Schools Act Passed, MPs Hit the Beach
Parliament passed the new Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act at 20:30 Thursday night, canceling an emergency session that was called for very early on Friday and allowing MPs to head out for their summer break.
Opposition MPs had forced the Parliament to spend Wednesday night and all of Thursday discussing the controversial bill, using filibustering tactics like the 10-minute break before each vote, ETV reported.
Social Democrat and Center Party MPs criticized a number of the bill's points, while the coalition called the delaying tactics a “summer show.”
The ruling coalition agreed to remove a few of the thornier issues, such as financing changes, from the bill, promising to bring them up in mid-September when MPs return from their summer break. The governing parties had been driving to push the bill into law before the break so as not to confuse schools with legal changes after the start of the new school term in September.
Chairman of the Social Democrats Sven Mikser said the process was an example of how Parliament should not work, adding that if the President does not reject the bill, his party will propose a new draft.