The Estonian Riigikogu

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The Estonian Riigikogu Directorate-General for the Presidency Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments Factsheet: The Estonian Riigikogu Toompea Castle in Tallinn, the seat of the Riigikogu 1. At a glance The Riigikogu is a unicameral Parliament of 101 Members and is elected for a four-year term. All important state-related questions pass through the Riigikogu. In addition to approving legislation, the Riigikogu appoints the Prime Minister and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and elects (either alone or, if necessary, together with representatives of local government within a broader electoral college) the President. The Riigikogu also ratifies international treaties, approves the budget presented by the government as law and monitors the executive power. 2. Composition Results of the parliamentary elections on 1 March 2015 Party EP affiliation % Seats Eesti Reformierakond (REF) Estonian Reform Party 27,7% 30 Eesti Keskerakond (KESK) Estonian Centre Party 24,8% 27 Sotsiaaldemokraatlik Erakond (SDE) Social Democratic Party 15,2% 15 Isamaa ja Res Publica Liit (IRL) Pro Patria and Res Publica Union 13,7% 14 Eesti Vabaerakond (EVA) No affiliation 8,7% 8 The Free Party in the EP Eesti Konservatiivne Rahvaerakond (EKRE) No affiliation 8,1% 7 Conservative People's Party in the EP 101 Turnout: 64,2% The next elections must take place in 2019 at the latest. 3. Officeholders President of the Riigikogu Chairperson of the Committee on European Union Affairs Mr Eiki Nestor (SDE/S&D) Mr Toomas Vitsut (KESK/ALDE) Chancellor (Secretary General) of the Riigikogu: Mr Peep Jahilo 4. Relations with Members of the European Parliament Participation rights for Estonian MEPs in No plenary sittings Participation rights for Estonian MEPs in Only EU Affairs committee committee meetings Availability of videoconferencing system in Yes the Riigikogu 5. Information links Official website: http://riigikogu.ee List of committees Recent documents submitted by the Riigikogu to the Interparliamentary EU Information Exchange (IPEX) The EP Information Office in Tallinn 6. Contacts Factsheet author and contact in the Brussels-based contact of the Estonian EP Directorate for Relations with National Parliament: Parliaments: MS Diana Ciuche Ms Kristi Sõber Office WIE 05U046, 1047 Brussels Office WIE06U031 Phone +32 2 28 41197 Phone +32 2 2832318 Last updated on 10/2017. Photo credits: Estonian Riigikogu. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/relnatparl [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Last updated on 10/2017. Photo credits: Estonian Riigikogu. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/relnatparl [email protected].
Recommended publications
  • Codebook Indiveu – Party Preferences
    Codebook InDivEU – party preferences European University Institute, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies December 2020 Introduction The “InDivEU – party preferences” dataset provides data on the positions of more than 400 parties from 28 countries1 on questions of (differentiated) European integration. The dataset comprises a selection of party positions taken from two existing datasets: (1) The EU Profiler/euandi Trend File The EU Profiler/euandi Trend File contains party positions for three rounds of European Parliament elections (2009, 2014, and 2019). Party positions were determined in an iterative process of party self-placement and expert judgement. For more information: https://cadmus.eui.eu/handle/1814/65944 (2) The Chapel Hill Expert Survey The Chapel Hill Expert Survey contains party positions for the national elections most closely corresponding the European Parliament elections of 2009, 2014, 2019. Party positions were determined by expert judgement. For more information: https://www.chesdata.eu/ Three additional party positions, related to DI-specific questions, are included in the dataset. These positions were determined by experts involved in the 2019 edition of euandi after the elections took place. The inclusion of party positions in the “InDivEU – party preferences” is limited to the following issues: - General questions about the EU - Questions about EU policy - Questions about differentiated integration - Questions about party ideology 1 This includes all 27 member states of the European Union in 2020, plus the United Kingdom. How to Cite When using the ‘InDivEU – Party Preferences’ dataset, please cite all of the following three articles: 1. Reiljan, Andres, Frederico Ferreira da Silva, Lorenzo Cicchi, Diego Garzia, Alexander H.
    [Show full text]
  • ESS9 Appendix A3 Political Parties Ed
    APPENDIX A3 POLITICAL PARTIES, ESS9 - 2018 ed. 3.0 Austria 2 Belgium 4 Bulgaria 7 Croatia 8 Cyprus 10 Czechia 12 Denmark 14 Estonia 15 Finland 17 France 19 Germany 20 Hungary 21 Iceland 23 Ireland 25 Italy 26 Latvia 28 Lithuania 31 Montenegro 34 Netherlands 36 Norway 38 Poland 40 Portugal 44 Serbia 47 Slovakia 52 Slovenia 53 Spain 54 Sweden 57 Switzerland 58 United Kingdom 61 Version Notes, ESS9 Appendix A3 POLITICAL PARTIES ESS9 edition 3.0 (published 10.12.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Denmark, Iceland. ESS9 edition 2.0 (published 15.06.20): Changes from previous edition: Additional countries: Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden. Austria 1. Political parties Language used in data file: German Year of last election: 2017 Official party names, English 1. Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs (SPÖ) - Social Democratic Party of Austria - 26.9 % names/translation, and size in last 2. Österreichische Volkspartei (ÖVP) - Austrian People's Party - 31.5 % election: 3. Freiheitliche Partei Österreichs (FPÖ) - Freedom Party of Austria - 26.0 % 4. Liste Peter Pilz (PILZ) - PILZ - 4.4 % 5. Die Grünen – Die Grüne Alternative (Grüne) - The Greens – The Green Alternative - 3.8 % 6. Kommunistische Partei Österreichs (KPÖ) - Communist Party of Austria - 0.8 % 7. NEOS – Das Neue Österreich und Liberales Forum (NEOS) - NEOS – The New Austria and Liberal Forum - 5.3 % 8. G!LT - Verein zur Förderung der Offenen Demokratie (GILT) - My Vote Counts! - 1.0 % Description of political parties listed 1. The Social Democratic Party (Sozialdemokratische Partei Österreichs, or SPÖ) is a social above democratic/center-left political party that was founded in 1888 as the Social Democratic Worker's Party (Sozialdemokratische Arbeiterpartei, or SDAP), when Victor Adler managed to unite the various opposing factions.
    [Show full text]
  • Estonia Today STATE SYSTEM of the REPUBLIC of ESTONIA
    Fact Sheet 2007 Estonia Today STATE SYSTEM OF THE REPUBLIC OF ESTONIA Parliamentary democracy SUPREME COURT THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC The highest court in the state The head of state and the supreme commander of the national and the court of constitutional defence of Estonia. The President is elected by the Riigikogu review. The Riigikogu on or by an electoral body comprised of members of the Riigikogu nomination by the President of and representatives of the local government councils for a the Republic appoints the Chief term of 5 years. Justice of the Supreme Court. Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed by the Riigikogu on nomination by the Chief GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC Justice of the Supreme Court. Judges are appointed for life. The Government exercises RURAL MUNICIPALITY AND executive power. The candidate for CITY GOVERNMENTS Prime Minister is authorised to office by the Riigikogu on the LEGAL CHANCELLOR The executive bodies formed by proposal of the President. The the council. An independent official who President on the proposal of the reviews the legislation of general Prime Minister nominates members application of the legislative and of the government. executive powers and of local governments for conformity with the Constitution and the law. The Legal Chancellor is nominated by the Riigikogu on the proposal of LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS the President for a term of 7 years. RIIGIKOGU (The Parliament) The representative and legislative The Riigikogu is a legislative body. bodies of local governments, elected It has 101 members and is elected by the residents of the rural on the basis of a general, direct and STATE AUDIT OFFICE municipality or city for the period of 3 uniform right to vote by the citizens years.
    [Show full text]
  • Framework Agreement Between the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Moderate Party, the Swedish Green Party, the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats
    Framework agreement between the Swedish Social Democratic Party, the Moderate Party, the Swedish Green Party, the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats Pillars Sweden’s energy policy should build on the same three pillars as energy cooperation in the EU. The policy therefore aims to combine: • ecological sustainability • competitiveness • security of supply Sweden must have a robust electricity network with high security of supply and low environmental impact, and offer electricity at competitive prices. This creates a long- term perspective and clarity for actors in the market and helps generate new jobs and investment in Sweden. The energy policy is based on the fact that Sweden is closely linked to its neighbours in northern Europe, and aims to find joint solutions to challenges in the common electricity market. Targets By 2045, Sweden is to have no net emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and should thereafter achieve negative emissions. The target by 2040 is 100 per cent renewable electricity production. This is a target, not a deadline for banning nuclear power, nor does mean closing nuclear power plants through political decisions. An energy-efficiency target for the period 2020 to 2030 will be produced and adopted no later than 2017. Conditions on the Swedish electricity market Better conditions are needed for investments in renewable energy, energy technologies and energy efficiency. Development of the energy system should be based on a variety of large- and small-scale renewable production that is tailored to local and industrial needs. One major challenge is converting energy policy from focusing almost exclusively on the amount of energy delivered (TWh) to also ensuring sufficient output (MW).
    [Show full text]
  • How Do National Parliaments Supervise and Control Their Own Budgets? Practice and Experience from Selected Member States
    DIRECTORATE GENERAL FOR INTERNAL POLICIES POLICY DEPARTMENT D: BUDGETARY AFFAIRS How do national parliaments supervise and control their own budgets? Practice and experience from selected Member States STUDY Abstract The study assesses the budget discharge procedures in ten EU Member States and one Third Country (Canada), in order to identify good practices to help the European Parliament to enhance its own budget discharge procedure. The focus is on the effectiveness of the national budget discharge procedures, in terms of achieving two objectives, i.e. to ensure sound financial management and to enhance transparency. The study takes the European Parliament’s budget discharge procedure as a point of reference in order to better understand the national parliaments’ procedures. The study findings identify best practices that might contribute to a further enhancement of the European Parliament’s budget discharge procedure in the following areas: a robust and trust instilling multi-facetted auditing framework; public transparency and accessibility of the budget; documentary basis; fostering accountability in Members of Parliament’s expenses; building skills; formalising the discharge procedure. IP/D/ALL/FWC/2009-056 24/10/2012 PE 490.662 EN This document was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Budgetary Affairs. It designated Mr Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy to follow the study AUTHORS Blomeyer & Sanz c/cerezos 545b - cd 250 el clavin, es-19163 Guadalajara +34 650 480 051 [email protected] www.blomeyer.eu RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR Ms Beata Grzebieluch Policy Department D: Budgetary Affairs European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] LINGUISTIC VERSIONS Original: EN Translation: FR and DE ABOUT THE EDITOR To contact the Policy Department or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: [email protected] Manuscript completed in July 2012.
    [Show full text]
  • State of Populism in Europe
    2018 State of Populism in Europe The past few years have seen a surge in the public support of populist, Eurosceptical and radical parties throughout almost the entire European Union. In several countries, their popularity matches or even exceeds the level of public support of the centre-left. Even though the centre-left parties, think tanks and researchers are aware of this challenge, there is still more OF POPULISM IN EUROPE – 2018 STATE that could be done in this fi eld. There is occasional research on individual populist parties in some countries, but there is no regular overview – updated every year – how the popularity of populist parties changes in the EU Member States, where new parties appear and old ones disappear. That is the reason why FEPS and Policy Solutions have launched this series of yearbooks, entitled “State of Populism in Europe”. *** FEPS is the fi rst progressive political foundation established at the European level. Created in 2007 and co-fi nanced by the European Parliament, it aims at establishing an intellectual crossroad between social democracy and the European project. Policy Solutions is a progressive political research institute based in Budapest. Among the pre-eminent areas of its research are the investigation of how the quality of democracy evolves, the analysis of factors driving populism, and election research. Contributors : Tamás BOROS, Maria FREITAS, Gergely LAKI, Ernst STETTER STATE OF POPULISM Tamás BOROS IN EUROPE Maria FREITAS • This book is edited by FEPS with the fi nancial support of the European
    [Show full text]
  • The Res Publica Party in Estonia
    Meteoric Trajectory: The Res Publica Party in Estonia REIN TAAGEPERA Formed in 2001, Res Publica won the Estonian parliamentary elections in 2003, and its leader became prime minister. It failed to win a single seat in the European Parliament in 2004 and was down to 5 per cent in opinion polls in 2005 when it dropped out of the cabinet. The founding chairperson of the party analyses here the causes for Res Publica’s rapid rise and fall, reviewing the socio-political background and drawing comparisons with other new parties in Europe. Res Publica was a genuinely new party that involved no previous major players. It might be charac- terized as a ‘purifying bridge party’ that filled an empty niche at centre right. Its rise was among the fastest in Europe. For success of a new party, each of three factors must be present to an appreciable degree: Prospect of success ¼ Members  Money  Visibility. Res Publica had all three, but rapid success spoiled the party leadership. Their governing style became arrogant and they veered to the right, alienating their centrist core constituency. It no longer mattered for the quality of Estonian politics whether Res Publica faded or survived. Key words: new parties; Estonia; Res Publica; rightist politics Democratization includes developing a workable party system. Around 2000, I would have told anyone who cared to listen that Estonia had too many parties. A study by Grofman, Mikkel and Taagepera1 also noted that no major new player had entered the field since 1995. We characterized the party constellation in the early 1990s as kaleidoscopic, but gave figures to show that the party system in Estonia seemed to stabilize.
    [Show full text]
  • In Defense of Parliament Aivar Jarne, Riigikogu Toimetised Editor in Chief
    Summaries in English EDITOR IN CHIEF'S COLUMN In defense of parliament Aivar Jarne, Riigikogu Toimetised editor in chief, adviser to the President of the Riigikogu The leading article treats the topic, raised by the media, of employment benefits for Riigikogu members. The writer compares salaries and other benefits to those of other European parliaments. A comparison with 21 European countries shows that the Riigikogu's benefits are more conservative than lavish. Our system, in which salary is proportional to the average wage, is also in use in Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Croatia and Bulgaria. Austria uses average per capita income of the past year as a basis; Hungary, the basic civil servant salary. Naturally, Estonian MPs are not in the same league as their German colleagues, who make over 100,000 kroons a month ($6,000) or Swedish and Finnish MPs ($4,500). Even in Slovenia, similar in other economic respects, MPs make $5,000 a month. None of the parliaments under study have dispensed entirely with salary and benefits. The systems employed are relatively varied and depend on each country's standard of living, its traditions and the amount of precedence that its culture ascribes to parliamentary work. That is the case today and has been so in the past, even in Republican Estonia. A very generous benefits system was in effect for the sixth Riigikogu (1938-1940). The legal status of members has developed over the more than 1000-year-long history of the parliament as an institution. Estonia, with its brief experience with parliamentary democracy, has not had, and likely will not have, occasion to revolutionize the field.
    [Show full text]
  • The Political Alignment of the Centre Party in Wilhelmine Germany: a Study of the Party's Emergence in Nineteenth-Century Württemberg
    The Political Alignment of the Centre Party in Wilhelmine Germany: A Study of the Party's Emergence in Nineteenth-Century Württemberg The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Blackbourn, David. 1975. The political alignment of the Centre Party in Wilhelmine Germany: A study of the party's emergence in nineteenth-century Württemberg. Historical Journal 18(4): 821-850. Published Version doi:10.1017/S0018246X00008906 Citable link http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3629315 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA The Historical Journal, XVIII, 4 (I975), pp. 82I-850 821 Printed in Great Britain THE POLITICAL ALIGNMENT OF THE CENTRE PARTY IN WILHELMINE GERMANY: A STUDY OF THE PARTY'S EMERGENCE IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY WURTTEMBERG By DAVID BLACKBOURN Jesus College, Cambridge LESS than a month before Bismarck's dismissal as German chancellor, the Reichstag elections of February I890 destroyed the parliamentary majority of the Kartell parties - National Liberals and Conservatives - with whose support he had governed. The number of Reichstag seats held by these parties fell from 22I to I40, out of the total of397; they never again achieved more than I69. To the multitude of problems left by Bismarck to his successorswas there- fore added one of parliamentaryarithmetic: how was the chancellor to organize a Reichstag majority when the traditional governmental parties by themselves were no longer large enough, and the intransigently anti-governmental SPD was constantly increasing its representation? It was in this situation that the role of the Centre party in Wilhelmine politics became decisive, for between I890 and I9I4 the party possessed a quarter of the seats in the Reichstag, and thus held the balance of power between Left and Right.
    [Show full text]
  • Information Guide Euroscepticism
    Information Guide Euroscepticism A guide to information sources on Euroscepticism, with hyperlinks to further sources of information within European Sources Online and on external websites Contents Introduction .................................................................................................. 2 Brief Historical Overview................................................................................. 2 Euro Crisis 2008 ............................................................................................ 3 European Elections 2014 ................................................................................ 5 Euroscepticism in Europe ................................................................................ 8 Eurosceptic organisations ......................................................................... 10 Eurosceptic thinktanks ............................................................................. 10 Transnational Eurosceptic parties and political groups .................................. 11 Eurocritical media ................................................................................... 12 EU Reaction ................................................................................................. 13 Information sources in the ESO database ........................................................ 14 Further information sources on the internet ..................................................... 14 Copyright © 2016 Cardiff EDC. All rights reserved. 1 Cardiff EDC is part of the University Library
    [Show full text]
  • Spotlight on Parliaments in Europe
    Spotlight on Parliaments in Europe Directorate for Relations with National Parliaments - Institutional Cooperation Unit Source: Comparative Requests and Answers via European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation N° 28 - March 2020 Preventive and sanitary measures in Parliaments Following the COVID-19 outbreak and its consequences on the functioning of Parliaments, many national Parliaments followed the example of the European Parliament to adopt preventive and sanitary measures. Spotlight N0 28 focusses on sanitary preventive measures, changes in the work of the Parliament, travel and visitors, and the need for a statement and medical examination when entering premises. It is based on requests 4333 and 4350 submitted by the Polish Sejm on 26 February and 13 March 2020. In total 44 chambers replied to request 4333 and 39 chambers replied to request 4350. Due to the rapidly changing context of this crisis, the current situation may vary from the one outlined in this document. For updates, please contact the editor. General trends in national Parliaments Cancellation of events, suspension of visits and travel were the main trends in most national Parliaments. 37 Chambers mentioned the introduction of hand sanitizers and 30 Chambers mentioned some form of communication to staff via email, posters or intranet. Another general trend was the request to work from home, teleworking. In many Parliaments, a ‘skeleton staff’, only those who are essential for the core business, were required to go to work. Certain groups were allowed to stay at home, either because they were vulnerable to the virus (60+, medical history, pregnant) or because they had possibly contracted the virus (travelled to an affected area, in contact with a person who got affected, feeling unwell).
    [Show full text]
  • The Centre for European and Asian Studies
    Nick Sitter, PSA 2004, p.1 The Centre for European and Asian Studies REPORT 2/2004 ISSN 1500-2683 Beyond Government and Opposition? The European Question, Party Strategy and Coalition Politics in Norway Nick Sitter A publication from: Centre for European and Asian Studies at Norwegian School of Management Elias Smiths vei 15 PO Box 580 N-1302 Sandvika Norway Paper prepared for the UK Political Studies Association conference, 2004 BEYOND GOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION? THE EUROPEAN QUESTION, PARTY STRATEGY AND COALITION POLITICS IN NORWAY Nick Sitter Department of Public Governance, The Norwegian School of Management BI The British application for membership of the European Economic Community in July 1961 came less than two months before the election that cost the Labour party its parliamentary majority and inaugurated four decades of minority and coalition government. Not only did the British application place the controversial question of whether to apply for EEC membership on the Norwegian Labour (and now minority) administration’s agenda, it introduced a question that has cast a shadow over coalition politics ever since. Participation in European integration has long divided both the centre-right and centre-left wings of the party system, and with the 2005 election a year and a half away it continues to do so more than ever. With the leaders of the two mainstream centre-left and -right parties both declaring that application for membership of the European Union is more important than coalition politics, and their respective potential coalition partners prioritising opposition to EU membership, the scene is set for intense coalition games and negotiations in the run-up to the 2005 elections and in all likelihood yet another minority government that builds alliances in different directions on economic and foreign policy questions.
    [Show full text]