By Plenary Sessions: Lauri Läänemets
Total Sessions: 40
Fully Profiled: 40
2025-10-08
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Plenary Sitting
Supports stimulating consumption through a VAT reduction, which would contribute to economic growth and bolster agriculture. Sharply criticizes the government's fiscal policy, which funnels borrowed money to the wealthiest 10% of society, thereby increasing the state's debt burden and interest expenses. They favor a more socially equitable budget that would direct funds toward people struggling to make ends meet.
2025-10-08
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Information Hour
Economic views emphasize the need for a progressive tax system and fiscal discipline, opposing tax policies that favor the wealthiest 10%. Criticism is directed at taking out loans, which increases interest costs to 464 million euros, and the cost-of-living issues faced by low-wage earners are highlighted.
2025-10-07
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Plenary Sitting
The speaker is vehemently opposed to tax cuts, arguing that they reduce state revenues and channel money to the wealthiest segment of society, who do not need it. Fiscal discipline is supported, and the rapid growth of national debt and interest payments (460 million euros annually) is criticized. The preference is to allocate resources toward national defense or supporting the general public's financial well-being.
2025-10-06
The 15th Riigikogu, 6th Session, Plenary Sitting
The economic views are strongly oriented toward redistribution and solving social problems through state intervention. The speaker opposes tax benefits for wealthier individuals (those earning €4,000–€6,000), arguing that this money should instead be directed toward funding social sectors. He criticizes the government’s budget priorities as unjust.
2025-09-25
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary session
The speaker strongly advocates for redistribution and solidarity, while opposing tax breaks for the wealthy. Budgetary policy should direct support to those who need it most, and increase taxation on those who have accumulated the majority of Estonia's wealth. Criticism is directed at increasing the state's debt burden to cover fixed costs and propping up the economy at the expense of the poor. As an alternative, a reduction in the VAT on groceries is proposed.
2025-09-24
Fifteenth Riigikogu, sixth sitting, plenary sitting.
Economic considerations are tied to the cost-effectiveness of ensuring security. The speaker emphasizes that initial sheltering activities are not expensive for people, focusing instead on cheap and simple solutions (e.g., buckets for storing water, covering windows). This points to a pragmatic approach regarding necessary security expenditures.
2025-09-24
15th Estonian Parliament, 6th sitting, press briefing
Economic views emphasize the need for fiscal discipline, opposing the rapid growth of the state budget deficit and the debt burden (over a quarter). Support is given to income redistribution in favor of the poor, while criticizing the subsidizing of the wealthy with tax benefits (€114 million for the richest 10%). Furthermore, the annual increase in defense spending by nearly a billion euros is criticized, especially as it occurs alongside a reduction in state budget revenues.
2025-09-22
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary session
The speaker strongly champions the interests of labor, taking a stand against cheap labor and the economy's current trajectory toward low added value. He criticizes the government's fiscal policy (specifically, taking out large loans to redistribute funds to the wealthy) and advocates for progressive taxation, requiring the affluent to bear a greater burden to finance national defense, healthcare, and education. Furthermore, he criticizes state intervention in enterprise (state capitalism).
2025-09-17
Fifteenth Riigikogu, sixth sitting, press briefing.
The economic views are strongly socially oriented, emphasizing the need to reduce the regressive tax burden on low-income earners. They support lowering the VAT on foodstuffs to 9 percent and oppose measures that favor the wealthy, such as abolishing the tax kink and reducing the taxation of dividends. The goal is to achieve greater balance in taxation.
2025-09-15
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary sitting
The economic perspective focuses on strategic state funding aimed at achieving social objectives. Specifically, the proposal involves utilizing increased funding and better salaries to direct teachers toward schools where performance standards need to be raised.
2025-09-10
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary session
The speaker is critical of the government, which, in their assessment, prioritizes the desire of entrepreneurs and businessmen "to make money," while avoiding increased costs for apartment buildings at the expense of safety. They also question the government’s arguments that additional days off would bring disaster upon businesses, noting that public holidays already frequently fall during the week.
2025-09-08
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary session
The speaker supports lowering the tax burden for the average Estonian family, but simultaneously calls for a greater contribution from the wealthier segment of society (a progressive income tax). He/She sharply opposes the market logic applied to the provision of public services and supports regional industrial policy and tax exemptions for rural areas.
2025-09-04
15th Riigikogu, extraordinary session of the Riigikogu
It supports stimulating the economy through domestic consumption by advocating for a reduction in VAT on basic foodstuffs to 9%, aimed at improving the financial well-being of people across all income deciles. It is a proponent of strict fiscal discipline, criticizing the government's significant increase in the debt burden and the deep budget deficit. It supports Estonian farmers and businesses.
2025-06-18
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
The speaker is strongly in favor of redistribution, calling for a progressive income tax and measures to balance the concentration of wealth. They oppose increases to the value-added tax (VAT), especially on foodstuffs, and advocate for a lower VAT rate (e.g., 9%) to support the average family. They stress that a fair tax system is a prerequisite for long-term economic growth, not an impediment.
2025-06-18
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, information briefing
Economic perspectives highlight the necessity of a robust and effective competition law that would facilitate the improvement of Estonia's competitive landscape. The current legislation is deemed detrimental to both businesses and consumers, with concerns raised regarding the quality of the regulation.
2025-06-12
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
Economic perspectives are highly critical of the Competition Act, which allegedly serves narrow business interests and fails to help Estonian entrepreneurs. The speaker opposes the state’s entry into commercial activity (specifically, the sale of prison services to Sweden), arguing that it removes people from the labor market who could otherwise be generating greater wealth and prosperity for Estonia.
2025-06-11
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
The stance is strongly anti-neoliberal and pro-redistribution, calling for the abolition of the regressive tax system and the implementation of a progressive income tax. It advocates for reducing VAT on food (from 24% to 9%) and stresses the critical importance of investing in human capital (education, health) to secure long-term economic growth. Furthermore, it criticizes wealth inequality, noting that 10% of the population controls 59% of the wealth, and stands firmly against using cheap foreign labor as a solution to economic challenges.
2025-06-11
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, information briefing.
The economic viewpoint advocates for state investment in education (early childhood, basic, and higher education), stressing that it is an investment in human capital from which the state ultimately benefits economically. This implies support for funding social benefits via the state budget and highlights the economic returns generated through education.
2025-06-10
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting.
Economic views are strongly pro-labor, standing in opposition to an economy built on cheap labor and the curtailment of workers' rights. Support is given to the state's role in guaranteeing social security and public services, while tax policies favoring the wealthy are criticized. The speaker emphasizes that the state must not "hollow itself out" or become too lean, and must invest in public interests, not solely private ones.
2025-06-04
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
The economic perspective centers on establishing fair competition and a level playing field for all businesses, supporting regulatory measures designed to achieve this goal. The speaker views the current state of fair competition as being under threat and connects this situation to public order problems.
2025-06-03
Fifteenth Riigikogu, fifth session, plenary session
Economic perspectives focus on the problem of housing affordability, which impedes business activity and regional development, citing the example of a dairy industrialist. It supports state intervention measures, such as regulating rental prices or constructing municipal housing, to mitigate the disparity between wage increases and housing costs.
2025-06-02
15th Riigikogu, Fifth Session, Plenary Session
The speaker is critical of the commercialization of social care services, pointing out that this has resulted in higher prices. They advocate for intervention and thorough analysis to ensure service accessibility, rather than profit maximization. They prefer state guarantees and targeted funding to prevent funds from being diluted or lost within the local government budget.
2025-05-21
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, information briefing.
It supports economic growth achieved through increasing added value and directing European Union funds into the timber sector, rather than by increasing logging volumes. It is critical of regulations that favor narrow business interests (private interests) at the expense of the public interest, emphasizing the need to maintain the contribution to GDP while preserving nature.
2025-05-20
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
Our economic views are strongly opposed to regressive taxation, which disproportionately increases the burden on middle and lower-income families (such as through higher VAT). We support systems that bolster the economy and exports, and we criticize the failure to address the wealth of the richest 10%, pointing to the urgent need for a fairer tax system.
2025-05-19
15th Riigikogu, Fifth Session, Plenary Session.
Economic perspectives favor state business subsidies in the forestry sector aimed at increasing added value and reducing reliance on raw material exports. The speaker opposes compensating for the loss of the Russian market by increasing felling volumes in Estonian forests. Nuclear power is deemed economically irrational and overly expensive; the preference is for distributed renewable energy solutions, while criticizing unnecessary bureaucracy and the squandering of taxpayer funds.
2025-05-15
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
The speaker advocates for maintaining and increasing public sector spending in the social sector and education. They oppose cuts and the reallocation of funds from the youth sector to infrastructure projects, prioritizing social investment.
2025-05-14
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, plenary session
The economic positions are articulated through criticism of the government's prioritization of narrow business interests, coupled with demands for fair treatment and compensation for ordinary forest owners. It further stresses the necessity of supporting individuals who have managed their property diligently, but whose activities are restricted by state decisions, requiring clear types and sums of compensation.
2025-05-07
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
Economic views emphasize the security and well-being of employees, opposing the proposed casual wage legislation which creates instability. The role of the Social Democrats in raising the minimum wage is highlighted—a minimum wage that is now at a historically high level in Estonia relative to the average salary. Corruption is viewed as a direct economic threat, stealing money from people and hindering their ability to make ends meet.
2025-05-07
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, information briefing
The speaker supports the redistribution of wealth and social balance, advocating for a progressive income tax or higher taxation on the wealthy to fund public services. They criticize the government’s plan to make the VAT permanent, viewing it as a measure that harms the average family, and argue that the current economic growth is unfairly distributed.
2025-05-05
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
The speaker advocates for stimulating the economy through domestic consumption, specifically by supporting a reduction of the VAT on essential foodstuffs to 9%. They also support national investments in regional industry (electricity and communication networks) and providing labor tax incentives to companies that create jobs in rural areas. The speaker is critical of relying on pure market economy logic when it negatively impacts people's ability to cope financially.
2025-04-23
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
Economic perspectives stress the unavoidable cost of investments and the need for fiscal realism, in opposition to the concept of developing "free" energy. Warnings are issued that the absence of a holistic vision in the energy sector will prove extremely costly for both the economy and the public, pointing to higher balancing and synchronization charges.
2025-04-22
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
Economic perspectives stress the necessity of investing in the wages of cultural workers, standing in opposition to austerity measures. The speaker voiced concern over the repayment of future national debt (specifically defense loans), which will further complicate financing for the social and cultural sectors. He dismisses the notion that cultural work lacks value.
2025-04-16
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, press briefing
Economic views are strongly pro-labor, opposing regulations that diminish workers' financial security and social benefits. State investments in human capital and lifelong learning are supported as a source of economic added value and innovation. Criticism is leveled at the government's change of direction regarding the transition toward a smarter, technology-based economy.
2025-04-15
Fifteenth Riigikogu, Fifth Session, Plenary Session.
Economic perspectives strongly favor labor protection, opposing regulations that grant employers unilateral decision-making power over wages. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of guaranteeing workers a stable income and financial security to ensure they can maintain their standard of living and creditworthiness.
2025-04-09
15th Estonian Parliament, 5th session, plenary session
Insufficient data.
2025-04-09
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, information briefing
Economic perspectives emphasize the necessity of maintaining job security and income stability for employees, opposing greater regulatory freedom for employers. The stance heavily favors the workforce, warning that the draft bill increases employee vulnerability during an economic downturn and grants employers excessive authority to decide on wage reductions.
2025-03-27
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary sitting
Not enough data
2025-03-26
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
There is insufficient data.
2025-03-20
15th Riigikogu, 5th session, plenary session
Economic viewpoints are reflected in the emphasis placed on the budgetary responsibility of security policy. The speaker warns of the high costs associated with repelling migration attacks, citing the Polish example of 500 million euros. He stresses the necessity of preserving the state's financial and security resources for those moments when something "actually happens."
2025-03-19
15th Riigikogu, 5th sitting, press briefing.
Economic views are linked to national defense funding, strongly backing and fast-tracking significant expenditures (1.6 billion euros) for ammunition procurement. This indicates a willingness to accelerate fiscal commitments to satisfy security requirements, prioritizing swift investment over long-term phasing.