No agreement over protection money

Ministerial candidates should become clear over the weekend. Photo: Tairo Lutter

Even though the Reform Party has refrained from participating in the practice of distributing direct regional investments or so-called Riigikogu protection money for years, sides to the incoming coalition did not manage to agree on abolishing the instrument on Thursday.

“We will continue brainstorming to find a solution,” said Mailis Reps, head of talks for the Center Party, adding that it is important for local players to have a say in supporting NGOs. “We argued over this topic as our views differ,” candidate for PM Kaja Kallas (Reform) admitted. She added that while regional investments must be possible, the current system is not transparent in the slightest. Kallas added that activity support and investments are two different things. NGO March of Life (Elu Marss) created to organize an antiabortion protest was the biggest single beneficiary of Riigikogu protection money in 2020 receiving €171,000 in activity support following the initiative of the Conservative People’s Party (EKRE).

More transparent funding

The eighth day of coalition talks concentrated on administration, rule of law and civil society. The sides started by agreeing that funding for NGOs that shape policy needs to be transparent and emulate reports political parties currently send to the Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee (ERJK).

Anti-corruption efforts will look to Group of States Against Corruption (GRECO) and Transparency International Estonia recommendations.

Plans for guidelines of how to avoid conflicts of interest for ministers and a bill obligating ministry advisers to declare their economic interests were also laid down.

The sides agreed that ERJK needs to be given additional capacity to monitor both parties’ income and expenses. “Right now, they are looking at revenue, donations parties take in. The other side of it is where that money ends up, looking into which can add transparency,” Kallas explained.

NGOs participating in policymaking will be looked at separately and their reporting duties made more stringent. “What we want to know is where they get their funding,” Kallas said, adding that things should be just as public as with party financing.

Both the Center Party and Reform Party have promised to exempt average pension from income tax. Because the average pension comes to €544 in 2021, pensioners are currently looking at an income tax obligation of €44.  “We have decided to use money from rendering the second pension pillar voluntary to cover pension asset deficit and an additional real pension hike through the average pension tax exemption,” Kallas explained. This would make average pension free of tax for both working and retired pensioners.

Long-awaited confirmation

Mailis Reps, who was recently forced to resign from the post of education minister after using a ministry car and driver to ferry her kids around, told journalists on Thursday that she will not become minister in Kaja Kallas’ government.

“While all this attention is flattering, I assure you that I will not continue as minister in the incoming government in order to put this matter to bed and allow the delegations to concentrate on fundamental matters,” Reps said.

Ministerial candidates should become clear over the weekend.