"We had an intellectually very interesting meeting. We agreed there was no disagreement that a threat to national security could serve as a basis for limiting the activities of religious associations. The president has not disputed that either. But from there, opinions diverge somewhat on how exactly this should be regulated. We discussed it and found that amending the existing text would be rather complicated. We supported sending the bill to the Riigikogu floor unchanged for adoption," Madis Timpson (Reform), chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, told ERR.

"The president's position is that if we consider something a security threat, then deal with those people through criminal proceedings. Meanwhile, the main thrust of the government's bill is that we assign a value-based judgment to an organization, preventing it from acting in ways that endanger our security under the framework of religious freedom," he added.

The proposal from the Legal Affairs Committee will now move to the Riigikogu Board. According to Timpson, the board is expected to approve it and the bill could reach the chamber on September 17.

Hent-Raul Kalmo, legal adviser to the president, told ERR that if the Riigikogu adopts the law again unchanged, President Alar Karis will decide within two weeks whether to send it to the Supreme Court.

"This is the president's decision, but he has already referred laws to the Supreme Court in the past. And when such fundamental issues arise, it is only natural that the Supreme Court should weigh in to bring clarity to our legal system and to establish legal certainty," Kalmo said.

"In fact, the committee itself suggested that perhaps the Supreme Court's opinion is needed, because this is quite a fundamental matter. As has been noted several times, it does not only concern religious associations. It could also affect nonprofit organizations more broadly, and ultimately political parties. So the issue of foreign influence may indeed require the Supreme Court's position," he added.

According to Kalmo, disagreements within the Legal Affairs Committee were not particularly sharp. "The president has said that protecting national security is a completely reasonable and important goal. The question is simply the means. These are difficult choices, such as whether to restrict not only administrative ties but also the doctrinal connections of religious associations. This is something our Riigikogu has not previously dealt with. The fact that there are questions, debate and discussion about this is, in my view, natural. I certainly did not sense any clear polarization at the committee meeting," Kalmo said.

In early July, President Alar Karis declined to promulgate two laws, saying they were not consistent with the Estonian Constitution. The Churches and Congregations Act was withheld for the second time. The other was the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act.

When rejecting the laws, the president stated that both had important aims, but those aims would not be achieved if the laws, alongside necessary restrictions, also introduced vague provisions that left room for excessive interpretation and risked sparking numerous legal disputes.

The Riigikogu has already made some changes to the text of the Churches and Congregations Act, but the president considers them insufficient and believes the law disproportionately restricts freedom of association and freedom of religion.

The Riigikogu first passed the law on April 9, after which the president declined to sign it on April 24. The amendment seeks to stop churches from being influenced by foreign powers and came on the heels of the then Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate controversy.

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