Estonian record fine
Session: 15th Estonian Parliament, 5th sitting, information briefing
Date: 2025-01-29 15:40
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 14
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 11m
AI Summaries: 14/14 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
Riigikogu member Vadim Belobrovtsev posed a question to Justice and Digital Minister Liisa-Ly Pakosta regarding the European Commission fine imposed on Estonia. The fine, amounting to €400,000 plus €3,000 for each day of delay, was levied on Estonia due to the failure to adopt the Competition Directive on time (the deadline was February 2021). Belobrovtsev wanted to know why the delay occurred, who will pay the fine, and whether the daily penalty continues to accrue even during the discussion.
Minister Pakosta explained that the delay in adopting the directive began during the 2019–2021 period when Urmas Reinsalu and Raivo Aeg (Isamaa) were Justice Ministers, but acknowledged that subsequent governments have also failed to resolve the issue. She expressed hope that the government will soon submit the necessary amendments to the Riigikogu to adopt the directive in February and halt the daily penalty. Pakosta emphasized that the size of the fine has been significantly reduced because the European Court assessed the impact on Estonian consumers as minimal. The main reason for the delay was a fundamental dispute over whether penalties for violations of competition rules should be as easy as possible for officials or as fair as possible, in accordance with the rule of law, as with other offenses in Estonia. The Minister confirmed that Estonian taxpayers will pay the fine, but the precise source of the funds has not yet been decided. Lauri Laats (MP) asked the Minister for her personal opinion on the suitability of the directive, to which Pakosta replied that Estonia has found compromise solutions that comply with Estonian legal order, despite earlier concerns about the privilege of self-incrimination.
Decisions Made 1
Decisions were not made.
Most Active Speaker
Vadim Belobrovtsev was an active questioner who initiated a detailed discussion about the fine and its legal consequences. He used his time for clarifying questions to allow the minister to elaborate at length on the complex legal dispute concerning the simplicity and fairness of punishment. His position is oppositional (other).
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, announces that we are moving to the eighth question, submitted by Riigikogu member Vadim Belobrovtsev, the topic of which is Estonia's giant fine for the Minister of Justice and Digitalization Liisa-Ly Pakosta.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev posed to the European Commission a question about a 400,000-euro fine and a daily fine of 3,000 euros, asking how Estonia came to have such a penalty, what it means for us, and where the money to pay it would come from.
Justiits- ja digiminister Liisa-Ly Pakosta
AI Summary
Justice and Digital Minister Liisa-Ly Pakosta said that Estonia missed the deadline for transposing the competition law directive, the European Court reduced the initial penalty and it will be paid by the Estonian taxpayer, but the government hopes to quickly transpose the directive by February with amendments to be sent to the Riigikogu in order to reduce the impact on consumers.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The speech emphasizes that your time has come.
Justiits- ja digiminister Liisa-Ly Pakosta
AI Summary
The origin of the money has not yet been decided.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar thanked him and invited Vadim Belobrovtsev to pose a clarifying question.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev expresses concern that the 2019–2021 directive has not been implemented over four years, and asks whether a penalty of a four-digit amount is added for each day of delay or if it is fixed at 400,000, and whether the government's Thursday adoption of it is all that it entails.
Justiits- ja digiminister Liisa-Ly Pakosta
AI Summary
This speech discusses whether the punishment for a violation of competition law should be as simple as issuing a student's grade as an administrative act, or whether it should require a thorough, evidence- and witness-involving proceeding that protects individuals from the state's excessive power.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar calls on listeners to act, saying that it is their time.
Justiits- ja digiminister Liisa-Ly Pakosta
AI Summary
The debate has been very principled, and all parties in the Riigikogu have stood up for it in the chamber.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker thanked and asked Lauri Laats to present an additional question.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats apologized to Rain Epler and acknowledged that the focus is on the issue of this directive and the penalty that accompanies it, which has been discussed since 2021, and for its enforcement a penalty has already been set for 2025, and that the penalty must be simple and fair, and we have no other option but to accept and implement it.
Justiits- ja digiminister Liisa-Ly Pakosta
AI Summary
The Parliament of Estonia is in complete agreement with its previous positions: the directive does not fit the Estonian legal order, therefore compromise solutions have been proposed that correspond to the Estonian legal system and on the basis of which the directive could be transposed.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Thanks, let's take one more question and finish addressing the eighth question.