PRO PATRIA AND RES PUBLICA UNION’S 100 STEPS FOR ESTONIA
GOVERNANCE PROGRAMME 2011-2015
The main objective of Pro Patria and Res Publica Union is to ensure that the Estonian people, language and culture endure and prosper. To accomplish this, we must support the well-being and justified interests of all people in Estonia. The Estonian state must become even closer to the people than it is now. It must help people when they are in need and listen to their opinions.
The last years have not been easy for Estonia. However, through united effort, we are overcoming the difficulties, and now it is time to lay the foundation for a new period of growth and progress. We must reach the point where everyone has a stable job, wage and home; a point where people do not suffer from undue concern over their children’s future and education. Everyone must have the opportunity to spend time with their loved ones, at home, in a secure environment. People’s work should leave enough free time and opportunities to devote themselves to hobbies, entertainment and culture. IRL considers it paramount that the parents in Estonian families have jobs and that families have a home. The existence of these two things – job and home – is the key to resolving all other problems.
Estonia must be smart, educated, open and tolerant. It must offer every person the best possible opportunities for self-fulfilment, for private business and achieving their goals, either alone or together with companions from Estonia and elsewhere in the world. We trust people, and believe that the state should be less involved in calling people to order than in allowing people to make the choices that are suitable for them.
For all this to happen, Estonia must continue the policies that have brought success to the country, yet remain prepared to embrace change. The Pro Patria and Res Publica Union goes into the next four years with a platform based on our traditional values: a unwavering yet open-minded brand of patriotism; a focus on homes and families; and the readiness to make unpopular decisions if they should be necessary for Estonia.
IRL has been and continues to be a stalwart advocate for Estonia’s long-term goals. We have not acquiesced to cooperation with forces who are distant from these concerns, who consider them unimportant or who focus only on gaining short-term by blithely parcelling out what rightfully belongs to future generations. Our policy is based on values, not on special interests.
IRL offers an integral vision for governing Estonia in the next four years. The following are the most important objectives and ways to achieve them.
● Stable growth in the birth rate. By introducing the mother’s pension and giving it the same importance as the salary compensation paid during maternity leave, we will not only accord value to childbirth but to the growth and upbringing of children.
● A secure future for young people. The opportunity for a free university education will ensure that no one misses out on a good education due to lack of funds.
● Stable livelihoods for families. Due to the increase in costs related to homeownership, many families are having an increasingly hard time making ends meet. We introduced legislation on monopolies and placed stringent restrictions on monopolistic public utility companies. Already now, prices are dropping for the first time. By reviewing renewable energy fees, it will be possible to reduce the price of electricity. For eliminating heating losses and reducing people’s heating bills, we will provide state assistance for insulating apartments. Our goal is to cut heat and water costs by half.
Estonia must continue to grow, and IRL’s economic growth target is triple the average for the European Union. Stable economic growth is not a goal unto itself for IRL – it is a means to achieving well-being. Economic growth reduces unemployment and ensures stable jobs, better wages and career opportunities for everyone. By improving accrual of budgetary resources, we can offer better public services and higher pensions. To do so, we will keep the state budget in balance, we will provide new momentum for private enterprise by lowering taxes on the workforce, and we will support export.
STEADY JOBS AND BETTER PAY AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES FOR EVERY WORKING PERSON
For IRL, it is paramount that the parents in Estonian families have jobs, and families have homes. The existence of a job and home are the touchstone for resolving all problems. IRL thus considers the creation of new jobs to be the most important and will do all it can to contribute to it.
The next period of growth of the Estonian economy will be based on the courage to further and defend the principles of free enterprise. IRL’s goal is to ensure that, in the next four years, Estonia’s economic growth is three times faster than the EU average. To accomplish this, the following must be done:
1. We will make Estonia more enterprising. We will offer schoolchildren and young adults business education and more grants for launching new businesses. We will launch a programme called Start-up Estonia to bring new and innovative enterprises into existence. An equity fund for Estonian growth enterprises will be established in cooperation between state and private sector.
2. We will cut taxes to stimulate economic growth. In 2011, we will establish a cap on social tax to encourage the creation of high-salaried jobs in Estonia. The unemployment insurance premium must be lowered to its pre-recession levels. Companies will be given the opportunity to use up to 6,391 euros in tax-free voluntary contributions to pension insurance, for training employees, or for sports, health care and health insurance.
3. We will increase the employment rate. Companies that hire young people who have been unemployed for a long period of time will receive a half-year exemption on paying social taxes on their wages. Retraining or in-service training offered to people who have become unemployed must, in cooperation with employers, be more precisely aimed at specific workplaces. We consider it necessary to develop provision of active job market measures through the Unemployment Insurance Fund. We will pay special attention to young adults and families with children. Through measures financed by the Unemployment Insurance Fund, we will provide for more opportunities for long-term training programmes. We will develop a national programme to provide broad-based professional training to those who lack such training and have been looking for work for more than 12 months. We must ensure career training and counselling for young adults at the general educational, vocational educational and higher educational levels.
4. IRL will not let Estonia fall into the debt trap. We rejected calls to increase government debt, and we now vow to make sure there will be no deficit state budgets in the next four years. We will see to it that reserves begin to be replenished. IRL will establish a moratorium on increases in the rate of government spending in the state budget. We will not be profligate with taxpayer money. The Constitution must be supplemented with a cyclical budget balance requirement that will provide protection from excessive spending and borrowing.
5. The engine driving Estonian economic growth is increased export of goods and services. It will be important to agree on Estonia’s potential growth sectors in conjunction with companies and experts. Economic policy, educational policy and other policies must be designed in consideration of the needs of growth sectors. The same is true in the case of designing entrepreneurial support measures. We will continue to support the development of creative industries and the tourism sector.
6. New investments. To increase investment activity, IRL will make attracting new investments a priority for the entire government sector. We will review ways of granting investment incentives in strategic fields.
7. Economic policies can open doors. Estonian economic policy must be pragmatic and allow Estonian companies to be successful in both an easterly and westerly direction. As to economic relations with Russia, the bottom line is that free trade and elimination of red tape in both countries’ interests.
DEVELOPING INFORMATION SOCIETY
Information and communications technologies play a great role in Estonia’s development. To further develop the information society, the state, in conjunction with entrepreneurship organizations and the research community, must give a starting boost to the Estonian information society development plan.
8. We will launch an “e-education” project, in the course of which we will update general education and vocational education in their entirety through the use of information and communications technology. All teachers must receive the ICT competence they need. By 2015, we will expand the number of those who have graduated with the equivalent of a university degree in ICT fields to 1,500 people. In cooperation with universities and companies we will launch in 2012 the IT Academy project -the goal is provision of world-class ICT teaching at the master’s degree and doctorate level.
9. Closing the digital gap. In cooperation with the private sector, we will continue work to close the digital gap (the programme “Ole Kaasas” – “Come With”) with the goal of 85% of the population being computer and Internet users by the year 2015. We will continue to make state and local government services electronic with the goal of at last 500,000 people users of the state portal, www.eesti.ee, by 2015.
10. Broadband Internet. In cooperation with communications operators, all of Estonia will be covered by broadband Internet. We will shore up cyber security and implement a programme for ensuring that children and the young remain safe online.
11. Export of state IT solutions. To support export of ICT services, we will come up with a legal solution to allow Estonian companies to market abroad state-commissioned ICT solutions.
THE ENERGY SECTOR – ENSURING ENERGY SECURITY AND ENERGY CONSERVATION
IRL’s energy sector focuses on two primary goals: ensuring Estonian energy security and energy conservation. To achieve these objectives, IRL considers it necessary to take the following steps.
12. Investments into energy efficiency. IRL vows to ensure that the state will continue making investments in a greater amount into improving the energy efficiency of residential and public buildings. In the next period, the revenue from the sale of CO2 allowances must be channelled into energy conservation and energy security.
13. Diverse power generation. IRL supports diverse production of electricity and use of domestic renewable sources of energy for producing heat and power. The subsidies paid to power generating companies from the pockets of taxpayers must be reduced to a reasonable level as soon as possible, however. IRL supports better-value use of oil shale .Among other things, we see Estonia-based production of liquid fuels from oil shale as an endeavour that will improve the country’s energy security.
14. Decisions need to be made on nuclear energy. IRL believes that use of nuclear energy makes goods sense given the high price of CO2. By 2012, we will take a decision whether to join the Ignalina nuclear project, to enter into a cooperation agreement with Finland or start building an Estonian nuclear power plant.
15. An intelligent power grid. Estonia’s power grid must be developed based on the principle of a smart power grid and the consumer use of solar panels and small wind generators must be incentivized to partially cover energy needs.
16. Gas connections with the rest of the world. Estonia needs connections to the world’s gas market so as not to depend solely on Russia. IRL will continue work to ensure that a liquefied natural gas terminal will be built in the region (preferably in Estonia), thereby creating competition.
TRANSPORT – SECURE CONNECTIONS WITHIN ESTONIA AND WITH THE REST OF THE WORLD
The condition and user-friendliness of Estonia’s streets and roads, railways, ports and airports and public transport have a direct impact on quality of life in Estonia and on economic development potential. IRL thus believes that development of transport infrastructure must be seen as a top national priority in the next EU financing period as well.
17. We will continue modernizing roads. Estonia’s busiest routes (Tallinn-Tartu, Tallinn-Narva and Tallinn-Pärnu roads) should be widened to four lanes, using private capital as well for this. To improve traffic conditions in Tallinn and Harju County, the Tallinn ring road must be widened to four lanes. IRL is preparing a plan on how to make all of Estonia’s gravel roads that see considerable use to dust-free roads by 2030.
18. We will increase the number of flights. Both business and tourism require an increase in air traffic. IRL supports increasing the attractiveness of Tallinn Airport to ensure that Tallinn has daily air links to Europe’s business and financial centres.
19. We support rapid and convenient train connections with Europe. We will work with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia as well as the European Commission toward the opening of a Rail Baltica Tallinn-Warsaw rail line. We will make public transport more user-friendly by bringing train speed throughout the railway network to 120 km/h and make train service more frequent when new trains are introduced. We will develop regional public transport to ensure sufficient connections with all Estonian cities and towns and better intercompatibility of train and bus transport.
20. Maritime policy. To promote maritime transport and tourism, the Estonian maritime policy should be approved by the Riigikogu (parliament). A programme should be put together for developing small ports in the Väinameri strait, Gulf of Finland and Lake Peipsi. With regard to the ship connections between the mainland and the islands, fares for permanent residents of the islands should be structured based on the principle of the ferry link serving as a highway extension.
CONSISTENT GROWTH – EDUCATION AND RESEARCH AS THE BASIS FOR NEW PROSPERITY
Pro Patria and Res Publica Union sees the key to Estonia’s future in good, accessible education and high-calibre research. Education is a boon to every individual and to society as a whole. An educated population is also able to preserve the Estonian language and culture in enduring fashion. Education will be the primary priority for Pro Patria and Res Publica Union in the years ahead.
21. Free higher education. Higher education must be available to all capable young people regardless of financial opportunity. To do so, we will use agreements between the state and educational institutions to provide tuition-free Estonian-language openings at universities and state professional educational institutions for students who have passed admissions requirements, allowing them to acquire one diploma in a given speciality during the standard period of study. We will also develop a demand-based system of education allowances and allocate more funding for state scholarships.
22. In future as well, our children must continue to be taught by the best teachers we have. We will therefore raise the salary for junior teachers by 2014 to the average wage in Estonia, and continue paying the 200,000 kroon grant for young teachers initiated by Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (currently received by close to 150 young teachers). We will provide for the opportunity to hire teaching assistants to support students and help reduce teachers’ workload.
23. Good elementary and basis schools must be located close to home. We will ensure that the commute to school is of reasonable length for all elementary and basic school students. To arrange for suitable transport, the state will engage in cooperation with local governments.
24. The level of upper secondary schools must be made more consistent. We support developing county-run upper secondary schools in all county centres purely as upper secondary schools; or if necessary, as state-operated upper secondary schools.
25. We will implement innovative curricula so that the subject load of children at basic schools would decrease and the creative opportunities offered by the school would incite even more interest in their studies; in upper secondary school, students should be able to make a much greater range of choices. Emphasis also lies on values-based education that supports student development. We will maintain a policy of zero tolerance for school violence.
26. Everyone must master the Estonian language while at school. We will complete the transition of Russian upper secondary schools to Estonian as the language of instruction, ensuring that the schools have the teachers they need. We will help local governments to establish strong Russian lyceums with good Estonian-language programmes.
27. We support civic initiative and educational innovation. We will ensure for general education schools equal financing of academic and operating costs, based on the content and quality of studies and irrespective of the school’s form of ownership.
28. Basic education in nursery school. Children whose parents want them to get a basic education in nursery school must be given the opportunity to do so. Besides nursery school teachers, nursery schools must also have sufficient support specialists for nurturing development of children’s creativity and their values system.
29. We will continue to develop vocational schools of a top international calibre. We will also be transitioning to systematic quality assessment in the case of vocational education, so that both employers and other countries would recognize the abilities of our vocational school teachers. The role of vocational schools as regional competence centres must rise.
SECURE HOMES – HOMEOWNERSHIP COSTS MUST DECREASE
Estonia is a society of homeowners and has been that way for centuries. The desire become homeowners one day and not be dependent on the charity of others is instilled in us from early childhood. Over 80 percent of Estonian families own their dwelling. In terms of the number of home loan customers, too, we are catching up to the Nordic countries. IRL considers it important to stand up for homeowners and to protect their interests.
IRL vows to ensure that Estonian families would be able to hold on to their homes, that people in temporary financial difficulty would not lose theirs, that water and heat prices would be lower and that discounts and incentives for homeowners would be preserved.
Home-buying assistance for families with three children: In 2007, IRL initiated a proposal for home-buying assistance for families with four or more children. The idea is to help low-income families with many children to improve their living conditions or to buy a new home. Home-buying support has been received by close to 1000 families with over 3500 children. We consider it important to extend this measure to families with three families.
31. Keeping monopolistic utilities under control and insulating apartment buildings – legislation passed at the initiative of IRL established strict limits on water, heat and gas monopolies and provides more protection for consumers’ or homeowner’s rights. IRL considers it important to continue to install insulation in apartments with state support to help people save energy and thus money as well. By taking these steps, we will cut heating and water costs in half for homeowners.
32. Abolishing land tax on land underlying homes. IRL believes that land tax should be abolished in Estonia. We consider it unfair that homeowners who have bought the land under their homes must continue to pay a burdensome land tax.
33. Maintaining the tax exemption on home loan interest – a tax exemption was established on home loan interest in 1996 to make it more possible for people to buy their homes. Here the target group is primarily borrowers with long terms on their mortgages. IRL is in favour of keeping this tax exemption in place.
34. Entry into force of the Homeowners Debt Protection Act – IRL initiated the adoption of this piece of legislation that provides people who have purchased homes greater protection in their relations with their bank and helps those in financial difficulty restructure their debt. We consider it important for the Debt Protection Act to be implemented in a smooth fashion. The Debt Protection Act accords a greater level of protection to Estonia’s 160,000 home loan customers. Homes that serve as collateral are protected against possible foreclosure, banks are forbidden to make margin calls solely due to a drop in the real estate value, and auxiliary demands such as interests and fines for delay, and execution costs are lowered.
A MORE SECURE LIFE FOR FAMILIES
The hardest situation is faced by families who have children and who are out of work. IRL considers it important that these families lead a dignified existence even when the parents are out of work; the heads of the household must not despair of finding a new job.
IRL’s objectives are a secure family life, a happy childhood for every child, and preservation of the Estonian state and people now and in the future. IRL stands for traditional family values. We wish to encourage families in Estonia to have children and for their children to be able to live a long, healthy and satisfying life. We trust families and believe that the state should be less engaged in calling people to order than allowing people to make suitable choices themselves. Our family policy is based on values, not special interests.
35. Family support system. We trust people and help them decide how to lead their lives. We will develop a systematic support system for supporting the emotional health and well-being of families and parental education that starts already in the school system.
36. The rights of mothers and mother-to-be must be guaranteed. We will provide protection for expectant mothers who face discrimination from their employers. We will reinstate for expectant mothers who work in the private sector the same rights that the state offers in the public sector. We will reduce the number of abortions through pregnancy crisis counselling. We will help find the most secure possible solutions for families and newborn children. We support networking.
37. We will fight against child poverty. Social workers and schools (including nursery schools) can engage in better cooperation to help families more easily and rapidly. We will continue the home support programme for families with many children and paying state-compensated wages to mothers in families with many children.
38. Every child must be ensured a place in a nursery school that is kid-friendly and promotes the development of the child. We will provide support from regional development funds to local governments for investments into nursery schools and crèches. We deem it necessary that children be aided by more teachers and specialists. Children in the same family should be able to attend the same nursery school. We also support alternative child care options. We will make the rules for child care more people-friendly and less bureaucratic.
39. The health of children is extremely important. We support greater state oversight of cooperation between maternity wards and family doctors as well as the activity of family doctors to ensure that every child that is born receives the necessary screenings and medical examinations before school. We oppose abolishing the position of physician at schools for children with special needs. We support improved sport and exercise opportunities for children and youth.
40. Children must not suffer due to domestic strife. We will create a state subsistence fund to support families where a divorced or estranged parent does not pay child support. The state should be responsible for collecting the outstanding amounts later. We consider it important to prevent family violence and to help those in trouble. Victims must be treated professionally and with great empathy at all instances and levels: by the police, in court, and at school in dealings with social workers. To ensure this is so, we will make it the rule that relevant individuals receive the training they need.
41. We will make the parental allowance more flexible. The current parental benefit system is too rigid, keeps mothers away from the job market and does not let families themselves decide how best to reconcile work and family life. We will make it possible to use the parental benefit over a longer period so that the total amount of the benefit does not diminish and the duration of the parental benefit period in days will not change. We will make the opportunities for caring for a sick child more family-friendly and flexible.
42. Child care. We believe preparing children for the working world should be a priority. We support the development of good work habits, encourage work commensurate with abilities and recognize employers. We support student volunteer camps.
A DIGNIFIED PLACE IN SOCIETY FOR PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
43. We support the development of social welfare and health services and financing of aids for disabled people so that queuing and waiting lists would be eliminated. We consider it important to provide financing for sports and to ensure that people have access to sports facilities.
A SECURE PENSION
Many of the people who built the Estonia we live in are now elderly. We are proud that IRL was a member of a government coalition that kept pensions at the same level even in the most difficult times. Now that things are starting to improve for the better, we will do what we can to allow pensions to grow apace with job creation and that the prosperity of Estonia’s families will also grow. Older people in Estonia have the right to their fair share of economic growth and to look to the future with a sense of financial security.
44. Higher pensions. We deem it necessary to ensure that economic growth results in a stable rise in pensions.
45. Starting in 2012, we will introduce a mother’s pension. We will introduce a supplementary pension – the equivalent of one full year of time worked – for mothers upon reaching retirement age. Thus, when she retires, a woman who mothered two children should receive the equivalent of a thirteenth month of pension each year.
46. Widow’s pension. In dialogue with seniors’ associations, we will initiate discussion regarding establishing a widow’s pension. The widow’s pension would provide compensation for additional expenses incurred by widows. The widow and widower’s pension would be covered from state pension insurance funds.
GOOD HEALTH FOR ALL
IRL’s goal is for people to live longer: men should live to at least 75 and women should live to at least 84. The healthy life span must also increase: 60 years for men and 65 for women. We wish to achieve this goal by at least 2020.
47. The consumption of alcohol and tobacco should be reduced significantly. To do so, we will use the state’s taxation policy and impose restrictions on advertising. We will establish a state alcohol policy designed to reduce alcohol consumption and the harm caused by it. We deem it necessary to develop means for early detection of overuse of alcohol and a consultation system for preventing chronic alcohol dependency and also plan to increase the range of therapy and rehabilitation services for those that call it quits.
48. Prevention. To reduce premature deaths, we consider prevention to be important. Prevention of heart and circulatory diseases, cancer, accidents and poisonings will receive special attention. We deem it important to increase the share of children’s health programmes among state prevention programmes.
49. We will reduce queues and waiting lists for medical treatment. We consider this especially important in the case of specialist medical care. We will focus most of all on people suffering from heart and circulatory diseases and cancer.
50. Family doctors should be available for everyone. Our goal is that every Estonian inhabitant should be guaranteed first-tier health care services. Family doctor services must be ensured in all rural areas. To do so, the current GP financing system should be reviewed and allow university graduates to be hired in a more flexible fashion. We consider it necessary for general medical care to be uniformly available at heath centres located in densely populated areas in the evening and on rest days.
51. A card for buying medicines. In connection with the large proportion paid by the elderly for their prescription drugs, we believe that the state budget should provide additional compensation for prescription drugs for the elderly and chronically ill. To do so, we will introduce a medicine card funded from the state budget that can be used to pay for at least 64 euros worth of prescription drugs each year.
52. Nursing care must be available. We support the use of state investments for putting nursing homes in order. We consider it expedient to establish, for the purpose of reducing patient co-pays, legislation on financing that would provide for trilateral participation of the Health Insurance Fund, local government and the patient. We support increasing the amount of health care services in nursing care and developing of daytime inpatient nursing services.
53. Supplemental funding for health care. We feel it is expedient to develop export of health care services using a public-private partnership on the basis of the national strategic development plan. . To do so, we must be engaged in common marketing activity, diversify investment risks and unite state incentives and private initiative.
ART MUST BE REVERED AND ARTISTS IN ALL GENRES AND FILELDS MUST BE PROVIDED WITH A SENSE OF SECURITY
Pro Patria and Res Publica Union wants to create significantly better conditions for the flowering of national culture. We will create opportunities for furthering the economy and make it possible for creativity to develop unfettered. As the Constitution states, the Estonian state must ensure the preservation of the Estonian nation and culture for all time.
54. An inclusive cultural policy. We will include more representatives and experts from cultural fields in shaping cultural policy. We will reorganize the system for financing cultural organizations by ensuring multi-year basic financing agreements and offer all cultural organizations equal opportunity to compete for state financing irrespective of the form of ownership. In financing, we will lend more consideration to substantive criteria and evaluations from experts in the respective fields.
55. The creative industries. We consider creative industries one of Estonia’s clear growth areas. We support entrepreneurs in the creative industries (film, music, architecture and design) by creating export agencies and local support structures /competence centres and Enterprise Estonia support measures.
56. Protection for cultural heritage. To ensure preservation of Estonia’s cultural heritage, we will create a restoration grant fund for owners of historical monuments.
57. Freelance artists. We will ensure that artists who are recognized as freelance enjoy health insurance and other social guarantees even in a situation where their taxable income is not regular but exceeds twelve times the minimum wage.
SPORT
58. Better sporting opportunities all over Estonia. Using assistance from the next EU financing period, we will create a programme whose goal is to develop a countrywide sports infrastructure.
59. Clear priorities. We will establish clear priorities for funding sports that are understandable for the public.
60. We will better organize the local sports landscape. We will reinstate the obligation for local governments to support the work of sports organizations located on the administrative territory.
Regional policy – secure homes and jobs everywhere in Estonia
61. We will carry out administrative reforms for strengthening local governments, reducing municipal bureaucracy and transform local governments into actual agents of change in guiding local and regional development. We will establish a legislative basis to ensure that services for people do not diminish but rather improve.
62. Tartu and Tallinn. We will support Tartu as a city that, being Estonia’s second main economic, cultural and administrative centre, offers Tallinn needed competition.
63. Growing local governments. Local governments that are close to larger cities and have a growing population are special cases when it comes to regional policy. Due to population growth they need more investments into new schools, nursery schools and other public infrastructure.
64. Estonia must have a strong network of small towns. We will direct new EU regional policy funds toward supporting job creation in the private sector – particularly in small towns due to their role as regional centres. In this manner, we will ensure better jobs for inhabitants of both these communities and the hinterland. We will diversify government agency jobs all over Estonia – following the rule that county seats and small towns are to be preferred over Tallinn when it comes to restructuring the agencies and their support services.
65. Rural economy and rural life. We support rural life and diversification of the rural economy with separate measures in the areas of administration of the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Regional Affairs. We support the development of agriculture and rural life through a system of credit unions via the Rural Development Foundation. Through activities under the LEADER measure, the local initiative programme, the small islands programme, programmes for the Seto region, Lake Peipsi shore and others, we will support local initiatives and development of local cultural and sports infrastructure. We will develop a new programme to improve availability of private sector services in the countryside. We will develop a new measure for demolition of depreciated Soviet-era manufacturing buildings and reconditioning their vicinity.
AGRICULTURE MUST BECOME COMPETITIVE – ESTONIAN FOOD ON ESTONIAN TABLES AND IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS
Our goal is for Estonian farmers, fishermen and the food industry to be able to offer flavourful, healthful and competitively priced Estonian food to domestic consumers and for sale abroad. We consider it important to diversify the rural economy and to create new jobs in the countryside.
66. More unified and competitive agriculture. Our goal is to make competition conditions commensurate with agricultural subsidies and want to take a more market-oriented approach. We will work to ensure that the EU’s common agricultural policy remains uniform and financed jointly. We will ensure that EU agricultural subsidies can be topped up from the Estonian state budget in the maximum permitted amount. We will simplify the requirements on producing, handling and marketing agricultural produce and reduce red tape.
67. Expanding the opportunities of the food industry. We will increase the competitiveness of the food industry. We will contribute more to the development of the food industry, expanding the range of beneficiaries and eligible activities. We will devote attention to the export sector. We will create separate auxiliary organic agriculture measures for the processing industry and expand eligibility for applying for grants to the form of business called tulundusühistu (commercial association). We will expand the Estonian Food programme, thereby promoting healthy dietary habits and building a positive image of local food. We will promote the use of local and healthful food in children’s institutions — junk food must be banished from schools.
68. We will continue direct European funds to forestry. We will continue supporting European forestry from the CAP budget during the next EU budgetary period.
69. Tax exemption for forest owners. We will support giving all forest owners who operate as FIEs (sole proprietors) the option of selling 8,628 euros worth of timber harvested from their own forests – tax-free – over three years.
70. Diversifying activity of fishermen. We will support development of coastal fisheries and diversifying fishermen’s activity into tourism and other fields. We will continue supporting investments into fish farming and plan to make available – through the Rural Development Foundation – long-term loans for aquaculture enterprises.
A STRONG CIVIL SOCIETY
Active civic associations that make life in their country and community better are the backbone of a strong state. Cooperative activity fosters ties between people and helps us work together even better as a society.
71. We will practice engagement with civic associations. We will implement the principles of the Estonian civil society development plan and “Good practice for engagement”. We will make the data on NGOs in the Commercial Register publicly available so that it would be easy to find organizations that need volunteers, who need donations, who can lend volunteers, etc. We will expand the delegation of state and local government tasks to civic society organizations.
72. Secure financing for civic associations. We will continue to support civic society organizations and initiatives through the National Foundation for Civil Society, the local self-initiative programme, the gambling tax council and other financing channels. We will increase the state budget support for the National Foundation for Civil Society. We will create for associations not only the chance for apply for grants for projects but also establish a system for supporting activities.
73. More rights for younger citizens. Society is aging and the number of families with children is diminishing. We will initiate a debate in society over whether it would be possible to take into account the voices of children and youth at elections in order to keep a stable balance in society; and if so, how. We will initiate a discussion on giving parents an additional vote for their children and lowering the voting age to 16 years.
STRONG CHURCHES AND CONGREGATIONS
IRL will engage in multifaceted cooperation with churches and congregations, above all reserving an important role for historical churches. In the course of this process, we will ensure that architectural monuments are preserved and protected, that language, culture and religious awareness are developed, and that the church would play an increasingly more active social role. We see the church and congregations as active partners in provision of service to Estonian inhabitants.
74. We will support cooperation between congregations and local governments. We will help congregations be more capable when it comes to providing public services. We will help ensure that safety measures and features are installed in houses of worship (insurance policies, fire and security alarms). We will ensure that the state programme for preservation and development of houses of worship 2003-2013 continues and grows in the years from 2013-2023. We will coordinate and support the maintenance and popularization of religious-national monuments. Unreturned assets that belong to the church must be returned.
MEMORY AND NATIONAL PRIDE
(Who does not remember the past lives without a future – Juhan Liiv)
75. Patriotic upbringing. We will promote patriotic upbringing and support the activities of patriotic youth.
76. We will support those who fought for Estonia’s freedom. We support the recognition by decision of the Riigikogu of the contribution of those who fought in WWII for Estonian national independence. We will support the founding of an international museum devoted to the crimes of communism. We will establish a memorial in Tallinn to the victims of communism.
77. History awareness. We will support the initiative to firm the International Commission for Investigation of the Crimes of Communism, similarly to the International Criminal Court. We will promote the study and dissemination of Estonia’s recent history to the international public. We support the teaching of recent history in schools in different regions and languages.
A SAFE AND SECURE ESTONIA
It is a critical state priority to increase people’s sense of security and trust in the current system of government. We must place special emphasis on crime prevention and correctional policy must be fair and effective. We consider it necessary for the state to deal with smaller offences so as to prevent larger ones from occurring. If breaches of order are tolerated on the streets, people’s fear will increase and this will attract criminals like a magnet. Even ordinary people may exhibit a tendency to violence in an unkempt, dirty and too permissive an environment. It is important for the state to do all it can to bring young offenders and first-time offenders back to the right path. Other people must be protected against so-called hardened criminals, by separating criminals from the rest of society.
78. Crime prevention: We will direct crime prevention at youth above all, by providing more support for crime prevention projects designed specifically for them and making sure that even those without sufficient parental supervision would not lack for activities. We will support neighbourhood watch programmes, so that all parts of Estonia would be served by the network. We consider it important to install security cameras in cities, street lights should be universal, the city space should be kept in good order, and graffiti should not be tolerated.
79. Priorities for battling crime: we will direct the actions and resources of crime fighting agencies (police, prosecutor’s office) to the following above all
● concealed crimes that spawn new crimes (drug trafficking, corruption, money laundering, human trafficking and other organized crime);
● crimes related to juveniles and targeted against juveniles.
80. Defending the public order: We will ensure greater visibility for law enforcement and make them sure they will reach those in need of assistance, by training and including assistant police officers who are empowered to act alone. We will step up the number of police patrols in areas with higher crime. We will support extensively the activities of assistant police officers. We will pay special attention to law enforcement in Ida-Viru County.
81. Drugs: We will keep the drugs laws in place and not let the sentences for drug crimes – raised to a maximum to life imprisonment for serious drug-related crimes at the initiative of IRL — be lowered. We will significantly increase the amount of funding for preventing drug use. We will assign a specific minister responsibility for drug use prevention activities. Schools must be drug-free.
82. Traffic safety and rescue: We consider it necessary to continue increasing traffic safety and enforcement. We will install even more speed cameras at high-risk zones on highways. Speed cameras help save an estimated 40-50 lives a year. We will support the legalization of self-extinguishing cigarettes, which will significantly reduce the number of accidental fires and fire-related deaths. We consider it necessary to establish a strong unified alarm centre and transition to one emergency services number (112). To reduce the number of deaths by injury, including the suicide rate, it will be important to establish a state-funded network of crisis counselling hotlines. We support the activities of volunteer rescue workers.
A STRONG AND SECURE STATE AND LEGAL SYSTEM – A FAIR AND JUST ESTONIA
We stand for a transparent and just Estonia, where people are guaranteed equal treatment and protection for their fundamental rights. The state can become more transparent only through a combination of many measures – greater freedom of information, simplified proceedings, improved efficacy of enforcement and oversight and increasing the amounts appropriated for uncovering corruption. We consider it important to strengthen the state’s capacity to detect crimes of a covert nature such as corruption and economic crime.
83. Government transparency and combating corruption: At the proposal of IRL, the Security Police Board was given authority to investigate corruption crimes in Estonia’s six largest municipalities. We consider it necessary to give the Security Police the right to investigate in all local government units. We will adopt a new Anti-Corruption Act. We will update the anti-corruption strategy, entitled “Honest State”, the first passage of which was spearheaded by IRL back in 2004.
84. State legal assistance and court costs: We will expand the opportunities of those who need assistance to receive state legal aid. To do so, we will increase the intensity of state legal aid and raise awareness in society regarding public money available for legal assistance. We feel there is a need to lower court costs in civil matters (including state fees) as well as fees related to enforcement and collection procedure.
85. Citizenship and immigration policy. The principles of citizenship policy will not be changed. We remain true to the position that double citizenship and any sort of watering down the Estonian-language requirements for citizenship are not in Estonia’s interests. We will continue our conservative immigration policy. We will increase the state’s capability for dealing with a growing flow of refugees to Europe.
THE ENVIRONMENT – STRIKING A BALANCE BETWEEN NUMAN ACTIVITY AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
Estonia’s economic success must not come at the detriment of our living environment or the environment we bequeath to our children. Estonia must not be a place where the irreversible destruction of nature becomes a competitive advantage. Our environmental policy will be shaped so that our living environment improves, the risks to our life and health diminish and our children in future would be able to enjoy at least as diverse and clean environment as we do. Our green philosophy is based on the fact that if practiced in a compassionate and conscientious way, natural conservation and economic growth can support each other and create added opportunity for all of society. The precondition is conscious planning, responsible consumption and implementation of environmentally friendly technologies and development of new technologies in Estonia. At the same time, nature conservation and economic growth are not mutually exclusive goals. If policy is designed in the proper manner, they will support each other, creating new opportunities for all of society. Major decisions that impact both the human and the natural environment must not be made hastily.
86. Sustainable consumption. We consider sustainable consumption to be the best possible environmental and energy policy and we will continue to channel funds into energy conservation projects. We support the strong development of recovery in the field of waste handling. To do so, we must support the fair pricing for landfills and making recovery as convenient as possible. We are open to rapidly adopting use of next-generation electric cars. We will ensure that environmental conservation principles are considered in public procurements. The state and local sector agencies must themselves serve as the role models for sustainable consumption.
87. Protection for the Baltic Sea. To protect the Baltic Sea, we will increase the currently extremely low capability for cleaning up in the wake of potential environmental disasters. A clean Baltic Sea is our common wealth and the state must keep its promises to uphold it. We will agree on the principles for planning marine areas and marine construction
88. Biodiversity and nature conservation. We will uphold biological diversity by supporting the preservation of biotic communities and habitat protection for rare species. We will ensure sufficient environmental enforcement and review the punishments for those who misuse or contaminate the natural environment.
DEFENCE POLICY
The Estonian state is the basis, bond and guarantee of the nation – IRL considers responsible management of national defence to be the primary function of the government and all of the people. National defence is more than military capability; it consists of broad-based national defence-related activities structured on the will and duty to defend one’s country. Not only the Defence Forces and Defence League take part, but different agencies and organizations as well as the private sector, third sector and public sector.
89. Compulsory military service must remain in place. IRL shall keep compulsory military service in place and oppose attempts to transition to a exclusively professional model.
90. Secure funding. We will bring military national defence spending to 2% of GDP in 2012 and continue to keep it there. We will complete the construction of Ämari air base and begin building the Jägala base.
91. Cooperation with defence partners. We will deepen and reinforce practical national defence cooperation – defence planning, exercises and joint procurements – in the framework of NATO as well as with other Nordic and Baltic countries.
92. Cyber defence. We consider cyber-related defence activities a priority area in domestic and international cooperation. We will develop cyber defence into a part of Estonia’s international trademark.
93. International defence cooperation. We must fulfil our duty as a member of the international forces on foreign missions. This is a central element of defence cooperation.
94. A strong Defence League. Being a volunteer-driven national defence organization, the Defence League requires continued strengthening. We will ensure that the Defence League continues to receive stable financing as a part of the military defence budget.
FOREIGN POLICY – ESTONIA AND THE WORLD
Estonia’s foreign policy mission must proceed from a balance of freedom and responsibility and the knowledge that the duty of a free people is to defend those whose aspirations for freedom are suppressed. Our goal is to create for Estonia the reputation of a country that is an active and credible partner in international relations, to safeguard the interests of citizens and companies. To do so, we will adhere to the following principles.
95. Effective EU and NATO operation. Estonia’s national interests are served by effective policy from EU and NATO devoted to protecting the common interests of member states. Estonia’s strength must be aimed at achieving and strengthening the objective.
96. Stronger macroeconomic policy. To provide for Estonia’s future and international competitiveness, we will devote more attention to macroeconomic policy and make cooperation between different agencies more effective and more precisely targeted.
97. Baltic and Nordic cooperation. We will support stronger cooperation in Baltiscandia, which unites the Baltic States and the Nordic countries, and which has the potential to become a major international magnet for the global economy and innovation.
98. Partnership with the US. We consider it important to continue to have good relations with the United States of America. Estonia will continue active policy to reinforce the strategic partnership between the EU and America.
99. Practical steps in Estonian-Russian relations. We will support specific and practical initiatives in Estonian-Russian relations. To increase mutual trust, it will be indispensable to promote relations founded on good neighbourly policies with an eye to mutual gains.
100. Representing Estonia around the world. We consider it important for Estonia to broaden its foreign policy and diplomatic capability in the world’s different regions, above all in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. To become better-connected and more familiar with China, India, Japan and the Arab world, we will contribute to language learning, local placements, development of professionalism and cooperation with universities