By Agendas: Ester Karuse

The political focus is on tackling educational inequality and poor basic school final exam results, particularly in mathematics. The speaker urgently calls for equal state support for all regions, criticizing the fact that Valga has been left struggling compared to Ida-Virumaa. This stance is strongly oriented toward improving educational governance and ensuring teachers' work motivation. The issue is being addressed as a matter of both social and regional injustice.

The political focus is on the crisis of secondary education accessibility, which is being treated as systemic injustice and the undermining of the foundation of equal opportunities. The speaker strongly demands proactive planning and forecasting from the state to ensure the availability of school places for all young people, especially considering that education is compulsory until the age of 18. Criticism is directed at the government’s failure to foresee and resolve the problem, stressing that this is a systemic, rather than a one-off, issue.

The political focus is currently on ensuring the availability of vital banking services in county centers, particularly in Southeast Estonia. The speaker takes a strong stance on the necessity of the state's role in guiding and helping to find solutions, stressing the social, rather than purely commercial, nature of the service. They sharply criticize the situation where tens of thousands of people have been deprived of access to physical banking services.

The political position strongly focuses on ensuring the accessibility of vital services and education, especially in regional centers. The stance is policy-driven, emphasizing that the state must intervene and direct banks to maintain socially necessary services outside of Tallinn. The speaker criticizes the government for its inaction and for contradictory education policies that extend compulsory schooling while simultaneously closing upper secondary schools.

There is strong political opposition to the Minister of Justice's plan to transfer Swedish prisoners to Tartu Prison, as this jeopardizes the security of Southern Estonia and will trigger a serious staffing crisis within internal security agencies. The focus is on the practical and negative consequences of the policy, particularly regarding the recruitment of police officers and prison staff. This political framework is clearly outcome-based and highly critical of the government's actions.

The political position involves strong opposition to the supplementary budget (651 SE), arguing that it exacerbates inequality and lacks targeted social support for vulnerable groups. Although the speaker supports a robust security policy and raising defense expenditure to 5%, they emphasize that this must be achieved through fair and sustainable funding mechanisms. The speaker frames their viewpoints based on core values, focusing on social justice and responsible fiscal management.

The political position is critically focused on outcomes, questioning the effectiveness of the Competition Authority's supervision and its low rate of violation detection. The speaker asks whether the draft bill (609 SE), prepared under the government’s leadership, is sufficient to remedy a situation where multiple procedural methods are required to prove violations. Clarity is also demanded regarding the magnitude of the budget cuts allocated to the Competition Authority.

The political emphasis is currently directed at the functionality and structure of the judicial system. The speaker voiced strong concern over the public perception that only the first-instance courts handle the substantive work, considering this a serious problem. The position taken is critical and results-oriented, stressing the necessity of improving the reliability and credibility of all court instances.

The speaker strongly supports Draft Resolution 646 OE, which addresses the change in the composition of the Estonian delegation to the Baltic Assembly due to the appointment of a new member. This stance is clearly procedural and is aimed at the swift and consensual adoption of the Riigikogu decision.

The political position is strongly critical of the Ministry of Education and Research’s activities in preparing the new regulation on school requirements. The emphasis is on results-oriented criticism, which focuses on procedural shortcomings and demands that negotiations on essential topics be initiated earlier. The speaker opposes the Ministry's actions, which have generated significant tension and conflict at the local level.

The political position focuses on the swift and smooth adoption of the draft law (559 SE) concerning accession to the Statute of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Support is strong and procedural, emphasizing that no amendments were submitted, which indicates broad consensus on the content of the draft law. The position is clearly policy- and procedure-centric, focusing on the successful completion of the legislative work.

The political focus is on the restructuring of vocational schools, centering on procedural correctness and broad-based inclusion. The speaker calls for the discussion of substantive solutions with the minister responsible for the sector and the Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities. The stance taken is moderately strong, emphasizing the need to involve key stakeholders in political decision-making.

The political position centers on infrastructure development and the state's capacity for planning. The speaker voiced concern (a moderate critique) that the postponement or cancellation of the Rohuküla railway project would create issues regarding the utilization of assets already acquired (additional trains). The framework is strongly results-oriented, stressing the necessity of preventing resource waste.

The political stance focuses on ensuring the availability of services in rural areas, particularly within county centers. The speaker strongly supports the preservation of physical bank branches, viewing their disappearance in Valgamaa as a substantive problem and a moral blow to the residents. The position is aimed at prompting state action in finding solutions, emphasizing that maintaining these services is not asking for too much.

The political stance is critical of the government's administrative objectives, calling into question the feasibility of the "personal state" concept. The primary focus is on the lack of basic data exchange and system interoperability among state institutions. This constitutes a forceful, results-oriented critique directed at the state's actual performance.

The political stance is highly supportive of the draft legislation (Bill 559 SE) concerning accession to the Statute of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. This stance is framed by a value-based approach, emphasizing the promotion of Estonia's image as a progressive state that supports democracy and human rights. Accession is also viewed as solidifying shared values and like-mindedness with strong Western nations, thereby enhancing security.

The political stance heavily focuses on resolving the status of individuals with undetermined citizenship, stressing the necessity for government plans aimed at motivating them to apply for citizenship. In the speaker's estimation, the bill under consideration appears to be ill-conceived and unjust, as it excludes a community of over 62,000 people from participating in civic life. This position is strongly policy- and value-driven, emphasizing social justice.

The political stance is strongly opposed to the solidarity tax on the banking sector, as it complicates the banks' situation and will lead to reduced availability of services. This position is primarily policy- and outcome-driven, focusing on the negative consequences (the closure of branches). The most significant problem is considered to be the disappearance of physical bank branches and the lack of face-to-face service.

The political stance is strongly value-based, focusing on supporting democracy and pro-European aspirations in Georgia. The speaker firmly supports Georgia’s movement toward the EU and NATO and condemns the Georgian government’s backtracking on its commitments and the jeopardizing of democracy. This position is clearly interventionist, calling for sanctions to be imposed against the responsible individuals, while simultaneously stressing the necessity of maintaining dialogue with Georgia to counterbalance Russian influence.

The political stance is strongly process-driven and results-oriented, stressing the necessity of adhering to the principles of sound legislation. The speaker is concerned by the government's low public confidence (37%), directly attributing this to the quality of its legislative work. He/She demands concrete action from the government to improve law-making, even concerning time-critical initiatives.

The political stance is highly critical of the government's actions, focusing on poor implementation and a lack of transparency. The most critical issue is the violation of the principles of sound legislation, which is directly linked to the public's declining trust in state governance. This approach is strongly procedure-based and aimed at improving the government's performance.

The speaker's position is strongly centered on the protection of religious freedom as a constitutional right. He/She calls into question the compliance of the government's proposed action (the process of liquidating the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate) with this fundamental right. The political framework is value-based, emphasizing the rule of law and civil rights, and is distinctly critical of the Interior Minister's presentation.

The political position centers on emphasizing historical justice and international solidarity, strongly advocating for the recognition of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars as genocide. This stance is value-based, underscoring freedom, human dignity, and opposition to totalitarian regimes (the Soviet Union, the Russian Federation). It is considered crucial to support Ukraine’s territorial integrity and uphold international law.

The political focus is placed on the inequality of regional development, particularly the differences in economy, employment, and wage levels across regions. Although the limited direct influence of the Bank of Estonia is acknowledged, the use of the education system through financial literacy programs is proposed as a solution. The approach is value-based, focusing on supporting rural areas and seeking solutions.

The political position centers on the security risks associated with the introduction of nuclear energy, directly linking the issue to the situation arising from the war in Ukraine. The speaker expresses serious concern regarding whether sufficient consideration has been given to the experience of managing nuclear power plants in a wartime environment. This stance is heavily policy- and value-driven, underscoring the priority of national security.

The political position is strongly value-based, focusing on supporting Georgia's democratic, pro-European future and protecting European values. The speaker expresses strong concern and criticism regarding the Georgian government, which has significantly reneged on the promises made to the European Union. Estonia’s role is viewed as that of a long-standing friend and ally of Georgia, whose duty it is to draw attention to these problems.

The most prominent theme is foreign policy and security, focusing on the condemnation of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. The political stance is value-based and strongly supports the proposal not to recognize the results of the presidential elections of the Russian Federation. The core position is that the elections were neither democratic nor fair due to repression and their organization in occupied territories. The speaker unequivocally places the responsibility for these events on Russia, led by President Vladimir Putin.

The political stance heavily focuses on the poor state of the economy, highlighting the nine-quarter recession as a matter of serious concern. This position is results-oriented and critical, demanding a government plan for economic recovery. Furthermore, internal government inefficiency and a lack of unified effort are brought to light, citing Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’s alleged lack of support for the minister’s efforts.

The political position is strongly focused on security, emphasizing unwavering support for Ukraine and the need to strengthen the EU-NATO security architecture to reduce excessive dependence on the US. At the same time, there is sharp criticism of the government's actions in foreign trade policy, particularly the cancellation of participation in Expo 2025 and the closing of consulates in the US, which is framed as a major mistake. The viewpoints are both value-based (democracy, rules-based order) and results-based (economic recession, export promotion). The speaker also calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stressing the imperative of protecting the civilian population.

The political position centers on the optimal composition of the Estonian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). Emphasis is placed on the necessity of ensuring representation for all parliamentary groups, particularly covering the Social Democrats' faction, in order to support Indrek Saar's candidacy for the post of PACE Secretary General. This position is clearly procedural and aimed at enhancing international representation.