Inquiry regarding the financing of Russian-language Delfi and ETV+
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
Date: 2025-03-17 19:29
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 54
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 38m
AI Summaries: 54/54 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
Under agenda item three, the inquiry submitted by Members of the Riigikogu – Kert Kingo, Helle-Moonika Helme, Martin Helme, Mart Helme, Rain Epler, and Arvo Aller – regarding the funding of Delfi and ETV+ produced in Russian (inquiry no. 715), submitted on January 29, 2025, was discussed. The presentation was given by Kert Kingo. The focus was on the targeted connection of state funding with media outlets run by individuals with Russian citizenship, and clarification was sought on three key questions: why are publications in Russian being funded when Estonia is cooperating with a country regarding which security risks have been expressed; how can restrictions on suffrage for Russian citizens be justified in comparison to those running leading media channels; and whether the impact of large Russian-language publications on Estonia's information landscape poses a greater or lesser security risk. The debate proceeded in response to the government's positions and within the context of media hubs, emphasizing media independence, the objectives of funding, and the roles of the state and public broadcasting in a situation where the dissemination of Russian-language information is an important part of informing society.
Decisions Made 1
No final formal decisions were made within this agenda item; the discussion will continue and any possible decisions will be adopted in the context of future meetings.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was the one assigned the role with pid="Bav3E8LSHIE", whose thoughts and explanations covered the largest portion of the discussion, and repeatedly attention was drawn to their critical viewpoints regarding media funding and the operation of Russian-language information. This person represents the EKRE faction, or the right-wing political line.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
During the third item on the agenda, a written inquiry submitted on 29 January 2025 regarding the funding of the Russian-language Delfi and ETV+ will be discussed. The authors of the inquiry are Kert Kingo, Helle-Moonika Helme, Martin Helme, Mart Helme, Rain Epleri and Arvo Alleri, and its presentation will be given by Riigikogu member Kert Kingo.
Kert Kingo
AI Summary
They ask how much time they have and whether they have five minutes.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech lasts five minutes.
Kert Kingo
AI Summary
Kert Kingo criticizes Russia's aggression and cultural erasure, and highlights the contradiction in which the Estonian government seeks to reduce the voting rights of citizens of the Russian Federation living in Estonia, while at the same time funding Russian-language media outlets, and submits three concrete security questions to the prime minister about those publications.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Thank you; the prime minister now has the opportunity to answer MPs' questions.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that to ensure the independence of Estonian media, funding is provided for Russian-language publications to strengthen the professionalism of their editorial offices and to ensure content is freely accessible to the public, and that those who vote for Putin at the Russian embassy should not participate in elections in Estonia; according to Norstat's 2024 survey, ERR's rus.err.ee and ETV+'s are the most trusted media outlets for the Russian-speaking community.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Thank you. You have questions, and you have been asked to take the stage by Aleksandr Tšaplõgin.
Aleksandr Tšaplõgin
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
He asked the prime minister a question about the content on Russian Delfi, which includes advertisements for sex toy stores, ads for swinger clubs, detailed stories about porn shoots in Estonia, and interviews with porn actors, and asks whether such content is suitable for state funding.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
He notes that advertisements may be targeted according to the user's previous clicks, and Google and others show ads based on this.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme claims that state funding of Russian-language channels is not a free press but propaganda, and with it the Russian language is kept in a privileged position within the state's domain.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech is simply a plea to invite Mart Helme onto the stage.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, expressed thanks.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme claims that Russian-language use is parallel to the Estonian language, and asks whether the Russian language should be completely uprooted as our second state language.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, expresses thanks.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
The Russian language is not the state language, and in Estonia there are many Russian speakers, but state information and crisis information must reach all citizens adequately and factually, and the knowledge of the state language and its use is sensible, and we should move in that direction.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, briefly addresses Helle-Moonika Helme with a request.
Helle-Moonika Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helle-Moonika Helme asks why media freedom is claimed, when the Reform Party government at the time allocated a million for the production of Russian-language Delfi content, and whether the content produced with that money is still adequate information for the Russian-speaking population.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal confirmed that Estonia's media are independent and free, and that the state does not commission media content; in the 2024 Media Freedom Index Estonia ranks sixth among 180 countries, and journalism in Estonia is completely free, which must be preserved, and he asked to be informed if in any Estonian- or Russian-language portal the state or government is treated unfairly.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, invited Kert Kingot to speak.
Kert Kingo
AI Summary
Kert Kingo accuses the respondent of financing Russian propaganda and cites an example: in September 2023 the Russian propaganda film “Doktor Liisa” was shown on the ETV+ channel at state expense, and asks whether such dissemination of propaganda films on a state-funded media channel constitutes media freedom.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
He said that he doesn’t know the specific film, but if it’s propaganda against Estonia, it shouldn’t have been there.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Toomas Kivimägi presents a petition to Martin Helme.
Martin Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Martin Helme claims that the Reform Party government in recent years has allowed into Estonia about 150,000 Russian-speaking people and Russian citizens, whom he calls Ukrainians, and that their involvement and pro-Russian media outlets shape public opinion and lead to Russification and the encroachment of the Russian language.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy speaker, Toomas Kivimägi, thanks the audience.
Martin Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Martin Helme asks Kristen whether he himself approves of it.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that at the moment he does not have exact numbers with him, but on Wednesday he will take them with him, noting that the number of Russian-speaking people is smaller than ever before, Estonia, as Ukraine's ally, confirmed its readiness to support Ukraine and help in maintaining its rear, and added that Estonia has created all opportunities for the use of the state language in administration, and those who wish to live here are invited to acquire Estonian citizenship.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
This is a short prayer to Anti Poolamets.
Anti Poolamets
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anti Poolamets criticizes the stance of ERR's leadership that a Russian citizen could continue as the head of a democracy-balancing information field, and asks why the Estonian taxpayer should fund such choices and leaders, and whether such stances are supported.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal asserts that the media is free and adds that if a person is not the prime minister, they are freer and more colorful as a writer, something that can be googled.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The situation grew tense; two men understood, the others did not, and the speaker hadn't yet understood who it was, begging Rene Kokk for help.
AI Summary
Rene Kokk claims that the government funds Russian-language media and names Postimees Grupp, Põhjarannik, Äripäev, Ekspress Grupp and Delfi Meedia, and asks how the use of this funding and its impact are monitored and what the feedback is.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal confirmed that the use of grant funds does not make journalism any less independent, and editorial offices write stories independently and cannot commission messages or choose topics, and although journalism continues to face headwinds, he believes in their freedom to write, and the Ministry of Culture explains more precisely what is evaluated when selecting the grant.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
In the speech, a plea is presented to Rain Epler.
Rain Epler
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The speaker asks whether, in order to become prime minister, one must overturn previous principles or lie and later adjust one's positions, and whether the earlier critical positions were merely a step toward the premiership.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
The prime minister reaffirmed the freedom of the press and the independence of editorial offices, and said that he would not interfere with the media’s editorial teams or dictate exactly what kinds of stories to write, and added that if he were not the prime minister, he could write a considerably more colorful text.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The deputy chairman, Toomas Kivimägi, asked Arvo Alleri to speak.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Aller raises the question, against the backdrop of Russian media funding and VAT exemptions, of how to ensure that employees with Russian citizenship working in media outlets are not Putin-friendly.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
In our media, leaving the Russian regime or a critical stance toward Russia is not the sole criterion for getting a job, because Estonian media strives for objectivity, balance, and media freedom.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
At the start of the speech, Evelin Poolamets is invited onto the stage.
Evelin Poolamets
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
In municipal elections, there is a move to deprive Russian and Belarusian citizens of the right to vote, but the same Russian and Belarusian citizens may head ETV+ and be editors-in-chief of the Russian-language Delfi — how does that fit together, and should we be consistent in our own directions?
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal proposed starting to restrict voting rights for citizens of aggressor states—primarily Russia and Belarus—emphasizing that citizenship is not a convenience choice but a fundamental loyalty to the state, and said that in order to amend the constitution a broad-based consensus is needed so that those who wish to live here and have a say can become citizens.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi thanked the prime minister, said that the debate was quite witty, and now the negotiations are opening, and according to the Yellow Book the precedence lies with the representative of the questioners, so Mart Helme, as the representative of the questioners, has the right to open the negotiations.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme claims that the state-funded ERR has become a propaganda channel, and the expansion of the Russian language in Estonia and multilingual service are not the responsibility of the Estonian state.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
They want three more minutes.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme accuses the government of funding right-wing media outlets and supporting Russian-language media, and calls for the new government formed under the president's powers to be on his side, arguing that corruption and political manipulation are deeply entrenched in Estonia.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The speech was only a word of thanks.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
He claims that the president and the Chancellor of Justice see nothing, and notes that they could come here and talk about how we have the rule of law and a free press.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
The vice-chairman thanked the audience and invited Aleksandr Tšaplõgin to perform.
Aleksandr Tšaplõgin
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
They claim that the government allocates one million euros to Russian-language media, but the content and the editorial offices' connections to pornography and to political parties are shown, and therefore, in their view, it is not independent journalism, and the money should be directed more toward pensioners.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
In the speech, great thanks are expressed, and it is announced that the negotiations will be concluded by Prime Minister Kristen Michal, who will provide initial feedback.
Peaminister Kristen Michal
AI Summary
Prime Minister Kristen Michal confirmed that Estonian journalism is free and diverse, and ERR should not be considered a state propaganda channel, and he stressed the importance of competition and fact-checking, and would only cause concern for a single day—the day when content is bought for money.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
Toomas Kivimägi said that he did not accept the remarks following the minister's appearance, but he promised to respond with a counter-speech and asked that it be presented on behalf of Mart Helme's EKRE faction.
Mart Helme
Profiling Eesti Konservatiivse Rahvaerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Mart Helme states that free journalism is not absolute, and that true freedom consists in establishing boundaries and accountability; he cites examples of top U.S. officials and Trump's steps to expose fake freedom and to emphasize the need to implement real freedom.
Aseesimees Toomas Kivimägi
AI Summary
We have finished deliberating the third item on the agenda, and we will likely meet again on Wednesday; many thanks to the colleagues and to the Prime Minister.