Draft law amending the Defence Forces Organisation Act and the Economic Zone Act (strengthening maritime security) - first reading
Session: 15th Estonian Parliament, 5th session, plenary sitting
Date: 2025-02-19 16:17
Total Speeches: 46
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 1h 1m
AI Summaries: 46/46 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The Riigikogu discussed agenda item four: the first readings of the draft law amending the Defence Forces Organisation Act and the Economic Zone Act (strengthening maritime security) initiated by the Government of the Republic, in connection with draft 565. The basis is the need to strengthen maritime security and the protection of critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea, including the inner waters, territorial sea, and economic zone. The draft focuses on clarifying the Defence Forces' tasks and rights in protecting infrastructure located in the maritime and economic zone, and responding to emergencies, including clarifying the order of public safety, national defence, and the use of force when necessary. The regulation also provides for strengthened coordination and international cooperation (including NATO member states), and for maintaining consistency with UNCLOS, based on the principles of proportionality and necessity. The task is prevention, threat detection and deterrence, and, if necessary, the elimination of threats, without excessive escalation. The viewpoints of various parties are being circulated, and the procedure is being accelerated to quickly strengthen the protection of Estonia's maritime infrastructure.
Decisions Made 1
The Defence Committee decided unanimously to propose to the Riigikogu Presidium to include bill 565 for its first reading on the agenda and to conclude the first reading; the proposal is for the first reading of the bill on February 19th, and the deadline for submitting amendments is March 6th at 5:15 PM.
Most Active Speaker
Speaker: Kalev Stoicescu (Estonia 200 faction). Position: right-wing (right). He was the central representative in court and presented several detailed discussion statements, emphasizing the rapid strengthening of maritime security, the importance of infrastructure protection, and international cooperation in the Baltic Sea.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The fourth item on the agenda concerns the government-initiated draft bill No. 565 to amend the Defence Forces Organization Act and the Economic Zone Act (strengthening maritime security), first reading; the presenter is Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur presented a draft bill that strengthens Estonia's maritime security, clarifies the tasks and powers of the Defence Forces in the internal, territorial and economic zones, and enables preventive and proportionate neutralisation of the threat and, if necessary, the use of force against a threat arising from a civilian watercraft or floating device, involving NATO member states if needed, with a focus on protecting critical infrastructure and essential services.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The presenter was thanked with great appreciation, and questions followed, to which Mart Maastik was asked to respond.
Mart Maastik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Mart Maastik asked the Minister of Defence whether cost calculations for additional resources and mitigation measures have been made for the defence of the sea barrier being created on the Saaremaa coast or for the Liivimaa sea barrier, and whether they show how much additional resources would be required and what the cost would be to see and identify enemy ships or floating assets at sea.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that offshore wind farms and other infrastructure are the owner's primary responsibility to ensure their continued operation; the state has, if necessary, the right to intervene by amending the law; the Navy will continue the current patrols; and the analysis of compensation measures will be carried out by international experts, and based on their results a more precise assessment will be provided, and the Parliament will later receive a relevant briefing.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, invited Lauri Laatsi onto the stage.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats regarded the bill as entirely appropriate and noted that the current situation in the Gulf of Finland is unacceptable, and the economic damage and other damages caused by Estlink 2 are highly problematic, and asked how Estonia can protect its infrastructure in neutral waters, or will our hands be tied there.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that the Estonian maritime area map connects the internal waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone, and in the Estonian–Finnish maritime area overlap it is possible to respond to incidents, while international waters are guaranteed by the Estonia–Finland agreement.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, asked Madis Kallas to speak.
Madis Kallas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Madis Kallas asks how our neighboring countries have set forth provisions in their Critical Infrastructure Protection Acts, whether Estonia is moving ahead or following in the footsteps of Lithuania, Latvia, Finland, and Sweden, and what our current situation is.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
The briefing confirms that Estonia is at the forefront and shares its principles with Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland, emphasizing that transferring border guard duties to the Defence Forces on 1 January 2023 places the border guard duties in the proper place in each country's laws and ensures the initial law-enforcement response and, if necessary, the escalation ladder of military force.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, asks Lauri Laats to present the second question.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats claims that international maritime law could enable the shifting of borders and that would improve the protection of our infrastructure, but he asks whether the current legislative framework is sufficient or whether one should consider shifting the border and finding an agreement with Finland in this context.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur stressed that the Gulf of Finland issue requires balanced assessment: the unification of territorial waters could provide greater protection, but would provoke international disputes, and if the territorial sea were unified, a foreign vessel could come quite close to Tallinn; therefore the advantages and disadvantages must be carefully weighed and the navy's ability to respond must be ensured.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Toomas Kivimägi invited Mait Klaassen to speak.
Mait Klaassen
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The briefing addresses a situation in which it may be necessary to use force and compel a ship to leave our waters, and asks whether to reach an agreement with neighboring countries or to send them a ship as a gift.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
The Baltic states' cooperation in the field of the Coast Guard is operational in practice, where, in case of danger, the Coast Guard Operations Center contacts the vessel and issues orders to stay put, cease activity, or change course, and, if necessary, additional response capabilities are mobilized.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
This is simply an invitation for Arvo Alleri to perform.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Alleri asked, against the backdrop of removing border posts on the Narva River, whether these border posts belong to the state-protected infrastructure or whether other measures and amendments to the law should be taken to ensure the protection of the state border and its visibility to fishermen, both for themselves and for their neighbors.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said that only sea areas pertain to the Defence Forces; inland waters, i.e., the Narva River and the Peipsi lake region, are the responsibility of the Police and Border Guard Board; violations of border infrastructure are punishable, and disputes with neighbours can always be resolved; more precise details are with Laur.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Valdo Randpere is invited onto the stage.
Valdo Randpere
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
I am surprised and hopeful that, together with this draft bill, we could consider an international treaty that would ban diving on the wreck and place it under protection, similar to the treaty concluded after the Estonia disaster, under which Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, and Russia have joined, and also consider joining with the Russians, because they too have an interest in the Baltic Sea and, due to infrastructure concerns, have worries that could help resolve the situation.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said that in the Baltic Sea UNCLOS and freedom of navigation must be observed, that the use of force should be avoided, and that law-enforcement measures should be implemented in accordance with the escalation ladder, because international legal regimes differ and cannot be covered by a single agreement.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The purpose of the speech is to invite Jüri Jaanson onto the stage.
Jüri Jaanson
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Jüri Jaanson states that the international law of the sea obliges the passage of the Russian auxiliary fleet through the Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea, and the Danish straits, notes Denmark's possible reevaluation, and emphasizes the need to limit the movement of Russian—and other, for example Chinese—ships due to the risk of cable damage, and asks whether it has been discussed with the Baltic Sea states how to view the international law of the sea from the perspective of our safety and security.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
At the Nordic-Baltic ministers' meeting, it quickly became clear that domestic law is the most sensible, and changing international maritime law through UNCLOS amendment proposals could give dictatorship regimes automatic control, therefore meddling with UNCLOS is not sensible.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
During the speech, Valdo Randpere is asked to pose the second question.
Valdo Randpere
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He referred to the precedent "Estonia hauarahu rahvusvaheline lepe", the obligation of which was to require all states that joined it to amend their laws so that they would conform to the international treaty; Estonia inserted this clause into the law, but after the law was revised it was left out, and taking this precedent into account one could consider the conclusion of an international treaty between the Baltic Sea coastal states, which have infrastructure in the northern Baltic Sea.
Kaitseminister Hanno Pevkur
AI Summary
The defense minister thanks and promises to take that idea with him.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanked everyone and said that the questions had run out, and invited colleagues to listen to the discussion to be held in the leadership committee and to Meelis Kiili's views, a member of the Riigikogu's Defence Committee.
Meelis Kiili
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The Defence Committee discussed the draft bill on February 10, supported its general principles, and decided to refine the text for the second reading and to submit to the Riigikogu Presidium a proposal to add to the discussion on the Riigikogu's February 19 session agenda and to conclude the first reading of the draft bill, naming me as the rapporteur.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanked, said there were no questions, opened negotiations, and invited Kalev Stoicescu to speak on behalf of the Eesti 200 faction.
Kalev Stoicescu
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
In summary, the speech presents Bill 565 with the aim of strengthening Estonia's maritime security and the protection of critical infrastructure operating in the exclusive economic zone, expanding the Defence Forces' maritime powers, and establishing a working group on maritime threats, in order to rapidly prevent and halt dangerous incidents and to promote unified European rules in the Baltic Sea.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi asked for three more minutes.
Kalev Stoicescu
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kalev Stoicescu said that in the event of non-compliance with safety requirements for entering the Baltic Sea, material liability should be imposed on the infrastructure wreckers, i.e., the owners of seabed assets, and this liability must be pursued and achieved by every means. And although the field of work is broad and extremely important, it is essential to move forward with determination — Draft Bill 565 is a step in that direction, and he asked to vote in favor of it.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
She extends heartfelt thanks and announces that Reili Rand represents the Social Democratic Party's parliamentary faction.
Reili Rand
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Reili Rand emphasized that Estonia's maritime security is the cornerstone of security, and to protect sea lines, cables and other connections there is a need to specify legislative norms, to fund national defense and to develop the navy, in order to prevent and repel hybrid threats and possible interferences by Russia, and the Parliament must substantively process the bill and give the Defence Forces clear powers.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
He thanks and, on behalf of the Reform Party faction, requests the floor in the Riigikogu for his colleague Kalle Laanet.
Kalle Laanet
Profiling Eesti Reformierakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Kalle Laanet emphasizes that to enhance Baltic Sea security it is necessary to unite fleets, adapt the legal framework, and modernize the navy's fleet, so that there can be a faster response and greater capability, and the Reform Party will certainly support this bill.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
He thanks wholeheartedly and asks the Riigikogu to grant the floor to his colleague Vladimir Arhipov on behalf of the Estonian Centre Party faction.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov emphasizes that Estonia's energy security depends on protecting offshore infrastructure, including power lines and data communication connections, and until we have a definite alternative, we must maintain oil shale electricity generation and strengthen protection and the capacity of the relevant authorities to prevent and respond to threats, including hybrid attacks.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
He thanks you and, on behalf of the EKRE faction, asks to grant the floor in the Riigikogu to his good colleague Mart Helme.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme emphasizes that although crisis protection and subsea infrastructure protection topics have been raised several times over the years, not enough has been done in the past decade, and intergovernmental underwater surveillance and the corresponding readiness remain inadequate.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi asks for three more minutes.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme says that the United States will not send ships to the Baltic Sea, so Estonia must itself find the money and political will and organize the procurement processes to implement, in cooperation with the voluntary rescue service, the border guard and the navy, a plan to order about 40–50 seaworthy rescue boats and create a unified maritime defence capability, because one draft is not sufficient and concrete action is needed.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Many thanks to everyone. The negotiations have been concluded, the first reading of Bill 565 has been completed, the deadline for submitting amendment proposals is March 6 of this year at 5:15 PM, and the proceedings on the fourth agenda item have been completed.