First Reading of the Draft Act on Amendments to the Act on Precious Metal Products, the State Fees Act, and the Equipment Safety Act (363 SE)
Session: 15th Riigikogu, 3rd session, plenary session
Date: 2024-02-14 21:01
Participating Politicians:
Total Speeches: 15
Membership: 15
Agenda Duration: 19m
AI Summaries: 15/15 Speeches (100.0%)
Analysis: Structured Analysis
Politicians Speaking Time
Politicians
Analysis
Summary
This session initially focused on the first reading of the draft act (363 SE) initiated by the Government of the Republic concerning amendments to the Precious Metal Products Act, the State Fees Act, and the Equipment Safety Act. Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo introduced the draft act, the main objective of which is to update regulations that are 20 years old, reduce the administrative burden on entrepreneurs, and digitalise the register of name marks, transferring it from Metrosert to the administrative area of the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA). The amendments abolish the obligation to submit physical samples, extend the validity of the registration to ten years, and remove restrictions on retail locations, which should promote the competitiveness of micro-enterprise artisans. Furthermore, the state fee for registering a name mark will be raised from 20 euros to 30 euros.
Priit Lomp, Chairman of the Economic Affairs Committee, confirmed the committee's support for reducing the administrative burden and digitalisation, but stressed that the discussion primarily focused on ensuring consumer protection in light of the new alleviations. During the negotiations, Mart Maastik, representative of the Isamaa faction, expressed concern about the relaxation of consumer protection, especially regarding the allowance of precious metal products to be sold on the free market, fearing that this could open the door to fraud. After the processing of draft act 363 SE, the nature of the session changed drastically, as the next 14 agenda items (draft acts 5–18, most initiated by members of the EKRE faction) remained unaddressed due to the absence of the initiators, leading to repeated declarations that discussion was impossible.
Decisions Made 4
The Economic Committee proposed concluding the first reading of Bill 363 SE, which the Riigikogu Plenary Session also approved.
The Committee on Economic Affairs designated Priit Lomp as the lead committee's representative for Draft Act 363 SE (a consensus decision).
The deadline for submitting amendments to Draft Law 363 SE was set as February 28th at 5:15 PM.
Agenda items 5 through 18 were left undiscussed due to the absence of the initiators, which led to repeated announcements that discussion was impossible.
Most Active Speaker
The most active politician who presented a substantive position during the negotiation phase was Mart Maastik (Isamaa faction). He supported the bill's digitalization objectives but voiced strong criticism regarding the relaxation of consumer protection measures, particularly concerning the authorization of precious metal products sales at markets and fairs. His stance was critical and represented the right-wing opposition's concern about maintaining consumer confidence and the quality of oversight.
Aseesimees Jüri Ratas
AI Summary
Jüri Ratas announced the beginning of the fourth agenda item, introduced the first reading of Bill 363 initiated by the Government of the Republic concerning amendments to the Precious Metal Articles Act, the State Fees Act, and the Equipment Safety Act, and invited Tiit Riisalo, the Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology, to give a presentation, while simultaneously requesting silence in the chamber.
Majandus- ja infotehnoloogiaminister Tiit Riisalo
AI Summary
Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo extends his evening greetings to the esteemed Board.
Aseesimees Jüri Ratas
AI Summary
Deputy Chairman Jüri Ratas also welcomes the other members of the board on your behalf and expresses his thanks.
Majandus- ja infotehnoloogiaminister Tiit Riisalo
AI Summary
Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo stated that the update to the Precious Metal Products Act will digitalize the register of hallmarks, transforming it into the TTJA supervision information system, extend the validity of the registration to ten years, abolish physical samples and retail restrictions, raise the state fee to 30 euros, and reduce the administrative burden; the transition to the TTJA system will enter into force on July 1, 2025.
Aseesimees Jüri Ratas
AI Summary
Deputy Speaker Jüri Ratas thanked the minister for the presentation, said that there were no questions, and then invited Priit Lomp, the Chairman of the Riigikogu Economic Affairs Committee, to give his report.
Priit Lomp
AI Summary
Priit Lomp said that the Economic Affairs Committee discussed the minister's draft bill and focused on three main aspects: the adoption of smarter information systems (instead of Excel), reducing the administrative burden on businesses, and consumer protection. The committee subsequently made three decisions: the consensual appointment of a representative for the lead committee, a proposal to include the bill on today's Riigikogu agenda (non-consensus), and a proposal to conclude the first reading (6 votes in favor, 2 non-participants).
Aseesimees Jüri Ratas
AI Summary
Jüri Ratas thanked the speaker for the report, announced that there were no questions, opened the debate, and invited Mart Maastik, the representative of the Isamaa faction, to the podium.
Mart Maastik
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
Maastik stated that the draft bill has both positive and negative aspects: while it moves toward digitalization, the aging of the name-label registry and concerns regarding consumer protection and technical supervision—along with the plan to allow relaxations and free-market sales—are worrying. He hopes that amendments will be introduced between the two readings to ensure that products still meet the promised specifications and consumers feel secure.
Aseesimees Jüri Ratas
AI Summary
Vice-Chairman Jüri Ratas declared the debate concluded and announced that several agenda items could not be discussed due to the absence of their initiators. He then proceeded to the next items.
Priit Lomp
AI Summary
He simply answered in the affirmative: "Yes."
Aseesimees Jüri Ratas
AI Summary
He asks if the microphone isn't working and what we do now.
Priit Lomp
AI Summary
Priit Lomp asked an experienced member of the Riigikogu how many times the debate on a single item must reach an absolute impasse for it to automatically fall out of the procedure, and whether such a debate has ever occurred, and whether those exact same items have remained unprocessed every weekday evening for several weeks because the debate was impossible to hold.
Aseesimees Jüri Ratas
AI Summary
Jüri Ratas said that the debate regarding the 15th Riigikogu session has not yet created the feeling that discussion is impossible, and if there are no snap elections, they will be able to comfortably discuss these topics until the spring of 2027. He then proceeded to the 11th agenda item—the first reading of draft law 269 concerning amendments to the Income Tax Act—noting that the absence of the initiators and the speaker's rostrum leaves the situation uncertain.
Anti Haugas
Profiling Fraktsiooni mittekuuluvad Riigikogu liikmedAI Summary
I just wanted to say that Martin Helme exists, and when I came in, I saw him behind the door.
Aseesimees Jüri Ratas
AI Summary
Jüri Ratas concluded the sitting, noting that agenda items 12 through 18 could not be taken up for discussion due to the absence of the initiators and the podium, and the agenda was declared concluded for the day.