the initiators, representatives of both genders bring different experiences, perspectives, and knowledge to the decision-making process of the council, which reduces the risk of bias and increases the credibility of the Public Broadcasting and its council.

During the proceedings, five amendments were made to the Act, three of which would enhance the political independence of public broadcasting. The Committee amended the Act to include a provision according to which the number of representatives elected from among recognized experts in the field of activity of the Estonian Public Broadcasting on the Supervisory Board would have to exceed the number of parliamentary groups in the Riigikogu by one, in order to ensure the independence of public broadcasting. According to the current Act, four experts are appointed to the council, but there are currently six parliamentary groups in parliament. It is also provided that the Riigikogu must appoint recognized experts in the field to the Estonian Public Broadcasting Council through an open competition.

The Act was also supplemented with a provision according to which a sectoral expert may not be a member of the governing body of a political party, and it was specified what kind of working relationship a council member may have with a media service provider. According to an amendment, a member of the council is not allowed to work in a management position at a media service provider or perform work where he or she can decide on the media service provider’s activities, programme, or editorial content, for example as an editor-in-chief or news director. At the same time, the wording will not prevent individual contributions or participation in discussions.

In addition, the Act was supplemented with the principle according to which members of the council would be remunerated according to their attendance at council meetings. An amendment also provides that if no meeting is held in a calendar month, no remuneration will be paid to members of the council.

Liina Kersna from the Reform Party Group, Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group and Marek Reinaas from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Tanel Kiik made a speech on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.

60 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act and 25 were against.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Traffic Act (835 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Valdo Randpere, Madis Timpson and Marek Reinaas. According to it, indication signs must be installed before areas where automated traffic enforcement systems are used.

Currently, there is no uniform and binding legal obligation to inform road users about speed measurements carried out using an automated traffic enforcement system. According to the initiators, this has led to a situation where speed is measured covertly, which undermines the sense of justice and erodes trust in law enforcement.

The aim of the amendment is to ensure the transparency, preventive nature, and legality of traffic enforcement, insofar as the main purpose of speed enforcement is not to punish, but to improve road safety and encourage law-abiding behaviour.

During the debate, Andre Hanimägi took the floor on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group and Valdo Randpere spoke on behalf of the Reform Party Parliamentary Group.

57 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 12 voted against.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (837 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to simplify the rules for the employment of minors so that minors could be employed more flexibly than before and they had better opportunities to gain early work experience and develop work habits. Early work experience helps improve young people’s starting position in the labour market and thereby helps prevent their long-term unemployment in the future.

Under the Act, young people are allowed to work more during school holidays. Under the current rules, a young person may work for half of their school holiday but in the future they will be able to work for up to two months during their summer holiday; they will be able to work for five days during a one-week school holiday and for ten days during a two-week school holiday.

While currently young people, depending on their age, may work in family businesses only in the fields of culture, art, sports, and advertising, according to an amendment, this restriction will disappear and young people will be able to work in family businesses in any field. The period for processing the Labour Inspectorate’s permit required before hiring a minor aged 7–12 is also shortened to allow, for example, the organizer of a youth work camp to quickly hire a young person on the camp’s waiting list if a young person who has been accepted into the camp withdraws from participation in the camp immediately before the work begins. The annual basic leave for minor employees is also brought in line with that of adults—it will be 28 calendar days.

The content of the amendments was significantly expanded during the proceedings. In addition to simplifying the conditions for the employment of minors, the Act was amended by including extensive and fundamental changes to labour law, including the transposition of EU directives, a regulation on wage transparency, and the creation of a salary comparison tool as a new national digital solution. The salary comparison tool will be for voluntary use by employers.

During the debate, Tanel Kiik took the floor on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group and Signe Riisalo made a speech on behalf of the Reform Party Parliamentary Group.

58 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act, one was against and there was one abstention as well.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Credit Institutions Act and Other Acts (governance and operational requirements for credit institutions) (848 SE), initiated by the Government. It updates the governance and operational requirements for credit institutions and investment firms in accordance with the European Union banking package.

The Act specifies the rules for the governance and risk management of banks and establishes clearer requirements for the selection of managers and key function holders as well as for compliance. The system of committees of banks is also streamlined to make their tasks and the formation of the committees clearer. During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the Act that would grant credit institutions additional time to establish the necessary committees and comply with the requirements.

In addition, the Act specifies the rules for bank mergers, the transfer of assets, and the establishment of branches of third-country banks and grants the Financial Supervision Authority additional supervisory tools.

61 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and two voted against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Higher Education Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (849 SE), initiated by the Government. It will strengthen the sustainability of the financing of higher education institutions by providing them with additional opportunities to attract private funding.

According to the Act, higher education institutions will be able to charge tuition fees for studying in Estonian-language master’s programmes lasting less than two years; there are currently 30 such programmes. The Act also allows for requiring reimbursement of student expenses from third-country nationals who come here for doctoral studies. 40 percent of people studying for a doctorate are foreigners, three-quarters of whom are from third countries. Currently, they cannot be charged tuition.

The Act also updates the pharmacy study programme so that it would better meet the needs of the labour market. In the future, the pharmacy study programme can be organised on the basis of separate bachelor’s and master’s study programmes. Currently it is an integrated study. After completing a bachelor’s study programme of assistant pharmacist, graduates can start working in general and hospital pharmacies. In order to work as a pharmacist, they will have to complete a master’s study programme, which will enable them to also assume employment as researchers in pharmaceutical industry.

The regulation of the Higher Education Quality Agency is brought to the level of law and supervision to be exercised over higher education institutions is provided for. The parliament specified by law that the career model for vocational teachers would not be applied in professional higher education institutions in order to avoid duplicative quality assessment in higher and vocational education.

63 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Atmospheric Air Protection Act, the Environmental Charges Act and the Statutory Fees Act (861 SE), initiated by the Government. Its purpose is to bring national law into line with the European Union’s updated air quality framework and to reduce the administrative burden on companies with a lower environmental impact as well as the workload of the Environmental Board.

An EU directive establishes stricter air quality limit values than before and specifies requirements for air quality monitoring, data availability, and public information. The implementation of the Act will help improve the living environment of Estonia’s residents, reduce health damage caused by pollution, and meet the EU’s climate and environmental objectives.

The Act mainly introduces new requirements for the state and, to a lesser extent, for local governments. From 2030, operators will have to comply with new air quality limit values, which means that companies will have to assess whether their activities comply with the new air quality limit values and, if necessary, implement measures to ensure compliance. The amendments also concern the role of municipal governments in improving air quality. If air quality limit values or target values are exceeded or there is a risk of them being exceeded, the municipal government will have to draw up an air quality plan or roadmap and involve the operators of emission sources in it.

For making the monitoring and data public, an air quality index is provided which will be based on the methodology of the European Environment Agency and will be updated once an hour. Since stricter air pollution limit values will start to apply to existing 1–5 MWth combustion plants, this will bring about a need to amend the air pollution permits for 449 boiler plants. In this regard, an amendment to reduce bureaucracy is made which will allow small boiler plants to switch to simple registration instead of applying for an air pollution permit.

53 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act, and one was against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Electronic Communications Act and the Information Society Services Act (862 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to ensure more effective functioning of criminal proceedings and international cooperation.

The Act transposes into Estonian law a European Union directive that is part of the so-called electronic evidence package. The purpose of the regulation that is part of the package is to enable decisions and orders in criminal proceedings to be submitted to service providers established in other Member States. The purpose of the Directive, however, is to ensure that service providers designate or appoint, as appropriate, either companies or legal representatives to receive and enforce such decisions and orders.

Information on the appointment of companies and representatives will be forwarded to the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority which cooperates with the central authorities of other Member States and the European Commission.

57 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act, and one voted against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Administrative Procedure Act and the Public Information Act (866 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to establish a clear and technology-neutral legal framework for automated administrative procedures.

An automated administrative procedure is a procedure in which decisions are made and acts are performed automatically, without direct human intervention, using information technology solutions. Automated procedures are already used in several fields, but there is no explicit legal framework that would define the limits of implementing automated administrative proceedings.

The purpose of the amendments is to ensure the speed, efficiency, and legitimacy of administrative proceedings in order to provide better-functioning and more person-centred services and to strengthen trust in the state. The Act provides for clear notification regarding the functioning of automated administrative procedure so that a person would know why a decision is made regarding them and what options they have to challenge the decision.

46 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act, seven were against and there were two abstentions.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Riigi Teataja Act (879 SE), initiated by the Government. It establishes the legal basis for a new database of draft legislation, Sätla, so that the entire life cycle of a legislative act, from its initiation to its publication in the Riigi Teataja, could be followed in a single environment. The new database will make it possible to involve various parties and stakeholders in policy-making at an early stage.

According to the specified wording, the state co-creation environment Sätla is a database where draft legislation and drafts of other documents are prepared and processed, and the relevant procedural information is disclosed until the documents are approved or signed and published in the Riigi Teataja or pursuant to another procedure provided by legislation.

Once the environment is ready, the database will also replace the current draft legislation information system. With the help of the new functions, the officials involved in legislative drafting will save an estimated 1,855 working days per year on technical work. In addition, the new database will support the transition from document-based legislative drafting to a data-based approach, which will improve the usability of data and create conditions for further automation.

56 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act, three were against and there was one abstention.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Securities Market Act and Other Acts (882 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to develop the Estonian capital market, simplify the raising of financing for companies and expand investment opportunities. The amendments are largely based on European Union regulation.

The Act will make going public on the stock exchange more flexible for companies by reducing the requirement for freely tradable shares from 25 percent to 10 percent. If this condition is not met either, the market operator will be able to assess adequacy based on other criteria, such as the number of investors or the market value of the company. This will create an opportunity for more companies to go public.

The availability of investment research is also improved so that investors would have more reliable information. To this end, restrictions on the funding of research reports are eased, and a clearer framework is established for issuer-funded research reports to ensure their transparency.

In addition, the creation of growth markets intended for small and medium-sized enterprises is simplified which will help them raise capital at an earlier stage of development and will support the development of entrepreneurship.

59 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act; one was against and there was one abstention.

The Riigikogu passed the Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Act (889 SE), initiated by the Government. The new consolidated text of the Act addresses the problems associated with the shortcomings of the previous Act which is more than 20 years old that emerged during the COVID pandemic. The new Act updates the definitions related to infectious diseases, defines a particularly dangerous infectious disease, and establishes requirements for conduct and responsibility in the event of crises related to infectious diseases.

Among other things, the Act will reduce bureaucracy related to vaccination in schools. The Act changes the organisation of the vaccination of children in schools and provides that parents who agree to their child being vaccinated will no longer have to submit a separate written consent to the school nurse. Vaccination remains voluntary, and parents who do not wish to have their child vaccinated may continue to refuse.

The Act abolishes the requirement for a health certificate for catering establishments. The health certificates currently required are formal in nature and may not reflect the real situation or provide protection. Employers remain responsible for preventing the spread of infectious agents and protecting at-risk groups in the workplace.

The Act also increases the protection of people’s health in nursing homes. Infection control requirements are expanded from healthcare institutions to other high-risk environments as well, including 24-hour care facilities, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Evelin Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Irja Lutsar from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Riina Sikkut from the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

51 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and six were against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (898 SE), initiated by the Government. It aims to improve situational awareness at sea, enhance the measures to protect the restricted military areas of the Defence Forces, and create opportunities and clear terms for involving Allies in Estonia’s state border control and law enforcement activities where necessary.

The Act provides for measures to ensure the Defence Forces’ situational awareness at sea in Estonia’s maritime area. The Defence Forces are granted the right, in the event of an increased threat to the constitutional order or national security, to regulate vessel traffic and to impose restrictions, or to instruct the Transport Administration to do so. A Maritime Safety Commission will be established at the Defence Forces. The rate of the statutory fee for the inspection of vessels is also specified.

The Defence Forces are also provided with better opportunities to protect facilities that are important from a security perspective. Among other things, the extent of the immediate vicinity of a restricted military area of the Defence Forces is defined—300 metres—to expand and more precisely delineate the Defence Forces’ rights to monitor activities there.

58 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Anti-corruption Act, the Penal Code and the Taxation Act (900 SE), initiated by the Government. It specifies the regulation relating to procedural restrictions for officials, including the necessary elements of the crime of violation of a restriction.

The Act formulates more clearly the definitions of “procedural restriction” and “connected person” and amend the procedures for notifying of exceptions and for disclosure. Among other things, it is specified that an official must withdraw themselves even when they are required to make a decision regarding themselves as a private individual or in a matter involving a benefit related to themselves.

Exceptions are created for health care professionals, researchers, and lawyers in cases where the current restrictions unreasonably hinder their professional work. Health care professionals will not have to apply procedural restrictions in respect of connected persons where the provision of a healthcare service does not create a significant undue advantage for them or a person connected to them. Nor will procedural restrictions be applied to attorneys-at-law and assistant attorneys-at-law when they provide legal services, or to employees of public universities and state-owned professional higher education institutions when research results are implemented in practice in the process of knowledge transfer.

The Act specifies the necessary elements of the crime of violation of a procedural restriction so that criminal liability applies only in cases where the conduct of an official creates unequal or unjustified advantages from the point of view of public interest. In addition, the Act imposes an obligation on people who submit declarations of interests to declare their holdings and claims in crowdfunding projects, as well as whether they are beneficial owners of companies.

47 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act, seven were against and there was one abstention.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Child Protection Act and Other Acts (901 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to ensure that the assistance provided for children is based on their actual needs and interests and that the provision of assistance is coordinated and transparent.

The amendments will more clearly distinguish between situations where intervention requires a leading role by a local government child protection worker, and cases where support for the child’s welfare can be provided primarily in the area where the child’s difficulties arose. The Act will support networking in child protection and amend the grounds for initiating child protection case management by child protection workers, thereby reducing the workload of child protection workers.

In addition, the Act specifies the duties of child protection workers in assessing a child’s need for assistance and providing assistance to them, including in enforcement procedures regarding the transfer of a child and allowing communication with a child. The Act also specifies the roles of enforcement agents and the police in such enforcement procedures and establishes grounds for suspending enforcement acts in cases where continuing them may harm the child’s well-being.

During the proceedings, an amendment was incorporated into the Family Benefits Act according to which the single parent’s child allowance would increase from the current 80 euros to 100 euros per month, in order to reduce the risk of poverty and help single parents better provide for their children.

Reili Rand from the Social Democratic Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Signe Riisalo from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

70 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Law Enforcement Act and Amendments to Other Acts arising therefrom (role allocation for the monitoring and countering of unmanned vehicles) (902 SE), initiated by the Government. It expands the opportunities for monitoring and countering unmanned aerial vehicles, including drones and balloons, in peacetime.

The Act establishes the allocation of roles among agencies in responding to threats arising from unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as in monitoring and detecting such threats. Among other things, the Act provides which actions and coercive measures various agencies will be authorised to apply in the event of threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles. The Act also provides for the mutual exchange of information between parties involved in airspace surveillance to create a common surveillance picture.

As a result of the amendments, the Defence Forces will be better able to detect and counter drones with military purposes, as well as actively participate in the monitoring and countering of unmanned aerial vehicles that pose a threat to law enforcement. The Police and Border Guard Board will be able to respond more effectively than before to risks arising from new drone threats.

The Estonian Internal Security Service and the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service is granted the right to counter unmanned aerial vehicles within their fields of activity. The Defence League is also granted the right to respond to dangerous drones in order to protect itself and the facilities under its guard; in the future, it will also be possible to call upon both the Defence Forces and the Defence League to help maintain public order in the case of drone threats at large events.

In addition, the Act creates opportunities for the owners of national defence facilities, particularly companies providing essential services of key importance, to better protect their infrastructure, including by using surveillance equipment. Security firms and internal security service providers responsible for protecting national defence facilities are granted the right to counter drones at the facilities guarded by them and to use special equipment for this purpose.

During the proceedings, several amendments were made to the Act. Amongst other things, a provision was added under which a fine of up to EUR 400,000 can be imposed on a legal person for violating the requirements for operating unmanned aerial vehicles.

66 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (alert duty) (907 SE), initiated by the Government. Its purpose is to regulate alert duty and the tasks performed during it as part of overall defence readiness.

According to the Act, alert duty is defined as a peacetime activity of the Defence Forces, the purpose of which is to keep Defence Forces units in readiness in order to ensure a rapid response to heightened threats and attacks and to repel them, thereby increasing the Defence Forces’ overall preparedness and capability to defend the country.

According to the amendments, conscripts and reservists will be able to perform real service duties while performing their mandatory duty to serve in the Defence Forces, in addition to training. The performance of duties within the framework of standing readiness of the Defence Forces will take place only if the necessary training is available, under the command of an active-duty commander, and on the bases of and pursuant to the procedure provided by law.

The Act also specifies the rights and obligations of conscripts and reservists when participating in alert duty, including the bases for the use of force, direct coercion, special measures, and special equipment. The amendments to the Estonian Defence League Act specify the involvement of the Estonian Defence League in the activities of the Defence Forces.

In addition, the Act makes the procedure for catering conscripts and reservists more flexible and exempts reimbursements for travel and catering expenses related to the performance of national defence obligation from income tax.

During the proceedings, the Act was amended to specify what conditions would need to be met for a conscript or a reservist to be assigned an alert duty task. In order to be assigned such a duty, a conscript or reservist must have previously completed the necessary training in the application of special measures and direct coercion, as well as at least basic military training. According to an amendment, the Commander of the Defence Forces will establish the requirements for the necessary training and the procedure for carrying it out.

Meelis Kiili from the Reform Party Group, Peeter Tali from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

67 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Prosecutor’s Office Act (909 SE), initiated by the Government. It modernizes the organization of the work of the prosecutor’s office, strengthens the management system, and makes the career and accountability system more transparent.

The Act provides that the term of office of the Prosecutor General is limited to a single seven-year period with no possibility of running for a second consecutive term. A five-year term is established for the positions of chief state prosecutors and senior prosecutors, and the possibility is created to transfer prosecutors from one position to another more flexibly within the territorial jurisdictions of district prosecutor’s offices. The Act also creates the possibility of increasing the salaries of prosecutors in Ida-Viru County by up to 20 percent in order to support the retention and recruitment of qualified staff in the region.

The Act provides that filing an appeal to the Supreme Court will require even more serious substantive consideration, as well as the approval of a chief prosecutor and the Prosecutor General in order to improve the organization of the Prosecutor’s Office. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure consistent decisions in criminal proceedings, especially in matters of appeal, which is an institutional responsibility of the prosecutor’s office rather than that of individual prosecutors. In addition, longer probationary periods are established for prosecutors, the procedure for disciplinary proceedings is specified, and new grounds for release from office are provided for.

Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Madis Timpson from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Andres Hanimägi made a speech on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.

48 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act and 14 were against.

The Riigikogu also passed the Act on the Ratification of the Agreement on the Interpretation and Application of the Energy Charter Treaty (921 SE), initiated by the Government. The Act ratifies the Agreement on the Interpretation and Application of the Energy Charter Treaty which was approved by the Government and signed in February of this year.

The purpose of the agreement is to agree among the Member States of the European Union on the interpretation of the Energy Charter in the resolution of international disputes in arbitral tribunals and other dispute resolution bodies.  The agreement aims to ensure the primacy of EU law and to follow the established practice in the application of EU law.

Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

50 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act.

A Bill to lower the voting age for European Parliament elections passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the European Parliament Election Act (lowering of the voting age and the age for standing as a candidate) (414 SE), initiated by 45 Members of the Riigikogu, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. It will allow people aged at least 16 to vote and people aged at least 18 to stand as candidates in the European Parliament elections from 2029.

While currently people aged at least 18 can vote and people aged at least 21 can stand as candidates in European Parliament elections, the bill will lower the voting age to 16 and the age for standing as a candidate to 18. Estonian citizens, as well as European Union citizens without Estonian citizenship who have their permanent residence in Estonia, have the right to vote and stand as candidates.

With the amendment, the initiators wish to involve more young people than before in the discussion and deciding of European issues. They point out in the explanatory memorandum that, as Estonia’s population is ageing, political engagement and decision-making is increasingly skewed towards the elderly electorate. According to the initiators, the amendment will put youth issues more in the public spotlight, encourage young people to participate in social life as active citizens, as well as help influence European-level decisions concerning young people’s interests, needs, and future.

According to the bill, the amendment will be implemented for the first time in the European Parliament elections in 2029.

Irja Lutsar, Lauri Hussar and Peeter Tali from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group, Hanah Lahe from the Reform Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Lauri Läänemets, Madis Kallas and Anti Allas from the Social Democratic Party Group and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate. Non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Peeter Ernits and Tanel Kiik also took the floor.

Isamaa Parliamentary group and the Centre Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the plenary did not support the motion. 14 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension but 47 were against it. Thus, the motion was not supported.

A bill was dropped from the proceedings

The Riigikogu rejected at the first reading the Bill on the Repeal of the Motor Vehicle Tax Act and the Repeal of the Registration Fees for Passenger Cars in the Road Traffic Act (850 SE), initiated by Isamaa Parliamentary Group. It was intended to repeal motor vehicle tax and passenger car registration fees which, in the opinion of the initiators, worsened the economic security of Estonian people and the competitiveness of companies.

Priit Sibul from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Finance Committee moved to reject the Bill at the first reading. 35 members of the Riigikogu supported the rejection, and 12 were against it. The bill was dropped from the legislative proceedings.

The sitting ended at 12.11 a.m.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
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Link uudisele: The Riigikogu passed 28 Acts and discussed lowering the voting age for European Parliament elections

The cancellation of the fuel excise duty increase, which started from 1 May, will lead to the largest decrease in revenue, amounting to EUR 36 million. To increase revenues, an additional 20 million in dividends will be taken from the net profit of the State Forest Management Centre.

The budget deficit will remain at 4.3 percent of GDP, i.e. at the same level as in the Ministry of Finance’s spring forecast. Next year’s budget deficit will decrease by 0.1 percent of GDP as a result of the proposals.

During the second reading, the Finance Committee included a provision to increase the single parent’s child allowance from EUR 80 to EUR 100 starting from 1 September 2026. The amendment will result in additional expenditure of approximately EUR 600,000 for the state budget in 2026, which will be covered from the budget for IT investments in the area of government of the Ministry of Social Affairs, with projects being postponed until next year. Starting from 2027, the additional expenditure will be taken into account during the preparation of the state budget strategy for 2027–2030.

In the 2026 state budget adopted by the Riigikogu last December, revenues totalled EUR 18.6 billion and expenditures EUR 19.5 billion, while investments totalled EUR 1.3 billion and financing transactions EUR 1.5 billion.

49 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 31 voted against.

Riigikogu Press Service
Gunnar Paal
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Link uudisele: The Riigikogu passed the supplementary budget for 2026

The function of the national nuclear regulator, along with all the rights and obligations associated with that role, will be established under the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority. Among other things, the Act establishes a phased licensing system for the construction of a plant, consisting of a preliminary assessment, a construction license, a testing license, an operating license, and a decommissioning license. According to the Act, the nuclear regulator will begin operations on 1 January 2027.

The Act also establishes the principle that the developer and operator of a nuclear power plant will bear full responsibility for the safety of the facility and for the costs incurred at the end of its life cycle. A national decommissioning fund will be established for the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant; during the plant’s operational life, the operator will contribute funds to it for dismantling the plant and the final disposal of waste. The Act also provides for the principles of nuclear security, physical protection, emergency preparedness, and the implementation of international safeguards.

During the proceedings, the Riigikogu amended the Act by introducing an additional level of political decision-making to the procedure for constructing a nuclear power plant – in addition to the nuclear regulator and the government, the Riigikogu will also have to give its approval when a decision on the construction of a nuclear power plant is made.

The Nuclear Energy and Safety Act (856 SE), initiated by the Government, was passed with 63 votes in favour and 10 against, and there was one abstention.

Riigikogu Press Service
Maris Meiessaar
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Link uudisele: The Riigikogu passed the Nuclear Energy and Safety Act

The agenda for the session includes the election of the President of the Republic of Estonia.

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Gunnar Paal
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Link uudisele: The Riigikogu will convene to elect the President of the Republic on 2 September

The Act on Amendments to the Public Procurement Act and Other Acts (788 SE), initiated by the Government, was passed. Its aim is to make public procurement procedures simpler and faster and to reduce administrative burden. For this purpose, the rules for procurements falling below the international threshold are significantly simplified, and the current three-tier threshold system is abolished, leaving only the simple procurement and the international threshold. At the same time, the values for simple procurement thresholds are raised to align them to the changed economic situation.

According to the Act, the abolition of the public procurement threshold and the expansion of the simple procedure will simplify almost half of public procurements and increase the proportion of small purchases with a simpler procedure, while large-scale and higher-risk contracts will still remain under stricter control. In addition, a new simplified procedure is established for the network sector.

Other amendments are also made to reduce bureaucracy. For example, the contracting authority is given the option to verify the conformity of only the most economically advantageous tender or to choose which optional grounds for exclusion to apply in a specific procurement. In order to organize public procurements in the field of national defence more quickly, an additional basis for using a negotiated procedure without prior publication is established.

The amendments made during the proceedings exempt activities related to the production of renewable energy and its sale to the grid in Estonia from public procurement rules. In addition, an application for a public procurement exemption may also be submitted to the European Commission by a contracting entity as a market participant operating in the sector which currently does not have such a right.

61 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act in the final vote.

The Act on Amendments to the Alcohol Act, the Alcohol, Tobacco, Fuel and Electricity Excise Duty Act and the Statutory Fees Act (881 SE), initiated by the Government, was passed. It provides that the operation of the state register of alcohol will terminate on 1 November. The purpose of the amendment is to reduce the administrative burden on economic operators and simplify bringing alcoholic beverages to the market.

In the future, producers and importers of alcoholic beverages will no longer have to enter their products in the state register of alcohol; instead, they will be able to bring them to the market directly, provided that the products meet the requirements and are safe. Several additional reporting requirements are also eliminated, such as the obligation to submit laboratory test reports and wine movement reports.

An amendment also reduces the administrative burden of the state because the Agriculture and Food Board will no longer need to maintain the register and will be able to direct the freed-up resources to supervision.

53 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act in the final vote.

A Bill passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Penal Code and the Victim Support Act (amendments related to the transposition of the revised version of the Directive on Trafficking in Human Beings) (880 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. It is intended to enhance the prevention of trafficking in human beings and the protection of victims and to bring Estonian law into line with the European Union’s Directive on Trafficking in Human Beings.

Among other things, the directive specifies the liability of legal persons, improves data collection, and strengthens cooperation and coordination at both the national and EU levels. Systems are also being developed that help to identify victims of trafficking in human beings at an early stage and provide them with the necessary assistance.

The bill will include surrogacy against a woman’s will and illegal adoption to the necessary elements of trafficking in human beings in the Penal Code. Also, the use of a service will become punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment if the user knows that the person providing the service is a victim of trafficking in human beings. In this regard, the standard duty of care will apply.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Parliamentary Group had submitted two motions to amend the Bill and requested that they be put to a vote. Neither motion to amend was supported and the second reading of the Bill was concluded.

Three Bills passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Funded Pensions Act and the Taxation Act (935 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It is intended to strengthen the second pension pillar and more clearly restore the principle that funds are accumulated there for retirement. The main amendment is that people who have left the second pillar will be able to rejoin it after just five years, instead of the previous 10 years.

For example, those who left the pension fund in 2021 or 2022 would be able to submit an application to resume contributions once the bill takes effect. Another important amendment concerns early withdrawal of funds. In the future, a person will no longer have to withdraw the entire accumulated amount when taking money out of the second pension pillar before retirement age; instead, they will be able to use only part of the money if necessary.

At the same time, the rule will be changed so that if a person has already used the option to withdraw second-pillar pension funds before retirement age and later re-joins, they will then continue to accumulate money until retirement. Rejoining the second pillar will remain voluntary, and the conditions for retiring will not change: it will be possible to retire from the second pillar five years before the retirement age or in the event of no work ability.

The Act is scheduled to enter into force on 1 November 2026. Partial withdrawal of funds and resuming accumulation without restrictions after suspension of contributions would enter into force on 1 January 2028, as they require IT developments in the pension register.  In the short term, the bill will mean additional costs for the state budget; the impact is projected to be about 22 million euros by 2027.

The Bill on Amendments to the Law of Obligations Act, the Credit Institutions Act and the Payment Institutions and E-money Institutions Act (prevention and deterrence of financial fraud) (936 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. Its purpose is to improve the prevention, detection, and deterrence of financial fraud.

People in Estonia lost nearly 29 million euro to fraudsters last year. Most fraud begins through telecommunications channels and ends with a bank payment, which is why effective fraud prevention requires cooperation between the state and the private sector. The bill will improve the protection of bank customers in situations where there is suspicion of fraud when making a payment. Namely, the bill will give banks the right to temporarily suspend payments or refuse to execute a payment in the event of a justified suspicion of fraud; currently, banks do not have a clear legal basis for this.

The bill will also grant banks and payment institutions the right to exchange information related to suspected fraud with other credit institutions, payment institutions and e-money institutions, the Police and Border Guard Board, and CERT-EE, the Computer Emergency Response Team of the State Information System Authority. The proposed amendments will allow payment service providers to intervene more quickly in the event of suspected fraud and to cooperate with each other, as well as with the Police and Border Guard Board and the Information System Authority, thereby helping to reduce the damage caused by fraud and increase the security of the financial system.

The aim is to make it possible to use these measures to a certain extent even before the new EU Payment Services Regulation enters into force, which will likely begin to apply at the end of 2028.

 Andre Hanimägi, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski and Peeter Ernits took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Notary Fees Act and Other Acts (941 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Madis Timpson, Mart Helme, Toomas Uibo, Madis Kallas, Peeter Ernits and Lea Danilson-Järg, passed the first reading. It will update notary fees, which have not been changed for years, and abolish the fee for the remote authentication of notarial acts. The bill will streamline the notary fee system as a whole. The biggest amendment concerns fees for acts related to companies and fees related to real estate transactions. Because fee rates have not been updated for years, many notaries are already finding it difficult to cover the costs associated with providing services and running an office. This primarily concerns regions where the value of real estate transactions is lower. If operating a notary office is not economically sustainable enough, it also becomes difficult to find new notaries to replace those who leave the profession.

Replying to three interpellations was deferred

Replying to three interpellations had been deferred to today’s sitting due to the end of the working hours of Monday’s sitting. Minister of Infrastructure Kuldar Leis and Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta who were scheduled to reply to interpellations (No. 993, No. 1005 and No. 1006) were unable to attend today’s sitting and therefore their replies were postponed again.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

The video recording of the sitting will be available to watch later on  the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Maris Meiessaar
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Link uudisele: The Riigikogu passed two Acts

Martin Helme, the spokesperson for the 48 members of the Riigikogu who had submitted the motion of no confidence, said that Estonia as a state was heading towards bankruptcy and that Minister of Finance Ligi refused to acknowledge this. “He is also not interested in taking steps that would improve the livelihoods of our people and the competitiveness of our businesses,” Helme noted.

The interpellators pointed out that Estonia’s budget strategy provided for a sharp increase in public debt. It was highlighted that by 2029, the interest payments required to service this debt would rise from the current nearly 200 million euros to 464 million euros. Helme underlined that those were optimistic forecasts. “There are also forecasts suggesting this could reach up to 700 million euros per year. Over four years, the national debt will grow by a total of 7.7 billion euros, or from the current roughly 10 billion euros to 17.5 billion euros, effectively doubling,” Helme noted. “For the Estonian state to function, we have to constantly take out loans to cover our running costs,” Helme stated.

Helme noted that a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which recently visited Estonia, had also given a negative assessment to the country’s public finances. He referred to forecasts by international experts, according to which Estonia’s budget would become even more unbalanced after this year, and if current policies continued, the national debt would continue to be unsustainable.

Helme said that instead of accepting the criticism and taking the necessary steps to improve the situation, Ligi, as usual, blamed previous governments and considered his own decisions to be the only correct ones. “This is not behaviour befitting a minister of finance,” Helme stated. According to him, Jürgen Ligi’s statements reveal a complete lack of understanding of the real problems faced by people and businesses.

Ligi rejected the accusations made against him and explained the current state of public finances.

According to Ligi, it is true that Estonia’s public finances are in a more difficult position than before. “But it is certainly not true that the Estonian state is heading toward bankruptcy, that the Minister of Finance refuses to acknowledge the difficult situation, and that he refuses to take steps that would improve people’s livelihoods and the competitiveness of businesses,” Ligi said.

He explained that the greatest improvement in people’s livelihoods had taken place precisely in that budget, which provided a total of 816 million euros in tax relief to people in two parts, starting with the restoration of the basic exemption from income tax. “But in addition to that, the Minister of Finance has agreed to an increase in the minimum wage, which has been steadily rising in comparison to the average wage, to an increase in the subsistence allowance this year and next year, to an increase in the allowance for pensioners living alone, and most recently, to an increase in the single parent’s allowance,” Ligi gave examples.

According to Ligi, we are primarily dealing with an economic downturn caused by external factors, which is now over. Estonia’s economic growth rate is currently among the highest in Europe, although it must be acknowledged that Russia’s aggression hit our economy harder than other countries. “But since nowhere here has it been mentioned that the large budget deficit resulted from increased defence spending, I will point that out,” Ligi noted.

“As regards bankruptcy, Estonia has never once been in an excessive deficit procedure. A third of the European Union countries have. In spite of the small size of our economy, the cost of our loan is at the level of the European Union average. So is also credit rating, but at the same time, our defence spending is among the highest in Europe, and that is where the deficit comes from,” Ligi said.

“You say that I have said that the lowering of food prices would be a wrong decision. It would indeed be a wrong decision if we interfered with food prices. International organisations, the OECD, and the IMF are saying the same thing. They have condemned all artificial interventions in prices, but you quote these organisations selectively, in a way that suits you,” Ligi noted.

Representatives of parliamentary groups Lauri Laats (Centre Party), Martin Helme (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party), Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) and Mart Võrklaev (Reform Party) took the floor during the debate.            

The Riigikogu concluded the second reading of two Bills

 According to the Bill on Amendments to the Traffic Act (835 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Valdo Randpere, Madis Timpson and Marek Reinaas, indication signs will have to be installed before areas where automated traffic enforcement systems are used.

Currently, there is no uniform and binding legal obligation to inform road users about speed measurements carried out using an automated traffic enforcement system. According to the initiators, this has led to situations where speed is measured covertly, which undermines the sense of justice and erodes trust in law enforcement.

The aim of the bill is to ensure the transparency, preventive nature, and legality of traffic enforcement, insofar as the main purpose of speed enforcement is not to punish, but to improve road safety and encourage law-abiding behaviour.

 Kalle Grünthal, Andre Hanimägi, Valdo Randpere (Reform Party), Aivar Kokk (Isamaa), Züleyxa Izmailova and Mart Helme (Estonian Conservative People’s Party) and Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party) took the floor during the debate.

The Social Democratic Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. 10 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the motion, 50 voted against and there was one abstention. The motion was not supported. The second reading of the Bill was concluded. The third reading is on the agenda for the sitting on Wednesday, 17 June.

The Bill on Amendments to the Prosecutor’s Office Act (909 SE), initiated by the Government, will modernize the organization of the work of the prosecutor’s office, strengthen the management system, and make the career and accountability system more transparent.

The bill provides that the term of office of the Prosecutor General will be limited to a single seven-year period with no possibility of running for a second consecutive term. A five-year term will be established for the positions of chief state prosecutors and senior prosecutors, and the possibility will be created to transfer prosecutors from one position to another more flexibly within the territorial jurisdictions of district prosecutor’s offices. The bill will also create the possibility of increasing the salaries of prosecutors in Ida-Viru County by up to 20 percent in order to support the retention and recruitment of qualified staff in the region.

The bill will provide that filing an appeal to the Supreme Court will require even more serious substantive consideration, as well as the approval of a chief prosecutor and the Prosecutor General in order to improve the organization of the Prosecutor’s Office. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure consistent decisions in criminal proceedings, especially in matters of appeal, which is an institutional responsibility of the prosecutor’s office rather than that of individual prosecutors. In addition, the bill will establish longer probationary periods for prosecutors, specify the procedure for disciplinary proceedings, and provide for new grounds for release from office.

Varro Vooglaid, Peeter Ernits and Lea Danilson-Järg (Isamaa) took the floor during the debate.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill. 16 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of it and 33 voted against. The motion was not supported. The second reading of the Bill was concluded. The third reading is on the agenda for the sitting on Wednesday, 17 June.

An interpellation was replied

Minister of Education and Research Kristina Kallas replied to the interpellation the funding for Räpina School of Horticulture and the future of vocational education (No. 1002), submitted by members of the Riigikogu.

Replying to three interpellations was deferred to tomorrow’s sitting due to the end of the working hours of the sitting

Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Kuldar Leis will reply to the interpellation concerning the technical specifications and operational resilience of a ferry (No. 993).

Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa-Ly Pakosta will reply to the interpellations concerning the penal policy for organized telephone scams, and damage to the sense of justice (No. 1005) and discussions in the European Union on restrictions on young people’s use of social media, and Estonia’s positions (No. 1006).

The interpellations concerning the electricity price rise (No. 1003), the secret sale of oil shale reserves to a private company (No. 1007) and the costs of CO₂ quota in connection with the decisions of Estonia and Italy (No. 937), submitted to Minister of Energy and the Environment Andres Sutt, were removed from the agenda for the day at the request of the interpellators.

The first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia for Changing the Procedure for the Election of the President of the Republic (872 SE) was excluded from the agenda for Wednesday’s sitting of the working week on the motion of the initiators.

The sitting ended at 12.01 a.m. on 16 June.

Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu)

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
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Link uudisele: The Riigikogu did not pass a vote of no confidence in Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi

The bill will change the organisation of the vaccination of children in schools and provide that parents who agree to their child being vaccinated will no longer have to submit a separate written consent to the school nurse. Vaccination remains voluntary, and parents who do not wish to have their child vaccinated may continue to refuse.

The bill will abolish the requirement for a health certificate for catering establishments. The health certificates currently required are formal in nature and may not reflect the real situation or provide protection. Employers remain responsible for preventing the spread of infectious agents and protecting at-risk groups in the workplace.

The bill will also increase the protection of people’s health in nursing homes. Infection control requirements will be expanded from healthcare institutions to other high-risk environments as well, including 24-hour care facilities, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

Varro Vooglaid (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Priit Sibul (Isamaa), Aivar Kokk, and Kalle Grüthal took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (898 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. It aims to improve situational awareness at sea, enhance the measures to protect the restricted military areas of the Defence Forces, and to create opportunities and clear terms for involving Allies, if necessary, in Estonia’s state border guard and law enforcement activities.

The Bill provides for measures to ensure the Defence Forces’ situational awareness at sea in Estonia’s maritime area. According to the Bill, the Defence Forces will be granted the right, in the event of an increased threat to the constitutional order or national security, to regulate vessel traffic and to impose restrictions, or to instruct the Transport Administration to do so. A Maritime Safety Commission will be established at the Defence Forces. The Bill also specifies the rate of the state fee charged for the inspection of vessels.

The Bill will also provide the Defence Forces with better opportunities to protect facilities that are important from a security perspective. Among other things, the Bill defines the extent of the immediate vicinity of a Defence Forces restricted military area as 300 metres, in order to expand and more precisely delineate the Defence Forces’ right to control activities taking place in the area.

The Bill on Amendments to the Child Protection Act and Other Acts (901 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. Its aim is to ensure that the assistance provided for children is based on their actual needs and interests and that the provision of assistance is coordinated and transparent.

The amendments will more clearly distinguish between situations where intervention requires a leading role by a local government child protection worker, and cases where support for the child’s welfare can be provided primarily in the area where the child’s difficulties arose. The Bill will support networking in child protection and amend the grounds for initiating child protection case management by child protection workers, thereby reducing the workload of child protection workers.

In addition, the Bill will specify the duties of child protection workers in assessing a child’s need for assistance and providing assistance to them, including in enforcement procedures regarding the transfer of a child and allowing communication with a child. The Bill will also specify the roles of enforcement agents and the police in such enforcement procedures and establish grounds for suspending enforcement acts in cases where continuing them may harm the child’s well-being.

During the proceedings, an amendment was introduced to the Family Benefits Act, according to which the single parent’s child allowance will be increased from EUR 80 to EUR 100.

The Bill on Amendments to the Law Enforcement Act and Amendments to Other Acts arising therefrom (role allocation for the monitoring and countering of unmanned vehicles) (902 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. It will expand the opportunities for monitoring and countering unmanned aerial vehicles, including drones and balloons, in peacetime.

The Bill will establish the allocation of roles among agencies in responding to threats arising from unmanned aerial vehicles, as well as in monitoring and detecting such threats. Among other things, the Bill provides which actions and coercive measures various agencies will be authorised to apply in the event of threats posed by unmanned aerial vehicles. The Bill also provides for the mutual exchange of information between parties involved in airspace surveillance to create a common surveillance picture.

As a result of the amendments, the Defence Forces will be better able to detect and counter drones with military purposes, as well as actively participate in the monitoring and countering of unmanned aerial vehicles that pose a threat to law enforcement. The Bill will create opportunities for the Police and Border Guard Board to respond more effectively than before to risks arising from new drone threats.

The Estonian Internal Security Service and the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service will be granted the right to counter unmanned aerial vehicles within their fields of activity. The Defence League will also be granted the right to respond to dangerous drones in order to protect itself and the facilities under its guard; in the future, it will also be possible to call upon both the Defence Forces and the Defence League to help maintain public order in the case of drone threats at large events.

In addition, the Bill will create opportunities for the owners of national defence facilities, particularly companies providing essential services of key importance, to better protect their infrastructure, including by using surveillance equipment. Security firms and internal security service providers responsible for protecting national defence facilities will be granted the right to counter drones at the facilities guarded by them and to use special equipment for this purpose.

During the proceedings, several amendments were made to the Bill. Amongst other things, a provision was added, under which a legal person may be fined up to EUR 400,000 for violating unmanned aerial vehicle operating requirements.

The Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (alert duty) (907 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. Its purpose is to regulate alert duty and the tasks performed during it as part of overall defence readiness.

According to the bill, alert duty is defined as a peacetime activity of the Defence Forces, the purpose of which is to keep Defence Forces units in readiness in order to ensure a rapid response to heightened threats or attacks and to repel them, thereby increasing the Defence Forces’ overall preparedness and capability to defend the country.

According to the amendments, conscripts and reservists will be able to perform real service duties while performing their mandatory duty to serve in the Defence Forces, in addition to training. The performance of duties within the framework of standing readiness of the Defence Forces will take place only if the necessary training is available, under the command of an active-duty commander, and on the bases of and pursuant to the procedure provided by law.

The bill will also specify the rights and obligations of conscripts and reservists when participating in alert duty, including the bases for the use of force, direct coercion, special measures, and special equipment. The amendments to the Estonian Defence League Act will specify the involvement of the Estonian Defence League in the activities of the Defence Forces.

In addition, the bill will make the procedure for catering conscripts and reservists more flexible and exempt reimbursements for travel and catering expenses related to the performance of national defence obligation from income tax.

During the proceedings, the bill was amended to specify the terms that must be met for a conscript or a reservist to be assigned an alert duty task. In order to be assigned such a duty, a conscript or reservist must have previously completed the necessary training in the application of special measures and direct coercion, as well as at least basic military training. According to the amendment, the Commander of the Defence Forces will establish the requirements for the necessary training and the procedure for carrying it out.

A Bill passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act (869 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Lea Danilson-Järg, Helir-Valdor Seeder, Tõnis Lukas, Jaanus Karilaid, Priit Sibul, Andres Metsoja, Henn Põlluaas and Ants Frosch, passed the first reading. The bill is aimed to ensure that, in case of consecutive births, parents do not miss out on the wage increase that took place in the labour market during the previous parental leave.

According to the bill, the parental benefit will be increased in accordance with average wage increase to prevent parents from postponing the birth of another child for economic reasons. According to the initiators, the amendment will support birth rates and improve the financial situation and well-being of families with young children, particularly in a situation where the labour market has seen a rapid wage growth.

Reili Rand (Social Democratic Party) took the floor during the debate.

The deliberation of the national defence report as a matter of significant national importance

At the deliberation of the matter of significant national importance “The impact of the report “The State’s Preparedness to Prevent and Counter Security Threats in a Deteriorating Security Situation” by the National Defence Committee on legislation”, initiated by the National Defence Committee, reports were given by rapporteur for the report Meelis Kiili and Deputy Chairman of the National Defence Committee Leo Kunnas.

Meelis Kiili, who led the preparation of the National Defence Committee’s report, said in his presentation that the aim of the report was not to assess individual weapons systems, Defence Forces units, or the activities of ministries separately, but to evaluate Estonia’s overall readiness in a situation where the security environment had steadily worsened over the past 15 years. He stressed that the report did not address political preferences, but rather systemic issues affecting the state’s readiness.

According to Kiili, an in-depth analysis was conducted of Russia’s strategic behaviour, examining Russia’s official documentation, the experience of the war in Ukraine, as well as broader developments often referred to as “Project Russia”. The rapporteur highlighted the military interventions over the past 20 years in Georgia, Crimea, Donbas, and Ukraine, as well as operations in Syria and Central Africa, along with attacks on energy, communications networks, and civilian infrastructure.

“We therefore examined two processes on a timeline side by side: Russia’s actions on the one hand, and Estonia’s decisions on the other. And we reached one of the most important conclusions of the report: many Estonian decisions do not reflect the worsening in the security situation; in some cases, we even see the opposite trend,” he noted, adding that during the drafting of the report a recurring problem had emerged: in the case of decisions with a strategic impact, it had been impossible to identify comprehensive impact assessments that would have evaluated the decisions’ effects on the state’s readiness, security, or national interests as a whole.

Kiili addressed the importance of energy security; the need to prioritise defence cooperation with the Baltic Sea and Nordic countries rather than, for example, Turkey; the implementation of an affordable national defence model; ensuring the resources required for national defence, and the reserve army model.

“The main message of the report is that Estonia must turn readiness, the strategic management of national security, and the protection of national interests into a deliberate, measurable, and consistent state policy. Security cannot be not achieved through individual projects. Security arises when the entire state is moving towards a common goal, because war does not ask if we are prepared; it reveals whether we are,” Kiili said.

Deputy Chairman of the National Defence Committee of the Riigikogu Leo Kunnas gave an overview of the process of drafting the report and the issues the working group had encountered during its preparation. According to Kunnas, the aim of the report was to provide recommendations for updating the National Security Concept of Estonia and for legislative action. To this end, the legal framework shaping national security and the National Security Concept were reviewed; their effectiveness in a changing security environment was analysed, and the key issues of comprehensive national defence and the resulting state readiness were mapped out. The report assesses the state’s readiness to act in peacetime, crisis, and wartime conditions, as well as the compliance of institutional activities with the principles of comprehensive national defence.

“It is encouraging to note that the conclusions of the national defence report have, to a large extent, been taken into account in the new National Security Concept. Of the nine topics addressed, six have been fully integrated into the document in substance, and three have been incorporated partially or with limitations. One can conclude that the central message of the report – to strengthen strategic leadership, accountability, readiness, and the efficiency of security policy implementation – is clearly reflected in the National Security Concept,” Kunnas said. He clarified that proposals relating to strategic leadership and accountability, parliamentary scrutiny, risk-based planning, the role of the defence industry and research and development, performance-based assessment, strengthening moral responsibility and management culture had been fully or largely accepted. The most significant differences relate to energy policy and regional governance issues, where the report’s proposals have been taken into account only partially.

Kunnas noted that the report’s impact on legislation had been even greater. “In the summary of the report’s legislative section, the report’s working group concludes that Estonia’s current national defence legal framework is largely focused on peacetime and lacks sufficient comprehensiveness and cohesion to meet the needs of crisis and wartime,” he stated. He explained that, in order to improve the situation and address the shortcomings of the Civilian Crisis and National Defence Bill, the members of the report’s working group – former servicemen and current members of parliament Meelis Kiili, Leo Kunnas, Alar Laneman, and Peeter Tali – submitted a comprehensive package of amendments to the bill, aimed at fully addressing the shortcomings identified by the working group. “I am truly pleased to say that on 2 June, here in the Riigikogu plenary hall we passed the Crisis Situation and National Defence Act with 64 votes in favour, along with amendments integrated into the Act.”

In his report, Kunnas also addressed the Bill on Amendments to the Courts Act, which concerned the establishment of a national defence court. “The working group also considers it necessary to amend the Security Authorities Act so as to grant the Military Intelligence Centre of the Defence Forces the rights of a security authority. Furthermore, according to the working group, the negative changes affecting the integrity of the Defence Forces pension system must also be eliminated. These bills are ready for submission, and we will submit them before the end of the spring session,” he affirmed. “We can say that the main task assigned to the national defence report working group – the review and improvement of national defence legislation – has now been accomplished.”

Anti Poolamets (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Jaanus Karilaid, Raimond Kaljulaid, Peeter Ernits, Rene Kokk (Isamaa) and Alar Laneman took the floor during the debate.

Photos (Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu

The video recording of the sitting will be available on  the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
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Link uudisele: The Riigikogu discussed the national defence report as a matter of significant national importance

According to the explanatory memorandum, the maintenance of Estonian prison buildings is too costly as they are emptying out. Prison rental will help keep prisons operating, ensure jobs for trained prison staff, and reduce the state’s cost of maintaining empty prison spaces by making them generate revenue for the state budget.

According to the Act, it will be possible to take a prisoner to serve their sentence in an Estonian prison if similar crimes are punishable under Estonian law, the sentence to be enforced is not unreasonably severe, and the period between the entry into force of the court judgment and the start of its enforcement does not exceed three years. At the same time, the Act provides that the regulation for early release will not apply to foreign prisoners.

Tõnis Lukas from the Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Heljo Pikhof from the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Peeter Ernits took the of the floor on behalf of the Centre Party Parliamentary Group.

52 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 35 were against.

The Riigikogu also passed the Act on Amendments to the Code of Civil Procedure and the Law of Obligations Act (transposition of the directive on the protection from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs)) (865 SE), initiated by the Government. It transposes into Estonian legal space the directive on the protection from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).

The aim of the new regulation is to safeguard freedom of expression and protect democratic debate from strategic court proceedings against public participation. Until now, it has been difficult to distinguish strategic lawsuits against public participation from regular defamation lawsuits, which is why the European Union directive provides courts with clearer criteria for identifying manifestly unfounded claims.

The Act gives courts specific tools to stop malicious proceedings at an early stage. In the future, the court will be able to immediately dismiss an evidently unfounded claim, with all procedural costs being borne by the plaintiff, and the defendant gaining the right to claim compensation for damages caused by an abusive lawsuit. The court will also have the right to impose a fine of up to EUR 9,600 on the plaintiff and to publish the court decision along with the plaintiff’s personal data.

In addition, the amendments establish protection against third countries, which means that Estonian courts will not recognize, for example, court judgments made in Russia if they result from SLAPPs.

70 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and one was against.

The Riigikogu passed the Credit Information Sharing Act (652 SE), initiated by the Government. It is a preparation for the establishment of a credit information registry. The registry will allow banks and other lenders to better assess the solvency of the recipients of loans and help prevent people taking excessive loans.

The registry will consolidate information on all financial obligations of a person, be it housing loans or consumer loans, car leases, consumer credit, or express loans. According to the Act, lenders who are supervised by the Financial Supervision Authority will have to forward information on the loans taken by each person to the registry and they will have to check what liabilities the person already has before granting a new loan. Consolidating this information into a single registry will give a clearer picture of the actual solvency of a person and prevent people from taking more loans than they can afford.

During the proceedings, amendments were included in the Act regarding the obligation of credit servicers to submit data to the credit information registry. This will be necessary to ensure that the information contained in the registry is complete, up-to-date, and consistent with the registry’s purpose of enabling creditors to assess a consumer’s creditworthiness as accurately as possible.

 Access to the registry being established will be granted to persons who have a legal obligation to assess a loan applicant’s creditworthiness, and information may be requested from there only about people who have applied for credit or wish to modify a credit agreement. The Act also regulates the storage of loan information and allows people to impose a loan ban on themselves.

It is planned to delegate the task of maintaining the registry to private sector and to cover the costs by fees. Similarly to other economic operators in the financial sector, clear requirements and rules will be set for the registrar and its activities.

73 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act and three were against.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Penal Code (consent-based approach to sexual violence) (727 SE), initiated by the Government. Starting from next year, the force and coercion-based approach will be replaced with a consent-based approach in the case of sexual crimes, and sexual intercourse without consent will be deemed to be rape.

Currently, rape is only considered to take place if violence is used against the victim or if the victim is in a helpless state, i.e. unable to resist or understand what is happening. According to the Act, however, non-consensual intercourse will be punishable as rape even if no violence is used against the victim. According to an amendment, it will have to be clear to both parties that their partner consents to sexual activity.

During the proceedings, provisions were included in the Act that defined what consent was within the meaning of the Act. According to an amendment, four conditions will need to be met simultaneously: consent will need to be given knowingly and voluntarily, and it will need to be expressed verbally or in another clearly understandable way before sexual intercourse or any other act of a sexual nature, and it will need to be present throughout the entire act.

An amendment was also introduced into the Act to define an act of a sexual nature. According to an amendment, an act of a sexual nature within the meaning of the Penal Code is sexual intercourse and other physical activity that has an objectively sexual meaning and in which another person’s right to sexual self-determination is significantly impaired.

Stig Rästa from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group and Madis Timpson from the Reform Party Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Andres Hanimägi took the floor on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.

69 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and 8 were against it.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the State Cultural Awards and Culture Grants Act and the Sport Act (824 SE), initiated by the Government. It streamlines the system of awards and grants awarded in the areas of culture and sports.

As regards cultural awards, a maximum number of awards will be provided in the Act instead of a specific number. In the future, up to three awards for long-term outstanding creative activity (lifetime achievement awards) and up to five awards for outstanding works that have reached the public in the preceding calendar year (annual awards) will be given for outstanding creative achievements in the field of culture. The Minister of Culture will decide on the number and amounts of the awards to be granted.

According to an amendment, the Government will establish the categories of sports awards and the procedure for granting them, and the minister in charge of the policy sector will determine the amounts of awards. For both types of awards, the minister will submit candidates to the Government according to the proposals of committees. The Minister of Culture, instead of the Government, will appoint the members of the Cultural Awards Committee in the future.

According to the Act, existing athlete scholarships will be abolished, and their funds will be reallocated. It will be possible to apply for athlete grants from the Estonian Olympic Committee instead of athlete scholarships.

The abolition of culture grants was omitted from the amendments during the proceedings. Thus, grants will remain, but their purpose and target group will change. Currently, culture grants are intended for students; however, since there are numerous grants and scholarships for acquiring education either in Estonia and abroad, culture grants will be restructured so that young creative persons who are up to 35 years of age and have already obtained a higher education degree could apply for the grants to support them in launching their professional careers in their field, in their professional development, and in establishing international contacts.

It will also be easier to apply for culture grants in the future, as it will no longer be necessary to do so through artistic associations. Grants will be awarded on the basis of a regulation of the minister. According to the explanatory memorandum, the planned amount of the culture grant will be EUR 10,000 instead of the current EUR 2,300 and a total of EUR 50,000 per year will be allocated for culture grants.

66 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act, four were against and there was one abstention.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the Vocational Educational Institutions Act, the Youth Work Act and the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Acts (830 SE), initiated by the Government. It allows applicants to upper secondary school and vocational school to be asked about their preferences for school and specialty. The amendments made during the proceedings exempt youth camps from value-added tax and allow for the conclusion of open-ended employment contracts with all heads of schools.

According to the Act, in the future, the student candidates’ preferences for school may be asked and taken into account when admitting students to upper secondary schools and vocational schools, and the student candidate’s preferences for the field of study in upper secondary schools, and for the curriculum in vocational educational institutions. Schools will have the right to decide whether and to what extent they will take the preferences into account and how they will relate to other admission criteria, such as interviews, tests and exam scores. If a school wishes to use this option, it will have to be provided for in the school’s admission conditions and procedures. The amendment does not concern this year’s admission.

In the case of vocational education institutions, it is specified that student candidates will be able to apply to up to three curricula in one school during the main admission period in order to limit excessive applications. There will be no such restriction during additional admission. A student candidate will rank the curricula of the vocational education institutions to which he or she is applying, based on his or her preferences.

The regulation on exclusion from school is also amended. Under the Act, an adult upper secondary school student may be excluded from school due to lack of academic progress if over a half of the course grades the student receives are “poor” in more than two subjects over the academic year. Moreover, in the future, the grounds for exclusion will be provided solely by law, and it will not be possible to establish additional grounds for exclusion from school in the rules of procedure of upper secondary schools.

In the future, schools will be able to retrieve data on graduation from basic school and on graduation certificates directly from the Estonian Education Information System. Until now, student candidates have had to submit their graduation certificates to schools themselves. The amendment will reduce bureaucracy, save time and resources, and constitute a proportionate infringement on the learner’s privacy as it will be possible to request only the data that is absolutely necessary, namely the fact of graduation from basic school and the grades on the graduation certificate.

Discussion of a student’s behaviour with the student in the teachers’ council is omitted from sanctions. The Act provides that only the head of the school or a person authorized by the head of the school decides on the imposition of sanctions. Currently, the teachers’ council can decide on sanctions in certain cases.

During the proceedings, the Riigikogu amended the Youth Work Act from the aspect of legal clarity so that camps organized for young people are exempt from VAT, considering that the activities offered by youth camps are essentially educational in nature. An activity license is required to conduct youth permanent and project camps, and qualification requirements have been established for camp directors and counsellors.

 Also, the Act makes an amendment to ensure equal treatment of the heads of state and municipal schools. Currently, the combined effect of various Acts has created a situation where apparently a five-year employment contract should be concluded with the heads of public schools, unlike the heads of other general education schools. The principle is established that an open-ended employment contract will be concluded with all heads of schools.

Tõnis Lukas from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

71 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of passing the Act and five were against.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on Amendments to the 2021–2027 European Union Cohesion and Internal Security Policy Funds Implementation Act and the Repeal of the 2004–2006 Structural Assistance Act (883 SE), initiated by the Government. Its aim is to streamline the regulation of personal data processing and the support administration register.

According to the Act, beneficiaries of support will not be able to claim interest under the State Liability Act if a decision to recover the support is later annulled but no damage arises as a result. The current procedure allows for interest to be claimed even if the beneficiary has not actually suffered any damage; in the future, claims for damages will be based on actual damage arisen.

The categories of personal data processed in the register are also specified. Regarding data retention, it is specified that personal data will be anonymized after the initial retention period and after the end of the main period the data will be stored in the register solely for statistical purposes for another five years, after which it will be deleted.

English is provided for at the legislative level as the procedural language in the case of Interreg programmes so that the procedural language in cross-border cooperation would be uniform.

72 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act.

The Riigikogu passed the Act on the Ratification of the Agreement between the Republic of Estonia and the Kingdom of Sweden on the Enforcement in Estonia of Swedish Sentences of Imprisonment (682 SE), initiated by the Government. The agreement ratified by it will allow up to 600 prisoners to be brought from Sweden to Estonia to serve their prison sentences.

According to the explanatory memorandum to the Bill, the number of prisoners in Estonia is steadily decreasing, while the costs of maintaining prisons remain high. “Leasing out prison places will enable Tartu Prison to remain in operation, to ensure that internal security jobs are preserved in the region and to create new jobs, and to bring at least EUR 30–60 million in contractual revenue to the state budget. The agreement offers a solution to the temporary overload of the prison system in Sweden.

According to the Agreement, Estonia is ready to accept Swedish prisoners and enable the enforcement of their sentences in Estonia. The arrival of prisoners is planned to be organized gradually so that the prison has time to make the necessary preparations. The first Swedish prisoners are planned to be placed in Tartu Prison in August. In total, the agreement allows up to 600 prisoners to be brought to Estonia.

The Agreement sets out rights and obligations, and regulates the enforcement of sentences, prison conditions, as well as for example the distribution of costs, and supervision. Estonia will only accept prisoners who meet certain conditions, which means that security risks, along with potential prevention and mitigation measures, will have been identified in cooperation between the Police and Border Guard Board, the Estonian Internal Security Service and the Ministry of the Interior. The Agreement provides that foreign prisoners will be sent back to Sweden no later than one month before the end of their sentences and they will be released there.

The agreement was signed in Stockholm in June last year. The Swedish parliament ratified the agreement on 3 June. The Agreement will enter into force on the thirtieth day after both Estonia and Sweden will have completed the necessary national legal procedures and will have notified each other thereof in writing.

Heljo Pikhof, Riina Sikkut and Lauri Läänemets from the Social Democratic Party Group, Helir-Valdor Seeder, Priit Sibul, Tõnis Lukas, Urmas Reinsalu, Aivar Kokk, Andres Metsoja, Lea Danilson-Järg and Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Martin Helme, Rain Epler, Helle-Moonika Helme, Evelin Poolamets, Anti Poolamets, Rene Kokk, Siim Pohlak, Mart Helme and Arvo Aller from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group, Margit Sutrop from the Reform Party Group and Kalev Stoicescu from Estonia 200 Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate. Non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Peeter Ernits, Varro Vooglaid, Kalle Grünthal, Ants Frosch, Jaak Valge, Henn Põlluaas and Alar Laneman also took the floor.

The Centre Party Group, the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group and Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the plenary did not support the motion. 43 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation but 51 were against it.

In the final vote, 52 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Act and 42 voted against it.

The Riigikogu also passed the Resolution of the Riigikogu “Approval of “The National Security Concept of Estonia”” (908 OE), submitted by the Government. The Resolution approves the updated National Security Concept of Estonia which describes the deteriorated security environment, the principles of Estonia’s security policy, and the actions necessary to counter threats and mitigate risks.

The national security concept sets goals for strengthening Estonia’s security in five areas: social cohesion and civil protection, economic security and essential services, internal security, military defence, and international engagement. The document addresses security based on the principle of comprehensive national defence, places greater emphasis than before on civil protection, and provides, among other things, that Estonia’s military defence expenditures must continue to be at least five percent of GDP.

During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the resolution according to which the Prime Minister would have to provide the Riigikogu with an overview of Estonia’s security policy more frequently than before, that is, once a year.

The Riigikogu adopted the current National Security Concept at the beginning of 2023.

Marko Mihkelson from the Reform Party Group, Anti Allas from the Social Democratic Party Group, Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Vladimir Arhipov from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate. Non-attached Member of the Riigikogu Varro Vooglaid also took the floor.

77 members of the Riigikogu supported the passing of the Resolution, and one was against.

19 Bills passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure and Other Acts (optimisation of court proceedings and public access to court decisions) (560 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading in the Riigikogu. It will make court proceedings more flexible and faster, and resolve the main ways of malicious procrastination, such as absences from hearings without reason, the presentation of surprise evidence during the proceedings and the frequent change of defence counsel.

The bill will expand the possibilities of court hearings in situations where the accused evades the court. At present, a hearing cannot normally be held without the accused, but according to the Bill it will also be possible to hold a hearing without the accused being present in the courtroom all the time. The Bill will provide for the possibility of appointing a substitute defence counsel by way of state legal aid so that proceedings do not remain pending because of substitutions.

The Bill will also allow the parties to agree on aspects in which they do not have a dispute and which do not need to be investigated within the framework of court proceedings; give the court the opportunity to set a reasonable time for speeches made at the court hearing; specify the rules of adversarial examination to avoid disputes over the order of questioning, and make it easier to conduct a trial via a video bridge.

Non-attached Members of the Riigikogu Peeter Ernits and Varro Vooglaid took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Nature Conservation Act and Other Acts (612 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. The Bill will specify the procedure for placing natural objects under protection and make derogations in nature conservation restrictions to meet the national defence objectives.

During the proceedings, amendments were made to the bill, the most important of which arise from the Chancellor of Justice’s recommendation to create legal clarity in shore and bank protection. Nature conservation restrictions must be justified and clearly worded. Local governments will gain more decision-making freedom in designating shore and bank protection zones in cities, towns and small towns, which aligns with the direction of the national spatial plan to densify existing densely populated areas.

The bill will provide how compensation and mitigation areas will be designated the purpose of which will be to offset the impact of activities that harm a species or habitat. Compensation and mitigation areas will be coordinated with the Environmental Board and entered into the Estonian Nature Information System.

The role of the local government as the entity bringing comprehensive plans into effect is to balance various interests so that construction does not jeopardize the objectives of shore and bank protection. In certain cases, it is necessary to provide for the determination of the value of a plot of land and the forest growing on it.

The bill will specify the extent of the building exclusion zone on banks and shores in areas at risk of flooding. It will be specified that all restrictions begin at the shoreline, and if a flooding extends beyond the width of the building exclusion zone established by law, the boundary of the flooding area will be the boundary of the zone. Under the bill, the building exclusion zones of shores and banks may be reduced only with the consent of the Environmental Board outside cities, towns and small towns.

According to the bill, for the purpose of public good, it will be possible to permit, by a discretionary decision which means a lower time and resource cost, sports and recreational facilities intended for public use for which it is not necessary to reduce the building exclusion zone by spatial planning to be built in building exclusion zones, and in the future the local government will decide on permitting them in a building exclusion zone in a city, town or small town.  Local authorities may extend the building exclusion zone of a shore or bank by a comprehensive plan.

 The bill will provide the possibility that nature conservation work does not always have to be carried out with the permission of the Environmental Board in areas important for national defence. For example, restoration of mire habitats may be waived for reasons of national defence if it does not have a major impact on nature conservation and the damage to nature can be mitigated in other ways. During increased defence readiness, mobilisation, demobilisation, state of emergency or state of war, buildings may be constructed in the building exclusion zone without the consent of the Environment Board.

The bill will also amend the Hunting Act to allow for the issuance of electronic hunting permits. The management of hunting-related data will be consolidated into the hunting information system.

Tiit Maran from the Social Democratic Party Group and Andres Metsoja from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the motion was not supported. 13 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation, 48 were against and there was one abstention.

The Bill on Amendments to the Language Act, the Statutory Fees Act and the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act (740 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will centralize the organization of language learning into the area of administration of the Ministry of Education and Research in order to end fragmentation between several ministries and ensure more functional solutions for society and the labour market.

The purpose of the Bill is to improve compliance with the requirements for the use of the Estonian language and to enhance supervision. Supervision of compliance with language requirements will become stricter and non-compliance levies and fines will be increased. According to the Bill, the upper limit of non-compliance levy will increase from EUR 640 to EUR 1,280 for private individuals, and to 9,600 for legal entities. The rates of the fines for legal entities for violating the obligation to use the Estonian language will also be adjusted. An upper fine limit of EUR 10,000, and up to EUR 15,000 in certain cases with a wider impact, will be provided for. Currently, non-compliance levies and fines are small, which often means that non-compliance levies and fines are paid where necessary, but the activity is not corrected.

The bill will introduce a broader definition of the language of administration into the Act. Estonian-language administration will be required in all bodies providing public sector services, as well as in bodies governed by public law, and in municipalities. Thus, according to the Bill, administration will be expected to be in Estonian, for example, in universities and municipal councils and committees where discussions will have to be held in Estonian. Exceptions to language requirements remain in place for top specialists and teachers temporarily arriving from abroad in international and foreign-language curricula.

The Bill will establish a statutory fee of EUR 50 for taking the language exam at the same level for the third or subsequent time so that the exam is not used as a learning tool. Currently, many appeals are filed in the hope that the exam result will improve. The Bill will add the possibility that the result may also fall.

The distribution of grants and scholarships will also be consolidated into a single system in order to reduce administrative burden and improve the targeting of funding.

During the proceedings, an amendment was incorporated into the bill, according to which two historical language varieties of the regional varieties of the Estonian language would be specified in the Language Act. The current provision according to which the state promotes the protection, use and development of the regional varieties of the Estonian language will be given clearer content. According to an amendment, language varieties that have developed in the historical language areas of North and South Estonia are regional varieties of the Estonian language. In a traditional usage area of a regional variety of the Estonian language, a text in accordance with the Literary Standard may be accompanied by a text of the same content in the corresponding variety.

The motion to amend is based on requests from communities and linguists to grant regional language varieties stronger legislative status and to distinguish between the North Estonian and South Estonian varieties of the Estonian language, while treating all language varieties equally.

 Anti Allas, Madis Kallas, Riina Sikkut and Tiit Maran from the Social Democratic Party Group and Tõnis Lukas and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Building Code and Other Associated Acts (743 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will update construction law and make construction and planning processes simpler, faster, and more flexible.

The major amendments proposed in the bill concern design specifications. According to the Bill, it will no longer be necessary to amend the detailed spatial plan and instead it will be sufficient to specify the design specifications if a smaller outbuilding such as a sauna, shed, or garage is to be added to the plot. It will also be sufficient to specify the design specifications if a person wishes to change the ground projection area or number of floors of a building to be constructed, specify the type of civil engineering works, for example, replace electric heating with ground source heating, or build a shelter next to a new building. Every new building will need to have a shelter in the future.

It is planned to abandon the requirement to apply for a use and occupancy permit in the case of private houses and semi-detached houses. According to the Bill, a simplified use and occupancy notice in the register of buildings which reflects the basic data of the building will be sufficient. According to the bill, the validity of the building notice will be extended to four years. This will mean that, in the event of a delay in construction, it will not be necessary to notify the local government several times.

The bill also introduces changes to the legalization of old buildings in the register. The entry of buildings without a legal basis into the register will become clearer, giving people the opportunity to enter their registered immovables and buildings into the register correctly. The safety of a building will be the prerequisite for legalization for buildings constructed before 1 July 2015, and buildings constructed before 22 July 1995 will automatically be deemed to be legal. In addition, the previous statutory fee of EUR 500 which had to be paid when entering unauthorized buildings into the register will be abolished.

During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the bill, specifying the definition of the remodelling of a utility network line or utility work and providing that, among other things, a situation where a utility network line or utility work is demolished and an essentially similar utility network line or utility work is built in its place will also be deemed to be remodelling.

The bill was also amended to include a section that would allow for electronic communications infrastructure to be deployed as part of public roads. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure the cost-effective deployment of electronic communications infrastructure and to exploit the benefits of the synergies of joint construction. The explanatory memorandum states that this way it will be possible to avoid later additional costs and the possibility that roads that have already been built will have to be rebuilt later.

Aivar Kokk from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Consumer Protection Act and the Explosives Act (779 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. Its idea is to protect consumers from unfair commercial practices and to ensure that green-related claims used as sales arguments for products are actually true.

If a trader wants to use claims such as “environmentally friendly,” “biodegradable,” or “energy efficient” when marketing their products, then under the bill they will have to prove the truthfulness of their claims and obtain confirmation from an expert. According to the bill, self-invented sustainability labels and claims that mislead consumers about products’ lifespan and repairability will be prohibited in the future. Labels will have to be based on a certification scheme or be established by public authorities. The Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority, which is already exercising supervision over the use of unfair commercial practices, will begin to exercise supervision.

During the proceedings, the bill was amended to specify that producers and traders may use a corrective label for one year for goods and packaging produced before the entry into force of the new requirements, that is, before September 27 of this year, if the environmental claims or sustainability labels presented on the packaging of goods do not comply with the new requirements.

The Bill on Amendments to the Postal Act, the Competition Act and the Statutory Fees Act (781 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. It will modernize the Estonian postal market.

In the area of traditional postal services, it is essentially a monopoly market, while there is active competition in courier services. The changing market and international trends necessitate a renewal of the organization and financing of the universal postal service and the requirements applicable to the entire postal market. The bill will simplify the licensing procedure for the provision of postal services and licensing will remain mandatory only for the provision of the universal postal service. Submission of a notice of economic activity will be sufficient for other postal services.

During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the bill, which would include the service of delivering periodical publications within the scope of the universal postal service. In addition, the establishment of a maximum affordable price for the universal postal service will be abandoned and replaced with a justified price coordinated by the Competition Authority and established by the minister, where the principle of cost-based pricing will be taken into account.

 Aivar Kokk, Mart Maastik and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group and Vladimir Arhipov from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the motion was not supported. 20 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation but 46 were against.

The Bill on Amendments to the Public Procurement Act and Other Acts (788 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. Its aim is to make public procurement procedures simpler and faster and to reduce administrative burden. For this purpose, the rules for procurements falling below the international threshold will be significantly simplified, and the current three-tier threshold system will be abolished, leaving only the simple procurement and the international threshold. At the same time, the values for simple procurement thresholds will be raised to align them to the changed economic situation.

According to the explanatory memorandum, the abolition of the public procurement threshold and the expansion of the simple procedure will simplify almost half of public procurements and increase the proportion of small purchases with a simpler procedure, while large-scale and higher-risk contracts will still remain under stricter control. In addition, the bill will establish a new simplified procedure for the network sector.

The bill will also make other amendments to reduce bureaucracy. For example, the contracting authority will be given the option to verify the conformity of only the most economically advantageous tender or to choose which optional grounds for exclusion to apply in a specific procurement. In order to organize public procurements in the field of national defence more quickly, the bill will establish an additional basis for using a negotiated procedure without prior publication.

The amendments made during the proceedings will exempt activities related to the production of renewable energy and its sale to the grid in Estonia from public procurement rules. In addition, an application for a public procurement exemption may also be submitted to the European Commission by a contracting entity as a market participant operating in the sector which currently does not have such a right.

Aivar Kokk from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Energy Sector Organisation Act (812 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will implement the European Union regulation on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure. The bill will enable the creation of a comprehensive overview of the locations of recharging and refuelling points for electric and other alternative fuels and their availability, including whether chargers are currently vacant. This will improve consumers’ ability to plan their movement and will support the development of mobility services and digital solutions.

The amendments will concern operators of recharging and refuelling infrastructure as well as providers of digital services that aggregate and display movement information to consumers. The bill will primarily affect larger energy and fuel companies and infrastructure operators, including Enefit, Eleport, Alexela, Elektrum, Terminal, Neste, Ignitis, and Circle K. They will have an obligation to make infrastructure data available in a standardized manner which will increase the administrative burden to some extent but will improve the quality of services and the reliability of the data.

The bill will designate the Transport Administration as the competent authority and propose the Estonian open data portal as the national access point. The establishment of the national access point function will be funded within the framework of the data management reform of the Estonian Recovery and Resilience Plan.

Mart Maastik from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Public Broadcasting Act (819 SE) initiated by the Social Democratic Party Parliamentary Group and Members of the Riigikogu Jaak Aab, Ester Karuse, Tanel Kiik, Andre Hanimägi and Züleyxa Izmailova, passed the second reading. Its aim is to improve the gender balance and political independence of the Estonian Public Broadcasting Council.

According to the Bill, the Estonian Public Broadcasting Council will have to include people of both sexes. According to the initiators, representatives of both genders bring different experiences, perspectives, and knowledge to the decision-making process of the council, which reduces the risk of bias and increases the credibility of the Public Broadcasting and its council.

During the proceedings, five amendments were proposed to the bill, three of which would enhance the political independence of public broadcasting. The Committee amended the bill to include a provision according to which the number of representatives elected from among recognized experts in the field of activity of the Estonian Public Broadcasting on the Supervisory Board would have to exceed the number of parliamentary groups in the Riigikogu by one, in order to ensure the independence of public broadcasting. According to the current Act, four experts are appointed to the council, but there are currently six parliamentary groups in parliament. It will also be provided that the Riigikogu will have to appoint recognized experts in the field to the Estonian Public Broadcasting Council through an open competition.

The bill was also supplemented with a provision according to which a sectoral expert may not be a member of the governing body of a political party, and it was specified what kind of working relationship a council member may have with a media service provider. According to an amendment, a member of the council will not be allowed to work in a management position at a media service provider or perform work where he or she can decide on the media service provider’s activities, programme, or editorial content, for example as an editor-in-chief or news director.  At the same time, the wording will not prevent individual contributions or participation in discussions.

In addition, the bill was supplemented with the principle according to which members of the council would be remunerated according to their attendance at council meetings. An amendment also provides that if no meeting is held in a calendar month, no remuneration will be paid to members of the council.

Mart Maastik, Tõnis Lukas, Urmas Reinsalu, Lea Danilson-Järg, Priit Sibul, Aivar Kokk and Helir-Valdor Seeder from Isamaa Parliamentary Group, Reili Rand, Tanel Kiik and Lauri Läänemets from the Social Democratic Party Group and Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Centre Party Group took the floor during the debate. Non-attached Member of the Riigikogu Peeter Ernits also took the floor.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group and the Centre Party Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the motion was not supported. 13 members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation but 53 were against.

 The Bill on Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (837 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. Its aim is to simplify the rules for the employment of minors so that minors can be employed more flexibly than before and have better opportunities to gain early work experience and develop work habits. Early work experience helps improve young people’s starting position in the labour market and thereby helps prevent their long-term unemployment in the future.

Under the Bill, young people will be allowed to work more during school holidays. Under the current rules, a young person may work for half of their school holiday but in the future they will be able to work for up to two months during their summer holiday; they will be able to work for five days during a one-week school holiday and for ten days during a two-week school holiday.

While currently young people, depending on their age, may work in family businesses only in the fields of culture, art, sports, and advertising, according to the bill, this restriction will disappear and young people will be able to work in family businesses in any field. The period for processing the Labour Inspectorate’s permit required before hiring a minor aged 7–12 will also be shortened to allow, for example, the organizer of a youth work camp to quickly hire a young person on the camp’s waiting list if a young person who has been accepted into the camp withdraws from participation in the camp immediately before the work begins. The annual basic leave for minor employees will also be brought in line with that of adults—it will be 28 calendar days.

The content of the bill was significantly expanded during the proceedings. In addition to simplifying the conditions for the employment of minors, the bill had been amended by including extensive and fundamental changes to labour law, including the transposition of EU directives, a regulation on wage transparency, and the creation of a salary comparison tool as a new national digital solution. The salary comparison tool will be for voluntary use by employers.

During the debate, Priit Sibul, Aivar Kokk and Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor, and Tanel Kiik spoke on behalf of the Social Democratic Party Group.

 The Bill on Amendments to the Credit Institutions Act and Other Acts (governance and operational requirements for credit institutions) (848 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. It will update the governance and operational requirements for credit institutions and investment firms in accordance with the European Union banking package.

The bill will specify the rules for the governance and risk management of banks and establish clearer requirements for the selection of managers and key function holders as well as for compliance. The bill will also streamline the system of committees of banks to make their tasks and the formation of the committees clearer. During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the bill that would grant credit institutions additional time to establish the necessary committees and comply with the requirements.

In addition, the bill will specify the rules for bank mergers, the transfer of assets, and the establishment of branches of third-country banks and grant the Financial Supervision Authority additional supervisory tools.

Urmas Reinsalu from Isamaa Parliamentary Group took the floor during the debate.

Isamaa Parliamentary Group moved to suspend the second reading of the Bill, but the plenary did not support the motion. Seven members of the Riigikogu supported suspension of the deliberation but 33 were against.

The Bill on Amendments to the Higher Education Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (849 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. It will amend the organisation of higher education in order to increase the flexibility of study opportunities, strengthen the sustainability of the financing of higher education institutions, and improve the conformity of studies with labour market needs.

The Bill will provide universities with additional opportunities to attract private funding. Higher education institutions will be able to charge tuition for studying in one-year Estonian-language master’s study programmes. Currently, higher education institutions in Estonia have 30 master’s study programmes lasting less than two years, but universities wish to open new programmes as well.

It will also be possible to require reimbursement of student expenses from third-country nationals who come here for doctoral studies. 40 percent of people studying for a doctorate are foreigners, three-quarters of whom are from third countries. Currently, they cannot be charged tuition.

The Bill will also update the pharmacy study programme so that it would better meet the needs of the labour market. In the future, the pharmacy study programme may be organised on the basis of separate bachelor’s and master’s study programmes. Currently it is an integrated study. After completing a bachelor’s study programme of assistant pharmacist, graduates can start working in general and hospital pharmacies. In order to work as a pharmacist, they will have to complete a master’s study programme, which will enable them to also assume employment as researchers in pharmaceutical industry.

The regulation of the Higher Education Quality Agency will be brought to the level of law and supervision to be exercised over higher education institutions will be provided for.

During the proceedings, an amendment was made to the bill with the aim of ensuring that the career model for vocational education institutions of professional higher education institutions would not be applied in professional higher education institutions, in order to avoid duplicative quality assessment in higher and vocational education.

The Bill on Amendments to the Administrative Procedure Act and the Public Information Act (866 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. Its aim is to establish a clear and technology-neutral legal framework for automated administrative procedures.

An automated administrative procedure is a procedure in which decisions are made and acts are performed automatically, without direct human intervention, using information technology solutions. Automated procedures are already used in several fields, but there is no explicit legal framework that would define the limits of implementing automated administrative proceedings.

The purpose of the amendments is to ensure the speed, efficiency, and legitimacy of administrative proceedings in order to provide better-functioning and more person-centred services and to strengthen trust in the state. The Bill will provide for clear notification regarding the functioning of automated administrative procedure so that a person would know why a decision is made regarding them and what options they have to challenge the decision.

The Bill on Amendments to the Courts Act and Other Acts (speeding up court proceedings) (854 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will make amendments to courts administration, civil and administrative court proceedings, and court fees to speed up court proceedings. The amendments to procedural law are intended to simplify the hearing of simple cases in order to optimise and reduce the workload of the courts. For example, in administrative court procedure, in clear-cut cases, the court will be able to make a decision during the preliminary procedure without holding a hearing.

The aim of the changes to the court system is to streamline court administration and improve the organization of the work and specialization of the courts in order to speed up the hearing of more complex cases. According to the Bill, the courts of first instance and the courts of appeal will become independent constitutional institutions alongside the Supreme Court in terms of court administration and budgetary procedure. The strategic management of the court system will be directed by the council of courts, and the day-to-day support services for the courts will be organised by a new court administration service. In order to increase the specialisation of judges, the Bill will provide for nine areas of specialisation instead of the current two. In addition, the system of lay judges will be abolished.

According to the explanatory memorandum, raising the rates for statutory fees in civil and administrative court proceedings will help at least partially cover the increase in operational costs of courts, prevent malicious and non-viable legal recourse applications, and encourage parties to disputes to reach a compromise. Fees will increase by an average of 50 per cent in civil cases, and by an average of 200 per cent for appeals to administrative courts. Less well-off people will retain the opportunity for financial aid, and applicants for international protection will be exempt from statutory fee.

During the proceedings, several amendments were incorporated into the bill, one of which provided that there would be a total of 164 judge positions in district courts, 47 in circuit courts of appeal, and 25 in administrative courts. The amendment will not preclude a temporary increase in the number of judges in exceptional cases provided for by law but will ensure that the normal functioning of the court system is based on a clearly defined number of judges. In addition, the amendments will raise the maximum age limit for judges to 71 years and abolish the procedure for extending the age limit.

Maris Lauri from the Reform Party Group took the floor during the debate.

The Bill on Amendments to the Riigi Teataja Act (879 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. It will establish the legal basis for a new database of draft legislation, Sätla, so that the entire life cycle of a legislative act, from its initiation to its publication in the Riigi Teataja, could be followed in a single environment. The new database will make it possible to involve various parties and stakeholders in policy-making at an early stage.

According to the specified wording, the state co-creation environment Sätla is a database in which draft legislation and drafts of other documents are prepared and processed, and the relevant procedural information is disclosed until the documents are approved or signed and published in the Riigi Teataja or pursuant to another procedure provided by legislation.

Once the environment is ready, the database will also replace the current draft legislation information system. With the help of the new functions, the officials involved in legislative drafting will save an estimated 1,855 working days per year on technical work. In addition, the new database will support the transition from document-based legislative drafting to a data-based approach, which will improve the usability of data and create conditions for further automation.

The Bill on Amendments to the Anti-corruption Act, the Penal Code and the Taxation Act (900 SE), initiated by the Government, passed its second reading. It will specify the regulation relating to procedural restrictions for officials, including the necessary elements of the crime of violation of a restriction.

The Bill will formulate more clearly the definitions of “procedural restriction” and “connected person” and amend the procedures for notifying of exceptions and for disclosure. Among other things, it will be specified that an official will have to withdraw themselves even when they are required to make a decision regarding themselves as a private individual or in a matter involving a benefit related to themselves.

The Bill will create exceptions for health care professionals, researchers, and lawyers in cases where the existing restrictions unreasonably hinder their professional work. Health care professionals will not have to apply procedural restrictions in respect of connected persons where the provision of a healthcare service does not create a significant undue advantage for them or a person connected to them. Nor will procedural restrictions be applied to attorneys-at-law and assistant attorneys-at-law when they provide legal services, or to employees of public universities and state-owned professional higher education institutions when research results are implemented in practice in the process of knowledge transfer.

The Bill will specify the necessary elements of the crime of violation of a procedural restriction so that criminal liability will apply only in cases where the conduct of an official creates unequal or unjustified advantages from the point of view of public interest. In addition, the bill will impose an obligation on people who submit declarations of interests to declare their holdings and claims in crowdfunding projects, as well as whether they are beneficial owners of companies.

The Nuclear Energy and Safety Bill (856 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will establish a legal framework for the production and use of peaceful nuclear energy in Estonia. The bill will set out the rules for selecting the location of a nuclear power plant and its construction, testing, and operation, as well as its decommissioning, and the final disposal of nuclear waste.

The function of the national nuclear regulator, along with all the rights and obligations associated with that role, will be established under the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority. Among other things, the bill will establish a phased licensing system for the construction of a plant, consisting of a preliminary assessment, a construction license, a testing license, an operating license, and a decommissioning license. According to the bill, the nuclear regulator will begin operations on 1 January 2027.

The Bill will also establish the principle that the developer and operator of a nuclear power plant bears full responsibility for the safety of the facility and for the costs incurred at the end of its life cycle. A national decommissioning fund will be established for the decommissioning of the nuclear power plant; during the plant’s operational life, the operator will contribute funds to it for dismantling the plant and the final disposal of waste. The bill will also provide for the principles for nuclear security, physical protection, emergency preparedness, and the implementation of international safeguards.

During the proceedings, an amendment was incorporated into the bill to add an additional level of political decision-making to the procedure for constructing a nuclear power plant: in addition to the nuclear regulator and the government, the Riigikogu will also have to give its approval when deciding on the construction of a nuclear power plant.

 The Bill on Amendments to the Atmospheric Air Protection Act, the Environmental Charges Act and the Statutory Fees Act (861 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. Its purpose is to bring national law into line with the European Union’s updated air quality framework and to reduce the administrative burden on companies with a lower environmental impact as well as the workload of the Environmental Board.

An EU directive establishes stricter air quality limit values than before and specifies requirements for air quality monitoring, data availability, and public information. The implementation of the bill will help improve the living environment of Estonia’s residents, reduce health damage caused by pollution, and meet the EU’s climate and environmental objectives.

The bill will mainly introduce new requirements for the state and, to a lesser extent, for local governments. From 2030, operators will have to comply with new air quality limit values, which means that companies will have to assess whether their activities comply with the new air quality limit values and, if necessary, implement measures to ensure compliance. The amendments also concern the role of municipal governments in improving air quality. If air quality limit values or target values are exceeded or there is a risk of them being exceeded, the municipal government will have to draw up an air quality plan or roadmap and involve the operators of emission sources in it.

For making the monitoring and data public, an air quality index will be provided which will be based on the methodology of the European Environment Agency and will be updated once an hour. Since stricter air pollution limit values will start to apply to existing 1–5 MWth combustion plants, this will bring about a need to amend the air pollution permits for 449 boiler plants. In this regard, an amendment to reduce bureaucracy will be made which will allow small boiler plants to switch to simple registration instead of applying for an air pollution permit.

The Bill on Amendments to the Securities Market Act and Other Acts (882 SE), initiated by the Government, also passed the second reading. Its aim is to develop the Estonian capital market, simplify the raising of financing for companies and expand investment opportunities. The amendments are largely based on European Union regulation.

The bill will make going public on the stock exchange more flexible for companies by reducing the requirement for freely tradable shares from 25 percent to 10 percent. If this condition is not met either, the market operator will be able to assess adequacy based on other criteria, such as the number of investors or the market value of the company. This will create an opportunity for more companies to go public.

The availability of investment research will also be improved so that investors would have more reliable information. To this end, restrictions on the funding of research reports will be eased, and a clearer framework will be established for issuer-funded research reports to ensure their transparency.

In addition, the creation of growth markets intended for small and medium-sized enterprises will be simplified which will help them raise capital at an earlier stage of development and will support the development of entrepreneurship.

The second reading of a Bill was adjourned

The second reading of the Communicable Diseases Prevention and Control Bill (889 SE), initiated by the Government, was adjourned at Wednesday’s sitting of the Riigikogu due to the end of the working hours. The bill will reduce bureaucracy related to vaccination in schools, specify definitions and requirements related to infectious diseases, and establish modern principles for responding in the event of disease outbreaks and crises.

The bill will change the organization of the vaccination of children in schools and provide that parents who agree to their child being vaccinated will no longer have to submit a separate written consent to the school nurse. Vaccination remains voluntary, and parents who do not wish to have their child vaccinated may continue to refuse.

The bill will abolish the requirement for a health certificate for catering establishments. The health certificates currently required are formal in nature and may not reflect the real situation or provide protection. Employers remain responsible for preventing the spread of infectious agents and protecting at-risk groups in the workplace.

The bill will also increase the protection of people’s health in nursing homes. Infection control requirements will be expanded from healthcare institutions to other high-risk environments as well, including 24-hour care facilities, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.

The second reading of the bill will continue with the debate at Thursday’s sitting starting at 10 a.m.

The deliberation of five other Bills will be deferred

The deliberation of four Bills initiated by the Government will be deferred from the agenda for Wednesday’s sitting due to the end of the working hours. The second reading of  the Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (898 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Child Protection Act and Other Acts (901 SE), the Bill on Amendments to the Law Enforcement Act and Amendments to Other Acts arising therefrom (role allocation for the monitoring and countering of unmanned vehicles) (902 SE) and the Bill on Amendments to the Estonian Defence Forces Organisation Act and Amendments to Other Associated Acts (alert duty)  (907 SE) is deferred to the agenda for Thursday’s sitting.

In addition, the first reading of the Bill on Amendments to the Family Benefits Act  (869 SE), initiated by Members of the Riigikogu Lea Danilson-Järg, Helir-Valdor Seeder, Tõnis Lukas, Jaanus Karilaid, Priit Sibul, Andres Metsoja, Henn Põlluaas and Ants Frosch, is deferred to the agenda for Thursday’s sitting.

Wednesday’s sitting ended with the chair of the sitting declaring a recess at 9.38 a.m. on Thursday.

Photos Erik Peinar / Chancellery of the Riigikogu

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Karin Kangro
+372 631 6356, +372 520 0323
karin.kangro@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: The Riigikogu passed eight Acts and a Resolution