SDE appoints no representative to Riigikogu Rural Affairs Committee
The Social Democratic Party (SDE), which has fewer Riigikogu seats than standing committees, opted not to select a representative to the rural affairs committee. The party has announced which committee each of its members will serve on.
"We decided not to appoint a representative to a rural affairs committee because SDE have the post of regional minister in the government, and he will certainly bring all the important issues to our table," SDE spokesperson Merilyn Säde told ERR on Monday.
SDE has three seats in the government that takes office on Monday, with Madis Kallas, the previous government's minister of the environment and a long-serving municipal government leader in Saaremaa, serving as the minister of regional and rural affairs.
The Social Democrats have nine MPs in the Riigikogu, but there are 11 standing committees. However, this does not mean that the SDE will not have a representative on two committees - because members of the European Union Affairs Committee (EUAC) are also members of other committees. This means that the party can appoint a representative from another committee to it.
The Social Democratic Party appointed its members to the committees of the Riigikogu as follows:
European Union Affairs Committee: Tiit Maran
Environment Committee: Tiit Maran
Cultural Affairs Committee: Heljo Pikhof
Rural Affairs Committee: -
Economic Affairs Committee: Priit Lomp
Constitutional Committee: Anti Allas
Finance Committee: Jevgeni Ossinovski
National Defense Committee: Raimond Kaljulaid
Social Affairs Committee: Helmen Kütt
Foreign Affairs Committee: Reili Rand
Legal Affairs Committee: Eduard Odinets
The composition of the committees will be determined based on the proposals of the political groups. After the government office determines the size of the committees, political parties will be able to appoint their members and the office will confirm their composition.
The speaker of the Riigikogu initially convenes committees, but after the election of the committee chairman and vice-chairman, the committee's work is organized by its leadership.
Chair of the Isamaa party Helir-Valdor Seeder told ERR last week that the Isamaa faction, which has eight representatives in the parliament, will not have a representative on the justice or rural affairs committees.
The Riigikogu standing committees convene on Monday mornings, Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. The Foreign Affairs Committee will convene on Friday morning, followed by sessions of the EUAC.
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Editor: Mait Ots, Kristina Kersa
