The situation in the country
Session: 15th Estonian Parliament, 4th sitting, information briefing
Date: 2024-11-06 14:01
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 12
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 13m
AI Summaries: 12/12 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The first agenda item addressed the expansion or restrictions of suffrage in local government elections and the associated political rhetoric, including the role of non-citizens and grey passport holders. The debate focused on whether, in addition to Estonian citizens, other EU citizens or other exceptions should have the right to vote in local elections, and how this fits with the historical context where OSCE Minority Commissioner Max van der Stoel pushed through the idea of a broader right to vote in local elections. EKRE repeatedly proposed restricting the right to vote, and opposition to expanding the right to vote was not initially supported, but today the coalition has expressed a willingness to cooperate with the opposition to decide on an expedited constitutional amendment procedure to find common ground.
Decisions Made 1
The Riigikogu coalition and opposition decided to draft an urgent bill amending the constitution, involving all political parties and creating a joint text development process to implement the removal of voting rights for citizens of aggressor states in local elections. The bill's objective is to achieve a broad-based compromise and ensure a swift procedure and a unified approach by all parties involved.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was Helle-Moonika Helme (pid WgDOnz_gvIs). She is a member of EKRE and belongs to the right-wing political direction.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Riigikogu member Helle-Moonika Helme asks the Prime Minister Kristen Michal first about the state of the country.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helle-Moonika Helme claims that although EKRE has emphasized restricting the legal bases for local government elections to Estonian citizenship, the coalition is now planning several exemptions and grey passport holders, which, in her view, deceive voters and require a clean, clear solution.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that the coalition has reached a compromise to begin an urgent amendment to the constitution, which will strip the right to vote from citizens of the aggressor states of Russia and Belarus, and the text will be drafted jointly by the Riigikogu, together with the coalition and the opposition.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks and asks Helle-Moonika Helme to present a clarifying question.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helle‑Moonika Helme confirmed that the aggressor state's citizens may not participate in Estonia's elections, and the solution offered to gray passport holders for the right to local elections is dangerous and unfair, and must be replaced with a clean, constitutionally compliant solution.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that the main goal is to revoke the voting rights of citizens of the aggressor state in local elections, and to achieve this, a draft law for an urgent amendment to the constitution will be prepared in agreement with all parties, which will be submitted in the near future.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
At the start of the speech, thanks are given, and it is announced that there will be a follow-up question, and Lauri Laats is invited to come up to speak.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats criticizes the government, highlights the economic downturn and regional inequality, and emphasizes the need to lower the food VAT, referring to the Centre Party's draft bill and EU practice, and asks whether the government sees these problems and intends to act in that direction.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that Estonia's economy is at a turning point and a recovery is expected, inequality has decreased, and the best solution to alleviate shortages is to boost economic growth and competitiveness through faster planning, the procurement of cheap and clean energy, and new investments. At the same time, he stressed that the disparities in VAT exemption provisions do not help those who lack them, but benefit those who have them, and to alleviate the shortage other measures must be used and the focus should be on direct measures.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, thanked and ended the consideration of today's first question, and before moving to the second question, noted that Aleksandr Chaplogin had his hand up for a long time, and his question concerns the procedure for conducting the meeting.
Aleksandr Tšaplõgin
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Aleksandr Tšaplõgin submitted a procedural question regarding the agenda of the information hour and suspected that he was being ignored and that the standards of the Riigikogu and the media did not suit him.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The leadership of the Riigikogu organizes a round of questions in such a way that first those who belong to the leadership of the factions may ask questions, and then all members, and emphasizes that if we do not waste time on procedural questions, we will reach the core issues and handle them more quickly.