Secretary of state: No need for new ministry car regulations
Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop has said no new regulations are needed regarding ministry cars after an analysis following Maili Reps' resignation for misuse of an official vehicle, newspaper Õhtuleht reported.
"We have to trust human morality and ethics. In general, we have it in place," Peterkop told the newspaper.
Peterkop was asked to look into the matter by Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Center) last week after former Minister of Education Mailis Reps (Center) resigned after Õhtuleht reported her ministerial car was used to take her children to school and on a family holiday.
"We assessed whether the existing regulation should be supplemented in any way," Peterkop said. "We looked at it and finally reached the same result as Auditor General Janar Holm has already pointed out. In other words, additional regulation is not always a magic wand."
But where is the line between family travel and business travel? Petererkop said reasonableness should be followed - family members can generally be in the car if there is also a minister who has been granted the right to use the car, but it must also be taken into account that exceptional situations may arise.
--
Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!
Editor: Helen Wright