Inquiry Regarding Rural Areas (no. 713)
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
Date: 2025-05-05 23:19
Total Speeches: 81
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 1h 25m
AI Summaries: 81/81 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
This agenda item concerns the inquiry (no. 713) presented on January 27, 2025, by six members of the Riigikogu – Riina Solman, Helir-Valdor Seeder, Mart Maastik, Tõnis Lukas, Priit Sibula, and Aivar Kok – regarding rural areas. Riina Solman is the representative in the inquiry. The central theme is the vitality of rural areas, the availability of services, and ensuring regional balance; the discussion covers the closure of grocery stores, the availability of services, and the impact of internal migration on rural areas, as well as what steps the government intends to take for the balanced development of these areas. Within the inquiry, emphasis was placed on ensuring the presence of four key components in rural areas: roads and accessible infrastructure, schools and kindergartens nearby, stores selling essential goods, and basic medical services; there was also mention of restructuring infrastructure and services, as well as involving local governments and communities.
A second key moment addressed various cooperation measures between the state and ministries to ensure the vitality of rural areas and regional policy; these included Leader-type funding, loans from the Rural Development Foundation, guarantee agreements, cooperative models for mobile shops, and pop-up offices to promote digital services; the promotion of public service accessibility was also under discussion, as was how to maintain regional balance in key policy meetings. The third section reflected the discussion on the impact of state services and infrastructure on life in rural areas and opportunities to reduce any negative impact, including minimizing contact in central locations and implementing flexible solutions such as digital services, public transport, and social transport. Overall, this agenda item, compared to the past, focuses on strengthening the vitality of rural areas, cooperation between ministries, and seeking ways to maintain and improve life in the countryside without it being neglected.
Following the response to the inquiry and the discussion, it was highlighted that decisions may not be adopted specifically and the topic will be continued in further discussions; ministries will cooperate to develop mitigating measures and guidelines through mutual cooperation, involving local governments and communities.
Decisions Made 1
Final national legislative decisions were not made regarding the tradition within the scope of this agenda item; discussions will continue on regional policy topics for successful cooperation and consensus, and supporting guidelines and relief measures will be prepared at the ministry level to mitigate the impact on regions.
Most Active Speaker
Riina Solman (representing the initiative) is the most active speaker on the agenda, representing the topic of rural areas and regional policy. Her position is undefined when describing the political spectrum (in the ‘other/non-applicable’ category), but as the initiator of the initiative and focusing on modulation, she concentrates on the sustainability of rural areas and the accessibility of services.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chair Arvo Aller presented, as part of the sixth agenda item, Riina Solman and co-authors' inquiry into rural areas, submitted on 27 January 2025 (No. 713), the presenter of which is Riina Solman.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman emphasized that the sustainability of rural areas depends on four key factors: accessible infrastructure and roads, schools and kindergartens near home, basic food and essential goods stores, and medical services; and if these are not safeguarded, people will migrate internally, and regional inequality will deepen.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Hendrik Johannes Terras, the Minister of Regional Development and Agriculture, answers the interpellation.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras stressed that the vitality of rural areas and people's access to basic services is crucial, and although rural shops are closing due to demographic changes and consumer behavior, he presented holistic solutions – food couriers and e-stores, mobile stores, quality public transport, support from local governments, and Leader-, MES- and PRIA funding – and emphasized the need for flexible personnel policy, remote work and digital solutions to ensure that services would be accessible under changing conditions, in the name of regional balance.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller invited questions and asked Lauri Läänemets to take the floor.
Lauri Läänemets
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Läänemets warned about the harm caused by corruption in local government service provision and the deepening of injustice, and asked the minister whether he plans to change the legislation, citing examples from the Centre Party and Tallinn (in light of the Porto Franco case).
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Hendrik Johannes Terras said that corruption at every level is worthy of condemnation, and if he learns about corruption cases in local governments, he can draw attention to them, but changing laws is not within his remit and it belongs more to the Ministry of the Interior.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
At the start of the speech, Vladimir Arhipov is invited onto the stage.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Vladimir Arhipov highlights the issue of corruption and the poor situation in rural areas – the roads are riddled with potholes, access to education and healthcare is deteriorating, post offices are being closed and banks are leaving – and asks what plans the government and the minister have to bring people back to the counties through regional policy or at least to stop the outflow from rural areas.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
The aim of regional policy is, in cooperation with other ministries, to find solutions that preserve and strengthen local communities and enable people to live in rural areas, to obtain housing and access to schooling and mobility opportunities, which is illustrated by thousands of people relocating from cities to the countryside with the support of the Estonian Rural Development Foundation.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
At the beginning of the speech, Helmen Kütt is invited to speak.
Helmen Kütt
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Dear Chair and Minister, your regional visits are commendable, and you have also visited the Viljandi County Association of Local Authorities and met with municipal leaders.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
He said that he missed him very much.
Helmen Kütt
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Helmen Kütt asks about the impact of the late start to the school day on public transport and the need for additional resources, and whether the government and her administration have discussed this and what plans there are in this regard.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Hendrik Terras said that shifting school hours will change public transport, and the solutions require cooperation between municipalities and schools and thorough mapping of mobility needs, although major reorganizations are not planned and resources are limited.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
This speech is a short prayer to Anti Allas.
Anti Allas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Anti Allas raised the topic of remote work and moving jobs, noting that over the last couple of decades workplaces have gradually consolidated in Tallinn’s central offices. The COVID period brought some movement back to the countryside, but now people are being called back to offices, and he asked the minister what plans there are to move more jobs from Tallinn to the countryside and how to ensure that remote-work options are not narrowed.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
The Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, Hendrik Terras, said that in recruitment it is possible to apply even if the central office is located in Tallinn, and the possibility of hybrid and remote work allows you to work outside Harju County, for example in Pärnu, but the implementation of this model depends on people’s free will, and the state can only guide it, not compel it by command, and as an example the Rural Development Foundation is cited, whose headquarters are in Viljandi and which operates very well.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller asks that Henn Põlluaas take the floor.
Henn Põlluaas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Henn Põlluaas raised the issue that although measures, subsidies and credit opportunities for rural life were listed, rural areas are depopulating and services and jobs are disappearing from there, and the implemented measures are by no means sufficient, and he asked the minister for his vision of a functioning regional policy and why the government you are in does not implement it.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
The aim of regional policy is to ensure the availability of services in rural areas and to create jobs so that people can live in the countryside and work outside Harju County and Tartu County.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller invited Reili Randi to speak.
Reili Rand
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
She emphasizes that living in the countryside requires jobs, and although the private sector cannot be forced to create jobs, she points to potential measures such as business subsidies and European funds, and to the predecessor of Piret Hartman’s regional industrial policy package, which could include incentives for connecting to the electricity grid and payroll tax reliefs.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The message says that your time has come.
Reili Rand
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The question is whether the new minister will continue the current course and how he views regional industrial policy.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
They emphasize that the state cannot compel companies to adopt remote work or to establish offices, and investments must be made outside Harju County in cooperation with local authorities and entrepreneurs, where the state provides financial support and speeds up planning so that jobs are created there, and reaching agreements is critical — last time, part of the measure went unused.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Next, Andre Hanimägi is invited to speak.
Andre Hanimägi
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Andre Hanimägi asks whether regional programs and tax reliefs are necessary, and what his and the minister's personal positions are, and whether in the future there are plans for new regional measures, for example a rental housing program, to reduce regional inequality.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras said that a couple of weeks ago he discussed with the European Commission's Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Hansen the livelihoods of the border areas of Ida-Viru and South-East Estonia and the Luhamaa border crossing point, and, at the European level, backing and investments; he emphasized the region's potential and the need for encouragement and hope that the peace soon to prevail in Ukraine will make these regions more attractive, and Estonia will do all it can to promote this.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chair invites Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvarti to take the floor.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart highlights that, in the Porto Franco case, there is shared responsibility, emphasizes the work of the Anti-Corruption Special Committee in municipalities and in the capital, and notes that the mobility reform was supposed to be implemented with the funds raised by the car tax, but so far no steps have been taken.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
This is a short and powerful call to action, saying that now is your time.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
The speech focuses on obtaining the latest information about whether the mobility reform will actually be put into effect.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-chairman Arvo Aller thanked the audience.
Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart
Profiling Eesti Keskerakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Should we deal with this now?
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Terras said that the mobility reform has gradually become a public transport reform, and they will continue negotiating it, taking a holistic look at various solutions, and within the next couple of months a more precise overview will be provided.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
In the speech, only a plea was made to Ester Karusele.
Ester Karuse
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Ester Karuse expressed concern about the disappearance of the bank branch in Valga County, noting that there are currently no bank branches in Valga town or in Valga municipality, and asked what the state could do to ensure that a real bank branch remains in the county seat, even though a pop-up branch and digital solutions alleviate this somewhat.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Arvo Aller said, "It's your turn!" and thanked the audience.
Ester Karuse
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
He sincerely believes that not much has been asked of it.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
They emphasized that the concern is understandable, but private enterprises cannot be forced to open offices, and banks prefer pop-up offices and digital services, and if someone needs physical access, a solution is sought in cooperation with the local government on how to still visit the bank.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The deputy chairman Arvo Aller appeals to Tiit Maran with a request.
Tiit Maran
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tiit Maran rejects the minister’s fatalistic view of regional problems and calls for the formulation of a long-term national regional policy, whose aim is to preserve jobs in rural areas and strengthen small businesses.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras notes that the biggest solution for creating jobs is to improve the competitiveness of companies and relocate production outside the Golden Ring around Tallinn, Harju County, and Tartu, in order to create jobs across county borders.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller turned to Riina Solman and said: "please."
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman thanked the vice-speaker of the Riigikogu and congratulated the minister, and said that it was a very solid performance on this topic.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras thanked the listeners.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman asks whether regional policy advisers have discussed how corporate income tax could stimulate local government job creation, and whether they would bring this level back to the pre-crisis level of 2009, because Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi does not want to give municipalities a full percentage point.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
During coalition negotiations, Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras said that the incentives and cooperation possibilities offered to local governments for regional development are being discussed, and various solutions are being considered, but they will not disclose them before an agreement is reached.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
This is a short prayer to Rene Kokk.
AI Summary
The question put to Rene Kokk is what his own input and political will are in the regional and agricultural sectors, and whether he wants to move jobs and state institutions from Tallinn to regional growth centers in order to distribute the burden and bring life outside Tallinn as well.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
For the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, several options and the capacity to cover various services across Estonia have been discussed, and these possibilities are being explored further.
Aseesimees Arvo Aller
AI Summary
The vice-chairman Arvo Aller presents a brief plea to Tanel Kiik.
Tanel Kiik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Tanel Kiik asked the regional minister about three to five main measures that he has initiated to reduce regional inequality in Estonia in the areas of transport, social protection, health, and employment.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
He emphasized that the main priorities are jobs and the cooperation of local governments in developing entrepreneurship, the use of targeted funds outside Harju County, and ensuring high-quality public transport so that people can live where they want, but travel to their workplaces.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks and asks Tõnis Lukas to come and speak.
Tõnis Lukas
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Speaking about coalition negotiations, Tõnis Lukas criticizes the game-playing and calls for getting to work, while he warns that outsiders' participation in local government elections may take away local people's decision-making power and undermine the integrity of the vote.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Hendrik Terras said that Eesti 200 does not support it, and he himself does not support it.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker invites Raimond Kaljulaid onto the stage.
Raimond Kaljulaid
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Raimond Kaljulaid proposed that people who have two homes could have two registered residences, and tax money would be divided between the two municipalities according to the share of their two places of residence (for example 60:40, 80:20 or 50:60), in order to promote regional development.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
Regional and Agricultural Minister Hendrik Terras noted that, although they were not involved in the creation of a residency-registration system and cannot precisely say the potential impact of money distribution, the idea of registering a rural home within the framework of two homes is interesting and worth consideration.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairperson invited Riina Sikkut onto the stage.
Riina Sikkut
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Riina Sikkut emphasizes that regional policy is the cornerstone of population policy, and there must be kindergartens and services available in rural areas, and she refers to the position put forward by Ene-Margit Tiidi and asks the minister how the planned measures could support an increase in the number of births from this perspective.
Regionaal- ja põllumajandusminister Hendrik Johannes Terras
AI Summary
The state can strengthen people's sense of security and faith in the future through demographic policy, and thereby help family planning in rural areas, if people know that they can put food on the table for their children.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Chairman Lauri Hussar thanks the minister, states that there are no questions, opens negotiations, and asks Riina Solman to come to the podium as the representative of the inquirers.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman said that although the minister's answers were substantive and well-prepared, there is a need for a clear plan to revitalize rural areas and to ensure regional resilience. She emphasized the lack of services and the threat of depopulation to regional security, and criticized the government and the coalition, asking Hartman to raise the income tax rate for local governments and to consider transferring corporate income tax to the regional level in order to create jobs, and she stressed that the state has levers that must be realized.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chairperson decides to add three minutes.
Riina Solman
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Riina Solman accuses regional minister Hartman and the coalition of disproportionately burdening rural areas with tax increases that have been pushed through, increasing inequality and driving young families away from the countryside, and she calls on Minister Terras and the coalition to show real regional steps that would keep people in the region and be part of the country's security policy.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks and asks his fellow Riigikogu speaking-desk colleague Anti Allas to take the floor, and requests three minutes of additional time.
Anti Allas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Anti Allas stressed that Estonia must strengthen regional policy and investments in rural areas, especially in Southeast Estonia, to revitalize life and create jobs, ensure bank branches, and use effective regional programs for the development of Ida-Viru and Southeast Estonia.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker, Lauri Hussar, informed that time was almost up, called his colleague Arvo Aller to the floor, and requested extra time, for which three minutes were allocated.
Arvo Aller
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Arvo Aller stressed that the ability of rural areas to cope depends on the state's presence and on concrete regional policy measures, because high taxes, poor roads, and limited public transport and internet access, and promises of e-commerce do not replace real investments and the availability of services, such as shop closures, which make living in the countryside extremely difficult.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The Speaker thanks and asks to give the floor to his colleague Vladimir Arhipov at the Riigikogu's speaking podium.
Vladimir Arhipov
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Regional policy deficiencies threaten rural areas where schools, shops, as well as healthcare facilities and post offices close, and roads are in poor condition; therefore there is a need for investments and cooperation with the government and the Centre Party to find solutions.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks the house and now asks his colleague Tõnis Lukas to take the floor at the Riigikogu’s speaking dais.
Tõnis Lukas
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Regional and population policy are foundational and underlying policies, and the local government council must represent local residents, not anyone from far away in the country; therefore Tõnis Lukas is critical of the Reform Party's plan to allow candidacy from anywhere in Estonia, because it undermines the local community's mandate and reflects the influence of Greater Tallinn.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
Chairman Lauri Hussar asks for three more minutes.
Tõnis Lukas
Profiling Isamaa fraktsioonAI Summary
Speaking about Tallinn's influence and investments, Tõnis Lukas emphasizes that regional policy must, for all of Estonia, guarantee a uniform standard of living and an even distribution of investments, in order to prevent the deepening of regional inequality.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair thanks and invites his colleague Lauri Läänemets to the podium.
Lauri Läänemets
Profiling Sotsiaaldemokraatliku Erakonna fraktsioonAI Summary
Lauri Läänemets emphasizes that Estonia's higher standard of living and reducing inequality must be achieved through regional development and regional industrial policy, by creating more well-paying jobs in rural areas and by investing in infrastructure and tax incentives, rather than through the widespread distribution of subsidy funds.
Esimees Lauri Hussar
AI Summary
The chair, Lauri Hussar, thanked the assembly and informed that there were no requests to speak; he asked the minister whether he would like to take the floor, received a negative reply, and closed the negotiations and ended consideration of the sixth agenda item.