President of the Club of August 20 Ants Veetõusme delivered a speech. Prime Minister Kristen Michal and Riigikogu Speaker Lauri Hussar laid memorial bouquets on behalf of the government and Riigikogu respectively.

The traditional solemn meeting of the Club of 20 August at Toompea Castle followed.

In his speech to the club, Speaker Hussar focused on today's turbulent foreign policy situation. "You, who have felt the price of freedom through your own personal experience and passed a decision on the end of a totalitarian system, understand most clearly why it is so important today to continue to support Ukraine in every way possible. We know that Russia has not changed in its nature. It still does not accept the right of sovereign nations to decide their own path, be it towards the European Union or NATO," he said.

Hussar also expressed concern about a growing anxiety in Estonian society. However, he expressed hope that, instead of confrontation, everyone would be ready to think and act together. Hussar also thanked the members of the August 20 Club for their contribution to public debate.

"Our Constitution does not support populist convulsions or rating-based policymaking. On the contrary, it requires stability, transparency, and legal consistency," he underscored.

In his welcoming speech, Prime Minister Kristen Michal noted that it is not easy to recognise pivotal moments and decisions of great significance in everyday life. He also thanked the club members for their contribution and personal courage. "Your undoubtedly emotional, yet deeply principled decision to vote for the restoration of the constitutional order of the Republic of Estonia placed each of you personally at risk," said the prime minister.

According to Michal, the events that took place 34 years ago remind us that law and justice cannot be destroyed. "Drawing on our own experience, we can extend a helping hand to our partners, first and foremost Ukraine, because no one can stand against the will of the people; with the mandate of the people, even a lightweight can overcome a giant. And no other nation or state can or should take upon itself the right to decide the future of a free and independent people," the Prime Minister stressed.

In his presentation at the annual meeting, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the August 20 Club Alar Maarend discussed the origins and future development of today's climate policy, stressing that carbon dioxide was not the root cause or sole cause of climate change. "The circulation of CO2 in the Earth's atmosphere is a complex process involving all living matter, whether on land, in the sea or in the air. Everything that lives, breathes. Everything that breathes, emits CO2," Maarend said.

According to Maarend, economic and energy policy should not focus solely on the fight against CO2 and to argue it should "is an oversimplified and one-sided approach."

At 11.03 p.m. on August 20, 1991, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Estonia the decision to restore Estonia's national independence, with 69 votes in favor.

The Club of August 20, founded in 1994, brings together those who sat on that supreme council, elected in 1990 and foreshadowing full Estonian independence.

August 20 is a national holiday in Estonia.

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