Eesti 200 Chairman Margus Tsahkna said everything is transparent and there are no conflicts of interest.

"It is important that there is a clear boundary between the party's business and the state's business. But what is clear is that these ideas have actually been put forward. And different ideas are constantly being put forward. If we do not, they say that you do not listen to entrepreneurs, if we do, they say that it's bad that you do. In any case, I welcome this interest from the press. I think that Estonia is such a small country and such an open country that these questions will certainly be answered," Kallas said at the government's weekly press conference on Thursday.

Kallas said she has always supported the development of e-services and the e-state.

"This is something we have been doing for a long time, and it is one of Estonia's strengths also outside Estonia. It is what we are known for and it is clear that we cannot stand still, we have to develop this further. We will continue to develop these e-services, certainly taking into account the principles of the personalized state that we have agreed in the coalition," the prime minister said.

Kallas said quick decisions should not be made about borrowing €200 million to develop the personalized state. "Before we lend any €200 million, the available European and external funds must be mobilized as soon as possible to further develop the e-Governance," she said.

"As far as this personal state is concerned, we have had these disputes. One of the things that I would certainly like to see, and the Minister of Finance [Mart Võrklaev] would like to see, is what are the real savings that we are going to make from this," he added.

Tsahkna: It has all been transparent

Foreign minister and Eesti 200 Chairman Margus Tsahkna said various services and goods are procured in Estonia through public procurement, which is a relatively transparent process.

"These allegations that have somehow started to circulate, that there is a conflict of interest somewhere, are simply not true," he said.

"If we are talking about political corruption, if we are talking about the distribution of umbrella funds, for example, this is the kind of place where you have to keep an eye on. But if we are talking about the private sector, for example, with whom the whole of Estonia's e-government and very many other services have been built, if these companies and these people contribute to the development of the Estonian state, come up with visions, and fortunately, there are quite a lot of them, and not just for the sake of money, certainly not, because most of these companies are already global today, then I think that is only to be welcomed. After all, it has all been transparent, it has all been there for all to see. Procurement is how money is allocated to someone, how services are ordered. Today we are talking about a much broader vision. It is the next level of Estonian public administration. And it's not just an IT project. It's actually going to change quite a lot and it's going to take years," said Tsahkna.

"If there are specific questions, they should be asked and have been asked. What has been someone's role. But it hasn't been a secret," he added.

"Eesti 200's position is that everything must be transparent, honest and clear, but if we do not have a vision, if we do not want to implement these plans, then we will stagnate. What has brought us here will inevitably no longer take us forward," Tsahkna said.

"Ask the questions, you'll get all the answers, but the important thing is that we have the courage to change it," said Tsahkna.

ERR asked the minister if he believes Nortal has an advantage in the procurement.

"I don't do these procurements. There is certainly no advantage for anyone. This vision is certainly not based on one particular paper from one company, it is based on many different people, many different companies. In the same way, ITL (Estonian Information Technology and Telecommunications Union), brings together a very wide range of different information technology organizations," Tsahkna answered.

The ITL's president is Ats Albre, CEO of Nortal Estonia, and the vice-president is Anna-Greta Tsahkna, CEO of Timbeter Estonia, who married to Margus Tsahkna and a member of Eesti 200.

The Minister of Economy Affairs and IT Tiit Riisalo (Eesti 200) said the development of the personalized state is €200 million and could be funded with a loan. But Tsahkna the project has not yet been fully costed.

"This 200 million [figure], where did it come from? It's just a speculation actually from the press. Maybe a much bigger investment is needed, maybe it's less. We don't know exactly yet. This work is ongoing," the minister said.

Eesti 200 first proposed the idea of the personalized state, an upgrade to the e-state, as an election pledge, which was subsequently adopted in the coalition agreement.

Last Monday, Riisalo laid out the plan for the project in a presentation. Nortal's Andres Raieste, a member of Eesti 200, also participated, as did Priit Alamäe, who co-founded the party and is a major donor.

Newspaper Eesti Päevaleht on Wednesday reported that the personalized state vision document published by the Ministry of Economic Affairs was very similar to a previously published study financed by Nortal.

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