Agenda Profile: Urmas Reinsalu
Re-examination of the Act Amending the Act Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing and the Act on International Sanctions (640 UA), which was not announced by the President of the Republic
2025-09-17
15th Riigikogu, 6th sitting, plenary sitting.
Political Position
The speaker adopts an extremely strong position in opposition to the amendments to the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Prevention Act, labeling the bill an unconstitutional "botch job" and a step toward a "surveillance state." This political stance is deeply value-based, centered on protecting citizens' privacy and freedoms from unprecedented state overreach. He promises to repeal the law if it is passed, stressing that Isamaa voters "demand" its withdrawal.
4 Speeches Analyzed
Topic Expertise
The speaker demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of the legal content of the statute and its procedural details, differentiating between the collection of the account designation and transaction data, and referencing the potential involvement of health data. He employs technical terminology such as "extrospection," "modus operandi," and "super database," and provides a detailed description of the profiling and automated account closure conducted by artificial intelligence (robots).
4 Speeches Analyzed
Rhetorical Style
The speaker’s style is extremely confrontational, demanding, and dramatic, employing powerful emotional appeals ("devilish mechanism," "botch/shambles") and irony directed at the government’s supposed innovation. He/She balances these emotional calls for the defense of freedom with specific legal and procedural accusations (lying, unconstitutionality, ignoring experts). The speech is aimed directly at coalition representatives, who are accused of "playing dead" and abusing their power.
4 Speeches Analyzed
Activity Patterns
The representative has been highly active during the phase of re-debating the law, raising both procedural questions regarding the potential withdrawal of the draft bill and substantive questions directed at the coalition representatives. His actions during this period have been entirely focused on demanding the defeat and subsequent annulment of this specific piece of legislation.
4 Speeches Analyzed
Opposition Stance
The main opponents are the government and the coalition, who are accused of ramming the law through by "lying" (regarding the alleged lack of requirements under EU law and the absence of problems for businesses) and ignoring constitutional warnings. The criticism is both policy-based and procedural, accusing the government of creating a failed shambles and demanding its cancellation, while ruling out mere cosmetic fixes.
4 Speeches Analyzed
Collaboration Style
The speeches do not indicate direct cooperation with other factions, but they mention the Isamaa faction's earlier appeal to the president to refrain from proclaiming the law. The style is rather demanding and confrontational, representing the demands of Isamaa voters and promising to repeal the law, rather than amend it.
4 Speeches Analyzed
Regional Focus
The focus is predominantly national and international, addressing the freedoms of the Estonian people, the concerns of Estonian business organizations, and the unprecedented violation of law within the European Union legal framework. There is also an ironic mention of the government's "innovation" of moving prisoners to Tartu, but this does not constitute a regional policy focus.
4 Speeches Analyzed
Economic Views
The speaker expressed strong opposition to the state regulation, arguing that it infringes upon the privacy of the financial sector and businesses. He/She pointed to the outrage among business organizations and the quarter-billion euro claim demanded from LHV bank, stressing that the government is prioritizing surveillance during a period of economic stagnation.
4 Speeches Analyzed
Social Issues
The most important social issue is civil liberties and privacy. The speaker strictly opposes the creation of a "super database" that massively collects people's bank transactions and personal data (including potentially health data), and warns against the use of artificial intelligence in creating personal profiles, which leads to automatic sanctions without the right to know the justification.
4 Speeches Analyzed
Legislative Focus
The primary legislative priority is the complete repeal and scrapping of the Act Amending the Law on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (640 UA). The speaker is a strong opponent of the law, focusing on its unconstitutionality and promising to annul it should it be readopted with cosmetic changes.
4 Speeches Analyzed