Prime minister: Growth council met mostly with positive feedback

An economic growth council convened in March to help streamline the Estonian business sphere has so far received mostly positive feedback, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said.
It also yielded some more off-the-wall results, Michal added.
"There have been some curiosities in there as well. For example, those odd things whereby a person working alone has to designate themselves as their own first-aider and all sorts of similar requirements. So there are small things and big things, but the feedback I've received from businesspeople has been very positive. They really appreciate that such a major reduction of bureaucracy has been undertaken," the prime minister told "Aktuaalne kaamera."
Thirteen proposals are currently being processed at the Riigikogu, with 17 already implemented. Among the more significant proposals, the council has highlighted simplifying spatial planning, making employment relations more flexible, and easing the process of bringing workers into the country.
Partner at financial advisors Redgate Capital Valeria Kiisk however was skeptical on how important the various proposals actually are for improving state efficiency.
"There really aren't that many that have actually been implemented, and in some cases they've just said: 'Yes, we accepted it, but we don't need to change any laws.' Yet what does that mean? What are the concrete steps? There's something of a lack of transparency here," Kiisk said.

The biggest shortcoming of the growth council is that it is temporary, she added, next year, the focus will shift from submitting proposals to monitoring their implementation, with the reason given being repetition of proposals and the proximity to the 2027 Riigikogu elections.
In short, no one wants bills which are needed to lose their place in the legislative queue.
The prime minister said much can still be done by 2027. "We'll count some of the chickens at the start of January, see where we stand, and then I think by next autumn we can assess where our activities have brought us," Michal said.
Kiisk was skeptical of this, however. "To say that all of these will definitely be resolved within a year — I don't believe that. Some of them will likely require even longer work. But even if we just get the ball rolling, that would already be a major step forward," she added.
The growth council has submitted 700 proposals to the government, aimed at streamlining the state, with about half of these under ministry analysis, and decisions already made on the remainder. Scrapping excessive regulatory red tape is one of the regular proposals.
On the other hand, the council has intentionally steered clear of topics specifically linked to policy-making, taxation and similar. "That is for politicians to decide," the council's deputy chair, Robert Kitt, said.
The government convened the economic growth council (Majanduskasvu nõukoda) in the spring; it will stop making new proposals from next year, as noted instead focusing on monitoring their implementation.
--
Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov
Source: "Aktuaalne kaamera"










