Draft law amending § 2 of the Public Holidays and Commemoration Days Act (637 SE) – First Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary session
Date: 2025-09-11 01:32
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 55
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 27m
AI Summaries: 55/55 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
The Riigikogu debated the first reading of Draft Bill 637, initiated by the Estonian Centre Party faction, concerning amendments to the Law on Holidays and Commemorative Days. The aim of the bill was to establish the second day of Easter (Monday) as a public holiday and a day off, citing the alignment of Estonia with the majority of European countries and the strengthening of family relationships as justification. The rapporteur, Vadim Belobrovtsev (Centre Party), emphasized that Estonia is in the minority in Europe (along with Malta and Portugal) where this day is not a rest day, which creates problems in international business cooperation, especially with the Baltic and Nordic countries. He noted that the bill has received approval from the Estonian Council of Churches.
During the debate, opposition from the Government of the Republic emerged, based primarily on the lack of a substantive impact analysis. Opposition MPs (Kovalenko-Kõlvart, Laats, Jevgrafov) criticized the government's position, deeming the demand for an impact analysis a hypocritical tactic, especially considering that the government itself fails to present sufficient analyses for significant bills (e.g., tax increases). Belobrovtsev confirmed that the economic impact is indeed difficult to assess unambiguously, as the positive and negative aspects (e.g., greater productivity after a holiday versus a lost workday) balance each other out. Katrin Kuusemäe, representative of the Constitutional Committee, gave an overview of the committee meeting, where the government justified its opposition by citing the need to proceed from internal socio-economic balance, rather than merely the desire for harmonization.
Decisions Made 2
Upon the proposal of the leading committee, it was decided to conclude the first reading of Draft Act 637.
The deadline for submitting amendments was set for September 24th at 5:15 PM.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was Vadim Belobrovtsev (E9vnbjRjZiE), the bill’s rapporteur, who gave a comprehensive overview of its objectives and answered numerous questions, defending the draft legislation against criticism from the government. His official position, as a representative of the Centre Party faction, is categorized as 'other' (opposition).
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Let us proceed to the ninth item on the agenda; this is the first reading of Draft Act 637, the bill on amending Section 2 of the Law on Public Holidays and Commemorative Dates, initiated by the Estonian Centre Party Faction, and I invite Riigikogu Member Vadim Belobrovtsev to present the report.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller proceeded to the ninth agenda item, which was the first reading of Draft Bill 637 concerning amendments to the Law on Holidays and Commemorative Dates, initiated by the Estonian Centre Party faction, and invited Riigikogu member Vadim Belobrovtsev to serve as the rapporteur.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev proposed designating the second day of Easter as a national holiday—effectively making Monday a public holiday—in order to increase family time, boost work productivity, and facilitate international cooperation. He pointed out that this change would not increase state budget costs, is aligned with European traditions, and has received the approval of the Estonian Council of Churches.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev submitted a bill to declare the second day of Easter a national holiday, emphasizing that this would bring Estonia in line with the practice of almost the entire European Union, where this day is a day off. He stressed that it would improve international cooperation, strengthen family relationships, and bring the length of the Estonian work week closer to the EU average. He noted that Estonia, along with Malta and Portugal, are currently the only countries in Europe where this day is not a public holiday.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev stresses the necessity of designating the second day of Easter as a national holiday and a day off, given that Estonia is one of the few countries in the European Union where this Monday remains a working day, a situation which impedes international business cooperation. Furthermore, this change would support the strengthening of family ties, help alleviate work-related stress, and bring the total number of holidays in Estonia closer to the average found across the Baltic states, all without creating any negative impact on the state budget.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller invited Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart to ask a question.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller announced the opening of the Q&A session and then gave the floor to Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart stated that although the draft legislation has been introduced for several years and the Riigikogu (Parliament) could advance it to the second and third readings, the government is unwilling to support it. She noted that the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs' position suggests the impact on the labor market could be positive, whereas the Ministry of Education and Research estimates that it might increase the workload for students. She concluded by asking for the official stance on the proposed additional day off, which would allow people time to rest with their families.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart expresses support for the repeatedly submitted bill, which apparently proposes an extra public holiday. However, she notes that the government, acting through the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs, does not support it, citing doubts about its positive impact on the labor market. She specifically challenges the position of the Ministry of Education and Research, which argues that a day off could actually increase the burden on students. She concludes by hoping that the Riigikogu will approve the bill nonetheless.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The speech emphasizes the message "Your Time," which refers to the importance of your time.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The speech raises the question of whether this might actually increase the workload instead.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev deems the ministries' criticism regarding the draft bill's lack of impact analysis to be baseless, stressing that performing such an analysis is the responsibility of the ministries, who possess greater resources for this task. Furthermore, he argues that predicting the precise economic impact is difficult, as the positive effect of an additional day off (higher productivity) could outweigh the negative effect (a lost workday). Consequently, he suggests that concerns about the education system cannot be taken seriously, given that many European countries have more public holidays than Estonia.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev emphasized that the impact of adding a single public holiday is not uniformly assessable, and the ministry would need more resources to analyze it, because the effect depends on the context and the perspective, and it is impossible to definitively say whether it is negative or positive.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller calls upon Lauri Laats.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats says that this is, I guess, the third or fourth time they’ve been here with this draft bill.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats began with polite formalities, but immediately stressed that the draft bill under discussion was already a recurring topic before the chamber, noting that, to his knowledge, it was being brought up for the third or fourth time.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
This speech is short and direct, expressing certainty with the phrase "Definitely you."
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats confirms that despite the government's inaction, a draft bill will be resubmitted with the support of the Christian community, aiming to make the second day of Easter a national holiday. He also wonders why the coalition refuses to engage with this community, for whom the issue is vitally important.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats notes that they are consistent regarding the bill concerning the declaration of the second day of Easter as a national holiday, and asks why the current government and coalition are not communicating with the community for whom this is important.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev analyzed why the coalition does not support the opposition's draft bill, highlighting the political culture rooted in the Riigikogu where the opposing side's initiatives are rejected on principle, due to outdated inertia, and a lack of communication with interest groups. He simultaneously stressed that although coalition members support the bill in the hallways, their stance changes once they reach the chamber, which is why he hopes for a different voting result this time.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev noted that the bill originated with the opposition, and the coalition often fails to support opposition bills due to political culture and inertia. He added that the changing world, including the home office, requires the coalition to engage in more dialogue with interest groups, and he hopes for a different course of action this time.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller calls upon Aleksei Jevgrafov.
Aleksei Jevgrafov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Aleksei Yevgrafov expresses concern that although Minister Liisa-Ly Pakosta emphasized the necessity of a substantive impact analysis, no analysis regarding the draft bill has been commissioned, and he questions why the ministry is waiving this requirement.
Aleksei Jevgrafov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Aleksei Jevgrafov criticized the ministry's decision to skip a substantive impact analysis for the current draft bill, the necessity of which Minister Liisa-Ly Pakosta had also stressed. He simultaneously questioned why the analysis had not been commissioned, given that a similar bill was discussed a year ago.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev criticizes the convenient tactic of rejecting draft legislation without an impact analysis, stressing that these analyses should be conducted by the ministry and warning that funding them through expense allowances could quickly dry up, resulting in the analyses never being completed.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev views the ministry’s refusal to support draft legislation—citing a lack of impact assessments—as a convenient tactic. He emphasizes that members of the Riigikogu (Parliament) and their factions do not have the financial or staffing capacity to commission costly analyses for every single bill. Therefore, the ministry responsible for that specific area should be the one conducting these assessments themselves, to ensure that progress on the matter is not obstructed.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev considers the ministry's refusal to support draft legislation proposed by Riigikogu members due to a lack of impact assessment to be a convenient tactic, emphasizing that MPs cannot use their own expense accounts to commission expensive analyses, as those funds are designated for communicating with the public. Therefore, conducting these analyses should be the responsibility of the ministry in charge of the relevant sector, rather than serving as a pretext to halt the advancement of an unwelcome issue.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller calls upon Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart to speak.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart is criticizing the government for hypocrisy, arguing that while the government demands Riigikogu (Parliament) members submit impact assessments, it failed to conduct these analyses itself for several crucial pieces of legislation, including major tax increases and decisions affecting the labor market.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart accused the government of hypocrisy, claiming that they demand impact analyses from Riigikogu members while failing to conduct impact assessments for highly crucial draft legislation—such as the increases in VAT, income tax, and car tax, as well as labor market policy—and even a colleague from the Reform Party admitted that the full picture is missing.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev claims that demanding impact assessments from members of parliament is a tactic designed to abandon the draft legislation, and that for this specific bill, it is actually impossible to compile such an assessment—a fact confirmed by reliable institutions, such as the Bank of Estonia.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev criticizes the government's demand for impact analyses from Riigikogu members, deeming it hypocritical and a convenient excuse used to avoid moving forward with the specific bill, stressing that, according to authoritative organizations, compiling such an analysis is not even possible in this particular instance.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller concluded the round of questions and gave the floor to Katrin Kuusemäe, the representative of the Constitutional Committee, to present the summary of the discussion held in the lead committee.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Since there are no further questions, we will proceed with the summary of the discussion held in the lead committee, presented by Katrin Kuusemäe, representative of the Constitutional Committee.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Katrin Kuusemäe presented a brief overview of the draft bill amending the Law on Holidays and Commemorative Dates, initiated by the Estonian Centre Party faction. She emphasized that the government had not supported the bill due to the lack of socio-economic contexts and impact assessment. The committee subsequently decided to place the draft bill on the agenda and appointed Katrin Kuusemäe as the lead rapporteur.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Katrin Kuusemäe presented the Constitutional Committee's proceedings concerning the draft amendment to the Public Holidays and Commemoration Days Act, which had been initiated by the Centre Party faction. The Government of the Republic rejected this bill, citing the absence of socio-economic context and impact analysis. Nevertheless, the committee decided to submit the bill to the Riigikogu plenary session for the conclusion of the first reading and appointed the speaker as the lead committee's rapporteur.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Katrin Kuusemäe, as a member of the Constitutional Committee, gave a brief overview of the proceedings concerning the draft bill initiated by the Centre Party faction to amend the Holidays and Commemorative Dates Act, stressing that the government did not support the bill because it failed to take into account Estonia's socio-economic context or include sufficient impact analysis. She further announced that the committee proposed concluding the first reading and appointed the speaker as the rapporteur for the lead committee.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller opened the Q&A session, noting that the audience had questions, and then gave the floor to Aleksei Yevgrafov.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller invited Aleksei Yevgrafov to speak and answer the question.
Aleksei Jevgrafov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
During the session of the Constitutional Committee, Aleksei Yevgrafov cited the confirmation of a ministry advisor that the Government of the Republic is prepared to support the parliament with economic and administrative analysis, and he then asked the rapporteur whether the corresponding request for assistance had actually been submitted to the ministry.
Aleksei Jevgrafov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The ministry advisor confirmed at the Constitutional Committee meeting that the Government is not opposed to assisting the parliament's analysis, and that if a request is sent to the relevant ministry, both economic and administrative aspects can be analyzed. It was then asked whether the request had been forwarded.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Katrin Kuusemäe noted that she lacked the relevant expertise, but added that, according to commission chairman Ando Kiviberg, the Chancellery of the Riigikogu has a Legal and Analysis Department that can assist the parliamentary groups in conducting analyses.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The Legal and Analysis Department of the Riigikogu Chancellery can provide assistance in preparing analyses for the parliamentary groups.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats expresses concern that although justifications for the opposition's initiatives have been received from the government—initiatives which concern various important dates and have been discussed in the Constitutional Committee—the necessary analyses have still not been completed. He questions why this is the case and what is causing the delay, despite the public expectations and the constant work of the deputies.
Lauri Laats
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Laats sharply criticizes the government's inaction, asking why the necessary analyses concerning the holiday bills repeatedly submitted by the opposition have not been carried out to date, even though the lack of analysis has long been used as an excuse for failing to support these initiatives, despite public expectation and the continuous work of the deputies.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
This is simply an invitation for Lauri Laats to come up on stage.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Katrin Kuusemäe, a new member of the Riigikogu and the committee rapporteur, acknowledged that she could not answer the specific question based on the official minutes, as the matter had not been discussed. Nevertheless, she expressed hope that the government, throughout the ongoing legislative process, would still be prepared to offer the assistance it had promised.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The commission's rapporteur Katrin Kuusemäe said that she could not answer the specific question based on the protocol, as it was not discussed, and although this is her first time in the Riigikogu and it is an ongoing process, the government's opinions may show a readiness to help.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Please welcome Vadim Belobrovtsev to the stage.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev criticized the ministry for using the absence of an impact analysis as a pretext for opposing the adoption of the draft legislation, and he questioned how they could be opposed if the impact analysis was missing or might even be positive.
Vadim Belobrovtsev
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Vadim Belobrovtsev asks the commission member whether he doesn't see that the ministry consistently uses the lack of an impact assessment merely as an excuse for failing to support the bills, stressing that the government cannot justifiably oppose the draft legislation if its potentially positive impact hasn't even been evaluated.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Katrin Kuusemäe emphasized that her role is limited to acting as the committee's rapporteur, conveying only what was discussed within the committee, and she is prepared to share and discuss personal views only after the item under consideration has been concluded and outside the chamber.
Katrin Kuusemäe
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Katrin Kuusemäe, the committee rapporteur, states that she will speak about what was discussed in the committee and is prepared to share her opinion and debate the matter outside the chamber after this item is concluded.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Arvo Aller concluded the ninth item on the agenda, confirmed the completion of the first readings of Draft Bills 654 and 637, and set the deadline for submitting amendments as 17:15 on September 24.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Arvo Aller announced that since no requests to speak were submitted during the debate, the first reading of Draft Act 637 was concluded upon the proposal of the lead committee. Furthermore, the deadline for submitting amendments was set for 5:15 PM on September 24 of the current year, thereby concluding the ninth item on the agenda.