MPs to change church foreign influence law rejected by president
The Riigikogu has decided to amend the Churches and Congregations Act, which the president had returned to parliament, stating it was unconstitutional. The Riigikogu now plans to adopt the revised version of the law in June.
The Churches and Congregations Act was drafted at the Ministry of the Interior during the tenure of Minister Lauri Läänemets (SDE), who said the law could be amended in accordance with the president's recommendations.
"There are points where changes could be made. For example, regarding the influence of a foreign country, organization or religious leader — yes, those we can change. We can handle it differently," said Läänemets.
However, Läänemets emphasized that the law should retain the principle that the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (formerly MPEÕK) should end its subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate. Patriarch Kirill of the latter has described Russia's war in Ukraine as a holy war and made other statements justifying the aggression.
Amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act can be submitted until May 28. Madis Timpson (Reform), chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, said the committee would rely on experts when drafting the changes.
"Our goal is to ensure national security and safeguarding that security is a core function of the Estonian state. It's not particularly logical that, under the guise of religious freedom and canonical ties, influence operations can take place that we're unable to prohibit. I believe this should be the guiding principle," Timpson said.
Vadim Belobrovtsev of the Center Party's parliamentary group said the law returned by the president should be thrown out entirely, as aligning it with the Constitution without losing its original intent is difficult.
"I believe some amendments will be made. But there's reason to fear these changes will be mostly cosmetic. If that's the case, and the law ends up on the president's desk a second time, we hope the president refuses to promulgate it. Then it would go to the Supreme Court," Belobrovtsev said.
The Riigikogu passed the Churches and Congregations Act on April 9. The aim of the legislation was to prevent religious organizations operating in Estonia from being used to incite hatred or violence.
The president declined to promulgate the law, arguing that the restrictions it placed on freedom of religion and association were disproportionate. Under the current plan, the Riigikogu intends to hold a final vote on the amended version of the law on June 18.
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Editor: Mari Peegel, Marcus Turovski
