Draft law amending the Emergency Situations Act (589 SE) - Second Reading
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
Date: 2025-04-23 20:27
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 14
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 13m
AI Summaries: 14/14 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
Under agenda item seven, the draft law amending the Emergency Situations Act, bill number 589, was considered for its second reading. The first reading concluded on March 25th, and no amendments were proposed; the National Defence Committee reviewed the draft bill prior to the second reading on April 14th and 21st. Present at the committee as representatives were the cybersecurity legal advisor from the Ministry of Justice and Digital Transformation, Guido Pääsuke, and as representatives of stakeholders, the head of the legal services department of the Bank of Estonia, Marek Feldman, the food sector leader of the Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce of Estonia, Meeli Lindsaar, and the managing director of the Association of Estonian Hospitals, Epp-Triin Võsu; linguistic and normative technical clarifications were made in accordance with the representative of the initiator. At the April 21st session, the National Defence Committee approved the text and explanatory memorandum of the draft bill’s second reading with a vote of 7 in favor and 1 abstention. A key objective of the bill for everyone is to ensure the functioning of vital services even if the data or equipment necessary for their operation is located in a foreign country: to achieve this, there must be at least two technologically different electronic communications services. Furthermore, the task of the State Information System Agency to supervise these information systems is abolished if they are located in a foreign country. The plan confirmed during the committee’s proceedings was to place the draft bill for its second reading on the agenda of the full Riigikogu on April 23rd and, at the same session, to recommend concluding the second reading.
Decisions Made 2
The Defence Committee unanimously decided to put the bill on the agenda of the Riigikogu plenary session for the second reading on April 23rd of this year.
The Defence Committee unanimously decided to conclude the second reading of the bill.
Most Active Speaker
The most active speaker was a member of the National Defence Committee, VsYdHLGoCws; his position is described as other (member of the National Defence Committee), as his precise party affiliation is not provided in the materials.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Under the seventh item on the agenda, the second reading of the Government-initiated draft law No. 589 amending the Emergency Situations Act will be discussed; the rapporteur is Kristo Enn Vaga, a member of the National Defence Committee.
Kristo Enn Vaga
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The National Defense Committee approved by consensus at its April 21 meeting the text of the bill for the second reading and the explanatory memorandum (7 in favor, 1 abstention), emphasized that for an essential service provider, if the data or equipment necessary for its operation are located abroad, there must be at least two technologically distinct electronic communications services, and decided to bring the bill to the plenary agenda on April 23 and to conclude the second reading.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The deputy chair Arvo Aller thanks and invites Peeter Ernits to ask a question.
Peeter Ernits
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Peeter Ernits asks precisely what the essential lifeline services located outside Estonia are, whether Estonia is chosen from abroad, and requests an explanation in the mother tongue of which essential services should be duplicated and which of them are located abroad.
Kristo Enn Vaga
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
To ensure the operation of essential services and to disturb residents' lives as little as possible, the bill proposes that if the service provider has data abroad, it should have at least one additional electronic communications link and a backup connection, which would ensure the continuity of the service even in the event of disruptions to the connections.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller asked Peeter Ernits to pose a clarifying question.
Peeter Ernits
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The speaker asks what the connection is with the Defence Committee in the case of a meat cannery or chocolate coloring, and where this “link” between a foreign food industry example and the committee comes from.
Kristo Enn Vaga
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
The speech emphasizes that broad-based national defense is the central theme of the National Defence Committee, and the processing of amendments to the Emergency Situations Act is justified in this regard, because the situation in Ukraine shows that during a crisis all sectors may come under attack.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chair Arvo Aller's speech is a short and direct appeal to invite Tanel Kiik to speak.
Tanel Kiik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Did Tanel Kiik ask whether the reason for initiating the draft is to prepare for a potential crisis, or whether real problems have emerged where the continuity of a vital service provider's operation has been affected by data located in foreign countries?
Kristo Enn Vaga
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Kristo Enn Vaga said that although in recent years there have not been known problems with essential service providers due to the lack of an additional connection and the services have not been temporarily interrupted, the national risk analysis and the increasingly widespread data locations show a growing risk in foreign countries during a crisis, and therefore an amendment has been introduced that helps prevent service interruptions precisely because the necessary data are located in a foreign country, and at the same time service providers handling domestic data must also take into account other risks, such as power outages.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller thanks, states that there are no questions, opens negotiations, and asks Vladimir Arhipov to come.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov said that although the bill tries to specify the obligations of organizers of essential services in the areas of cybersecurity and risk management, there is no real legal gap, because the existing law, especially paragraph 38 and § 37(2), already allows these requirements, and the new supervisory obligation would impose an excessive burden on agencies with limited powers, which is why the Centre Party faction supported the bill not as the sole solution, but with the aim of increasing the clarity of legislation and explaining to the public who is responsible, and he also reminded that the failure to vote on the Reservists' Compensation Act is an example of how important decision-making clarity is.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The deputy chair announced that today's seventh item on the agenda has been completed, and no amendment proposals were submitted to finish the second reading of Bill 589.