The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) has submitted a bill for interagency review that will transpose two EU equality directives into national law.

Gender Equality and Equal Treatment Commissioner Christian Veske said the EU-driven changes are a step forward, especially in clarifying his office's role and boosting its independence.

"It will strengthen people's legal protections in cases of discrimination and give the commissioner's office a clearer role in proceedings," he said, adding that the changes will also improve institutional independence and allow the office to take cases to court.

The bill also revises the appointment process for the equality commissioner, which Veske said would make it more transparent and less dependent on a single minister.

But Veske said the reforms go only as far as required by EU law, leaving unresolved a long-running issue in Estonia's equal treatment framework: uneven protection for different groups outside the workplace.

"What's really problematic for me has been that we've talked for years about how the current Equal Treatment Act leaves some groups of people facing discrimination better protected than others, and how that needs fixing," he said.

"This new bill doesn't solve that either," he added, "so in that respect, a major and necessary part of it will still remain undone."

Bigger bill still stuck in ministry

Veske noted a more comprehensive reform had already been drawn up and cleared interagency review in 2024, but has since stalled in the Justice Ministry under Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) — one of his predecessors in the role of commissioner.

He said the bill was paused without consultation with stakeholders and that little information has been shared since.

"The bill has been stuck in the Justice Ministry for over a year, and no one knows what's going to happen with it," Veske said, adding that the ministry isn't providing any answers about it.

He also questioned the lack of transparency around outside legal analysis of the bill commissioned by the ministry, including work by the law firm Sorainen, the contents of which have not been publicly disclosed.

At the same time, Veske said the equality commissioner's office is expected to take on expanded responsibilities under the new EU rules, including greater authority to bring cases to court, but as of right now without clear or long-term funding guarantees.

"Whether we'll actually get additional funding is very unclear and uncertain," he said, noting the office lacks security about what the future will hold.

"Because funding is currently only provided on a year-by-year basis, we don't know what things will look like next year, or whether we'll get enough additional funding to hire more staff," he added.

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