Draft law amending the 2024 State Budget Act (517 SE) – Second Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 4th session, plenary session.
Date: 2024-11-13 20:33
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 33
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 59m
AI Summaries: 33/33 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
This agenda item concerns draft law 517 to amend the 2024 State Budget Act – second reading. The draft centers on amendments to the Ministry of Finance’s compilation of funding and adherence to the budget preparation rules associated with it. The Isamaa faction submitted its proposed amendments, including a requirement to reduce central government expenditure by 200 million euros, and questions regarding limiting transferrable expenses and the inclusion of proposed amendments to the draft. Procedurally, issues arose concerning the inclusion of proposed amendments in the list of proposed amendments, and the role of the session’s leadership and ensuring the correctness of the Riigikogu’s procedure. The coalition and the leadership attempted to find a solution as to whether continuing the procedure was in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and the State Budget Act.
Decisions Made 3
The second reading of Bill 517 was concluded at the plenary level (the second reading ends and further proceedings will take place according to the relevant procedure).
The Isamaa faction's proposal to discontinue proceedings for the second reading did not receive support; the vote result was 19 in favor, 57 against.
The deadline for submitting amendments was set for November 20th at 5:15 PM.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa), who represented the right-wing opposition and initiated and led a long and thorough discussion on the procedural handling of bill 517’s second reading and the impact of the Ministry of Finance’s measures. He positions himself as an opposition politician (on the right side of the table), focusing on questions of legal procedures and budget transparency.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, announced that today's agenda item is the second reading of the draft law No. 517 to amend the 2024 State Budget Act, invited as the presenter the chair of the Riigikogu's Finance Committee, Annely Akkermann, and added that a procedural question has arisen, which will be addressed by Helir-Valdor Seeder.
Helir-Valdor Seeder
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Helir-Valdor Seeder stated that the Finance Committee left Isamaa's proposed amendments out of the draft bill and did not add anything that isn't true, and emphasized that the aim of these proposals is not to reduce the size of the budget, but to direct the saved funds to the state reserve, and asked that these amendments be placed either on the amendments page or that today this discussion not be opened.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairman Lauri Hussar thanked his colleague and said that procedural questions should be submitted to the chair of the Finance Committee, Annely Akkermann, and he does not see a reason at the moment to abandon the bill's processing, and Urmas Reinsalu raised a procedural question related to the conduct of the meeting.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu stressed that Parliament must follow the law, submit a complete list of amendments to the plenary session, and, if necessary, halt the consideration of this bill and give the Finance Committee instructions to bring the proposed amendments into line with the law, because Parliament must have the opportunity to discuss principled alternatives and avoid the mass implementation of tax increases.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar said that the discussion has already taken place, stressed the great importance of the commissions’ right to self-organization, informed that the chair of the Finance Committee will have to answer at the Riigikogu’s speaking podium today, mentioned the possibility of adjournment and the possibility of a proposal to suspend the bill, on which the Riigikogu will decide, and noted the procedure for conducting Helir-Valdor Seeder’s meeting.
Helir-Valdor Seeder
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Helir-Valdor Seeder protests the conduct and explains that their amendments do not reduce the overall size of the budget, but reduce central government spending by 200 million euros and leave that money available for use in 2024, and emphasizes that amendment proposals must be added to the list of amendments and that, before the discussion begins, the board must check their compliance with the House Rules and Working Order Act.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar confirmed that the presiding officer must not become involved in substantive deliberations, and the discussion must take place between the chairman of the committee and the members of the Riigikogu, and the sooner this is reached, the sooner questions will receive answers, including the procedural question of how Mart Helme's session should be conducted.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme accuses the opposition and Isamaa of persistent obstruction and of refusing to process amendment proposals, and warns that such violations are recorded, and that a willful violation of the law is a criminal offense for which they will be held accountable one day, because power is not eternal.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar said that it was not a procedural question, but a deeply personal assessment and a completely unfounded threat, and Urmas Reinsalu raised a question about the procedure for conducting the session.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu said that Isamaa's stance is principled and urged the Speaker of the Riigikogu to end the current political stalemate, open a dialogue with the Estonian people and society, and enable substantive debate and a vote on Isamaa's proposals, emphasizing violations of the law and growing distrust, and he posed a concrete question: under which paragraph of the Parliament's Rules of Procedure are Isamaa's proposals not included in the current draft of the State Budget Amendment Act.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair Lauri Hussar said that all questions should be directed to the chair of the leading committee, who has clear grounds for the discussions and on whose basis the Riigikogu Finance Committee has made its decisions, and he asked Annely Akkermann, the chair of the Riigikogu Finance Committee, to come to the podium.
Annely Akkermann
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The Finance Committee discussed bill No. 517 and decided to bring it to the plenary agenda, to conclude the second reading, and to present two main amendments—one a 200 million euro cut in central government spending and the other a 200 million euro cap on transfers—and to add a paragraph confirming that the 69,630,689 euros allocated to the government reserve will not extend the deadline for using the state budget, so that these funds will reduce state spending in the last quarter and come into use before the end of 2024.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanked the esteemed presenter and said that you also have questions, asking Urmas Reinsalu for an answer.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu posed two concrete questions: why is 3.6 million euros being increased at the end of the year for the program-based logic “Efficient State,” when there is only one month left until year-end, and which financing transactions are being cut by €82.2 million in order to achieve balance and to find money for both the “Efficient State” and other projects?
Annely Akkermann
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Annely Akkermann emphasizes that she must pull data from the tables and sum up the amount for the answer, and asks whether the question concerns the initial draft bill or amendment proposals, while at the same time highlighting different budget increases (Riigikogu Secretariat 320,000 euros into IT investments, 82,000 euros under “Efficient State,” and about 3.6 million).
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar gave Urmas Reinsalu the opportunity first to clarify the first question and then to ask the second question, emphasizing that a clarification is important at the moment.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
He asks Annely whether the table distributed for the second reading is an initial draft or an amended draft into which amendments have already been introduced, and whether it contains Isamaa's amendment proposals and where they have been inserted.
Annely Akkermann
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Annely Akkermann introduces the second reading of the bill and amendments and highlights the distribution of funding: 701,000 euros for shaping budget policy, 329,000 euros for the administration and supervision of state finances, 244,000 euros for shaping tax and customs policy, and -400,000 euros for the administration of tax and customs.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu asked why in December there is a need for extra millions to manage the state's finances, and what the -82 million euro-sized financing transactions actually contain — do they reflect the impact of the Euribor decline?
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar invited Urmas Reinsalu to pose a second question.
Annely Akkermann
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Annely Akkermann said that, according to the explanatory memorandum of the draft, changes to the Ministry of Finance's performance area “Efficient State” will be considered, including funding for ICT development costs and support services, and a reduction of 82.2 million euros in financing transactions, and that in preparing the 2024 state budget there were unplanned receipts into the state budget, the supplementation of which will reduce the state's borrowing obligations.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, thanked and announced that there are no questions, opens negotiations and invites Urmas Reinsalu to the podium; Reinsalu asked for three minutes of extra time.
Urmas Reinsalu
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Urmas Reinsalu accuses the government of deficiencies in budget management, points to the opacity of a financing transaction worth 82 million euros and the allocation of extra funds during Christmas, and presents two concrete Isamaa proposals – to reduce the money carried forward to 2025 and to cut the 2024 government administration costs by about 200 million euros – and demands the bill to be halted and a clear answer regarding the 3.6 million euro supplementary budget.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Thank you, and now I asked my colleague Rain Epler to speak at the lectern.
Rain Epler
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
In short: Rain Epler emphasizes that this draft bill deepens the lack of transparency in the state budget, because the government has practically free rein to move money around over the course of a year and later retrospectively legalize these reallocations.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker of the Riigikogu, Lauri Hussar, thanks and then invites his fellow Riigikogu speaker, Aivar Kokk, to speak.
Aivar Kokk
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Riigikogu member Aivar Kokk described the 2024 supplementary budget as the biggest mess from the Ministry of Finance and criticized that 70 million in rollover funds are being put into reserve and are actually carried over to the next year, and that the process taking place in the committee is unfair due to political pork-barrel funding and the voting rules.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar expresses a wish to give three minutes of extra time.
Aivar Kokk
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Aivar Kokk criticized short sessions and budget-related changes, accused the coalition ministers and the party leader of defending their interests, and demanded substantive discussions and clear explanations of the deals in the committee.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, informed that negotiations have ended and that the two amendment proposals to Draft Bill 517 have been reviewed, and the board wishes to finish the second reading of Draft Bill 517, but the Isamaa faction submitted a proposal to suspend the second reading of Draft Bill 517, after which they proceeded to prepare for a vote.
Helir-Valdor Seeder
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
I wanted to draw attention to the fact that Mr. Randpere and Mr. Võrklaev wear a badge on their chests that reads "30", but it's not nice to adorn oneself with other people's feathers and to wear on one's chest an Isamaa rating.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Speaker Lauri Hussar put to a vote the Isamaa faction's proposal to suspend the second reading of draft bill No. 517 amending the 2024 State Budget Act.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Estonian Parliament voted on the proposal, which was supported by 19 members, against 57, with no abstentions, and the proposal did not gain support; the second reading of Draft Bill 517 has been completed, and the deadline for submitting amendments is November 20 at 17:15.