Vastus

Pikk 61 / 15065 Tallinn / 612 5008 / [email protected] / www.siseministeerium.ee

Registrikood 70000562

Justiitsministeerium

Teie: 16.11.2023

Meie: 12.01.2024 nr 5-1/55-2

Siseministeeriumi vastused õigusriigi aruande

küsimustele

Tulenevalt Justiitsministeeriumi 16. novembri 2023 sisendipalvest, edastab Siseministeer ium

vastused õigusriigi aruandluse küsimustiku küsimustele 21 ning 55-58. Vastused koostasid Siseministeeriumi EL ja välissuhete osakonna nõunik Katarina Budrik ([email protected]), korrakaitse- ja kriminaalpoliitika osakonna nõunik Ott

Aarma ([email protected]), kodakondsuspoliitika ja kodanikuühiskonna osakonna nõunik Marten Lauri ([email protected]) ning

sisejulgeolekupoliitika osakond ([email protected]).

Vastus küsimusele 21: „Safeguards for the functional independence of the authorities tasked

with the prevention and detection of corruption“

A draft has been prepared by the Ministry of Interior to amend the PBGA, which, among other

things, establishes rules to mitigate corruption, e.g.:

 To bring the regulation of the appointment and term of service of officers in

management positions (from the level of head of division) on the same basis as the

provisions for the appointment of other high-ranking police officers (e.g. prefects and

deputy general directors).

 Regarding the head of the PBGB - due to his direct reporting to the director general of

PBGB - an additional change in terms of appointment is appropriate, i.e. the amendment

of clause 43 (1) 7 of PBGA in such a way that in the future the head of Internal Control

Bureau of PBGB will be appointed by the Minister of the Interior on the proposal of the

director general of PBGB.

 In addition, it is planned to introduce an amendment in the PBGA, according to which

it would be possible to use, if necessary, surveillance information obtained within the

framework of other criminal proceedings (i.e. evidence of discovery) during the

recruitment of a person or, in the case of a person being in in service, to assess suitabil ity

for police service and access to surveillance information.

The need for legislative changes became apparent in spring of 2023, when senior members of

the PBGB – the Central Criminal Police Director General, the director of the Internal Control

Bureau and the director of the Central Criminal Police Operations Office, along with the director

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of the Customs Department of the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, were detained on

suspicions of fraud and aiding fraud. More information is available here and here.

In addition to the legislative changes, it is also planned to mitigate the risks of corruption by

organizing the work of the subsidiary organization more precisely by the ministry, for example

by providing as tasks for the PGBG to:

a) to provide the Ministry of Interior (assigned competent officials), for the purpose of

supervision, a permanent access to the notification channel of violations;

b) to grant the competent authorities (competent officials of the Ministry of Interior and

the Estonian Internal Security Service) a permanent access to the databases and

information systems used by the Internal Control Bureau for the purpose of supervis ion;

c) regularly provide an overview of complaints received against officers, initia ted

procedures, the course of the procedures and the results, and involve the Ministry of

Interior regularly in the development and reporting process of the Internal Control

Bureau's threat assessments and action plans.

Vastus küsimusele 55: „Measures regarding the framework for civil society organisations

and human rights defenders (e.g. legal framework and its application in practice incl.

registration and dissolution rules)“

Based on the Estonian Civil Society Development Concept, the Government promotes civil

society through the Cohesive Estonia Development Plan 2021-2030 adopted on 18. November

2021. The development plan is executed by three ministries – the Ministry of the Interior, the

Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The plan foresaw the conduction of a

steering committee consisting of different stakeholders, including civil society representatives.

The civil society representatives were chosen as a result of a public competition.

Detailed information on the participants, stakeholders, process, meetings, outcomes, and

schedule of drafting the development plan is available to the public on the ministry’s website.

The work of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) is also supported through the National

Foundation of Civil Society (NFCS), which is a state financed civil society fund, development

and competence centre that focuses on helping CSOs build their capacity to function

purposefully and effectively. While NFCS is funded by the government, it functions

independently under the guidance of its board, of which the majority of the seven members are

representatives of CSOs. The NFCS supports over 100 projects and initiatives annually, ranging

from regional to international cooperation. The NFCS also has a nation-wide outreach involving

all stakeholders. In cooperation with county governments and development centres, NFCS

offers expertise and consultations on a variety of topics, including on how to start an NGO, how

to apply for funding and how to become a sustainable organization.

The Network of County Development Centres (NCDC) is present in each of Estonia’s 15

counties. Each county development centre has a dedicated consultant for CSO’s. The NCDC’s

CSO consultants counsel and help non-governmental organisations to establish and develop

their organisations, depending on the organisation’s needs. The NCDC employs 18 CSO

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consultants throughout Estonia. The provision of services is supported by the NFCS.

Consultations take place in the following areas: 1) establishment and development of a non-

governmental organisation; 2) writing, including amending of the Articles of Association of a

non-governmental organisation; 3) growing operational capacity and inspiring leaders; 4)

operating subsidies for non-governmental organisations; and 5) organisation management.

In addition, workshops for starting and established CSO’s are also offered by the NDCD in each

county, to develop their members’ and leaders’ knowledge and skills for sustainable operation.

Trainings are provided in Estonian and Russian. All the relevant information is published on the

consulting portal for CSOs.

CSOs are regulated in Estonian legislation by the Non-profit Associations Act and Foundations

Act. In order to found a non-profit organisation in Estonia, it is necessary to: 1) conclude a

memorandum of association which approves the articles of association and establishes the

members of the management board (both documents must be presented in the Estonian language

or as parallel texts); 2) submit an application for the registration of the organisation in the

business register. A step-by-step guide for establishing a non-profit organisation can be accessed

on the consulting portal for CSOs. The dissolution process consists of several stages and takes

over two months to complete. A step-by-step guide for dissolving a non-profit organisation can

be accessed on the consulting portal for CSOs. CSOs can also book a consultation session with

their county’s CSO consultant to receive guidance for both processes.

The obligations of members of the management board are established with the Non-profit

Associations Act and the General Part of the Civil Code Act. The more general of these are the

obligations of due diligence and loyalty, the more specific are the management and

representation of the organisation, organising accounting, and keeping track of the number of

members. As members of the management board are solidarily liable for breaches of their

obligations, it is necessary that all of them are equally involved and active. The minimum

requirement of the state is electronic submission of the annual report six months after the end of

the year at latest (financial report and activity report are made public in the business register).

For this purpose, the association must have an accountant and it must comply with the

Accounting Act. To simplify the fulfilment of these obligations, the state offers affordable

accounting software e-financials; additionally in Estonia, the entire accounting and

documentation can be electronic only. The annual report must be signed by at least one member

of the management board, so it would be good if at least one of them had an Estonian

identification document and the ability to provide digital signatures.

Vastus küsimusele 56: „Rules and practices having an impact on the effective operation and

safety of civil society organisations and human rights defenders. This includes measures for

protection from attacks – verbal, physical or on-line –, intimidation, legal threats incl.

SLAPPs, negative narratives or smear campaigns, measures capable of affecting the public

perception of civil society organisations, etc. It also includes measures to monitor threats or

attacks and dedicated support services.“

Currently, it is not expressly forbidden to use the police officer's uniform and distinguishing

marks and the special features of an auxiliary police officer by a person who does not have the

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right to do so, therefore - considering the current case law - positive law does not help to prevent

the use of the aforementioned by a person who does not have the right to do so.

An amendment to the law (PBGA) has been drawn up, according to which, in the future, the

permissible use of police officer uniforms and insignia, as well as the special features of

auxiliary police officers, is only for the performance of service or work duties, and outside of

that, use with the permission of the PBGB, for example, in a theatre performance or in a film.

The main purpose of the above is - in addition to ensuring national security - to protect the

police, including auxiliary police officers, from negative narratives and defamation campaigns.

More broadly speaking, a committee discussing questions regarding the cooperation betwee n

civil society and the government, has been established by the government since the adoption of

EKAK in 2002. Half on the members represent civil society, and the other half are state

representatives. The platform enables to raise issues regarding the effective operation of civil

society organisations and rights defenders. The activities of the committee are public, meaning

every meeting’s minutes are made publicly available on the ministry’s website.

On an operational level, Consulting portal MTÜ abi (NGO’s Help), a roadmap for CSOs, helps

to find quick answers to questions regarding the establishment of an CSO and guides through

the complex world of funding opportunities. The portal is meant for all CSOs, the people who

run them, and all those interested in the civil society. Furthermore, in every county there is a

CSO consultant who offers free of charge advice from an idea to ending a CSO. These

consultants also organise trainings for NGOs and their representatives.

For the purposes to react to any kind of criminal activities taken place online, incl through social

media, we have web-constables in police who monitor social media sites and are also facilitato rs

in communication with the owners of the sites in order to remove illegal or threatening content

and also react when someone uses identity of the other user or harasses someone in online

environments. Estonian law enforcement authorities are also a part of EU framework on

oversight regarding protection of human rights. In this regard we would like to pay attention to

the high level of public trust - 86 percent of Estonian residents trust the Estonian Police and

Border Guard Board.

Vastus küsimusele 57: „Organisation of financial support for civil society organisations and

human rights defenders (e.g. framework to ensure access to funding, and for financial

viability, taxation/incentive/donation systems, measures to ensure a fair distribution of

funding)“

CSOs are financially supported through the National Foundation of Civil Society (NFCS),

which is a state financed civil society fund, development and support centre that focuses on

helping CSOs build their capacity to function purposefully and effectively. While NFCS is

funded by the government, it functions independently under the guidance of its board, of which

the majority of the seven members are representatives of CSOs. The NFCS supports over 100

projects and initiatives annually, ranging from regional to international cooperation. CSOs can

also apply for funding through numerous other organisations, such as the Good Deed

Foundation. Consulting portal for CSOs, a roadmap for CSOs, helps CSOs navigate through the

complex world of funding opportunities.

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Guidelines for the financing of CSOs were developed in 2013 under the leadership of the

Ministry of the Interior. The guidelines created the prerequisites for harmonising domestic

financing practices and principles concerning CSOs at both the state and local government

levels. In 2022, it was decided that the guidelines will be updated, and the process will begin in

2024.

Strategic partnership means that the ministry or its subsidiary provides stable and long- term

funding to CSOs (usually umbrella organisations) that contribute to planning the development

of the relevant field and achieving goals by implementing agreed activities. It creates a clear and

specific channel for the institution to communicate with associations, to transmit information,

to receive feedback and to conduct consultations. Strategic partners are selected through public

procurement.

Estonia has a list of CSOs that benefit from an income tax discount. To be eligible to apply for

the discount, the association must be operating in a charitable way and in public interest (the

activity of the association must meet the requirements of § 11 of the Income Tax Act). An

association that has not been operating for at least six months and has not submitted an annual

report (or an interim report to the Tax and Customs Board) for that period is not eligible to be

included in the list. Associations on the list also incur additional reporting obligations compared

to associations that are not on the list.

The Estonian tax system favors the making of donations and gifts to charitable organizat ions

operating in the public interest, which are included in the list of associations with income tax

benefits by the Tax and Customs Board. This means that only donations made to organizat ions

on this list are tax-free for legal entities; and amounts (in the case of a material donation, its

market value or the price difference in the case of discounted sales) can also be deducted by a

private person from their taxable income after other deductions (maintenance, training costs,

loan interest, etc.) - a total of €1,200 per year for a private person from 2016 and no more than

50% of taxable income.

Vastus küsimusele 58: „Rules and practices on the participation of civil society organisations

and human rights defenders to the decision-making process (e.g. measures related to dialogue

between authorities and civil society, participation of civil society in policy development and

decision-making, consultation, dialogues, etc.)“

Before the new development plan was adopted, the Ministry of the Interior, responsible for civil

society policy in Estonia, chose its new strategic partners in the field of civil society through a

public call. As of April 2021, four strategic partners help the achieve the civil society

development goals agreed in the Cohesive Estonia Development Plan 2021-2030: Network of

Estonian Nonprofit Organisations in cooperation with County Development Centres, Social

Enterprise Estonia and Social Innovation Lab. Since summer 2023, there are two additiona l

strategic partners who focus on the implementation of community-based approach in 2023–

2026: Estonian Village Movement Kodukant and The Association of Estonian Folk High

Schools.

A committee discussing questions regarding the cooperation between civil society and the

government, has been established by the government since the adoption of EKAK in 2002. Half

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on the members represent civil society, and the other half are state representatives. The platform

enables to raise issues regarding the effective operation of civil society organisations and rights

defenders. The activities of the committee are public, meaning every meeting’s minutes are

made publicly available on the ministry’s website.

The Estonian People’s Assembly took place from 2013 to 2014 and was based in a social

movement seeking greater transparency of government. In response, the then President Toomas

Hendrik Ilves initiated a process which brought together representatives of political parties,

social interest groups and non-profit sector representatives, political scientists, and other

opinion leaders. This led to two initiatives – an online collection of proposals from citizens and

a public day of discussions organised by the Estonian Cooperation Assembly, the Praxis Centre

for Policy Studies, the Network of Estonian Non-profit Organisations NENO, the Open Estonia

Foundation and the e-Governance Academy, together with representatives of the four

parliamentary parties, the Office of the President of the Republic of Estonia as well as several

IT and communication professionals.

One of the outcomes of this process was the launch of the Citizen Initiative Portal

rahvaalgatus.ee, which allows anyone 16 years of age or older to initiate a discussion or compile

and send a collective proposal with at least 1000 digital signatures to the parliament of Estonia,

and also to follow how the proposal is dealt with online. As of January 2024, there have been a

total of 629 discussions and 458 initiatives launched through the portal of which 214 have been

processed by the Riigikogu, Estonia’s parliament. In addition, 23 initiatives have been delivered

to the parliament on paper.

Information on the functioning of civil society in Estonia is also available in a 2018 short

summary form on the status of NGOs, and also in the Report of the Conference of INGOs of

the Council of Europe on Civil participation in the decision-making process. Next data

collection regarding the functioning of civil society in Estonia is planned for 2024-2025.

On 10. February 2022, Estonian Parliament discussed the implementation of the concept of the

development of Estonian civil society as a national issue of great importance at the initiative of

the parliament’s Constitutional Commission. Former Estonian Minister of the Interior Kristian

Jaani, head of the Union of Non-Governmental Organizations Kai Klandorf, entrepreneur and

co-founder of the technology company Bolt Martin Villig and chairman of the Constitutiona l

Commission Toomas Kivimägi each made a presentation at the session. The presentations were

followed by questions for the speakers and speeches by political groups and members of the

Estonian Parliament.

As a commitment of "Estonian Open Government Partnership Action Plan for 2022–2024" an

expert group on open government was created in autumn 2022. Their aim is to create an open

government roadmap that systematically maps the necessary steps to implement co-creative

policy-making in the public sector, to implement open government principles at all levels, and

assess the potential impact of these developments. Results of the expert group will be introduced

in February 2023.

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Lugupidamisega

(allkirjastatud digitaalselt) Jaana Napa

EL ja välissuhete osakonna juhataja

Katarina Budrik 6125144 [email protected]