EKRE, Center submit no-confidence motion in economics minister Tiit Riisalo

Two opposition parties at the Riigikogu have submitted a motion of no confidence against Minister of IT and Economic Affairs Tiit Riisalo (Eesti 200), citing alleged influence from lobby groups in his decision making, among other issues.
The Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and the Center Party claim Riisalo has failed to act effectively in curbing the economic downturn and allege that Eesti 200 backers such as mobility app firm Bolt are linked to decisions the minister makes.
Center Party MP Anastassia Kovalenko-Kõlvart said: "Estonia has been experiencing economic recession for the third year running, and has seen the deepest decline among the EU27."
"Estonia's exports fell by a fifth last year, and this trend has not yet halted. This year, Estonia is the only Baltic state not to see economic growth even as prices are rising," the MP said.
"The minister has prepared a presentation on Estonia's economic growth plans, but has not taken any steps to support this economic growth plan," Kovalenko-Kõlvart went on.
"It is entirely normal for entrepreneurs to act in defense of their interests as part of daily economic activities in a democratic country, but such activities must occur openly," she continued.
"The opacity in decision-making and the connection of these decisions to supporters of Eesti 200, such as Bolt, cast a negative shadow on the integrity of the entire sector's management," Kovalenko-Kõlvart added.
EKRE chair Martin Helme was critical of the government's plan to implement cuts amounting to hundreds of millions of euros and introduce new taxes, but without any impact analysis.
"The country's economic policy, for which Minister Tiit Riisalo is responsible, does not lean on an economic scientific approach; instead, there is only political reaction to individual situations," he said.
"During a period of inflation, economic downturn, business closures, and layoffs, the minister has announced the abolition of unemployment benefits," Helme continued.
"This endangers the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people, lessens their opportunities to find new jobs, and pushes them into the poverty risk zone," he added.
Helme highlighted a series of issues that, according to the motion's proponents, have marred Riisalo's tenure as minister, now into its second year.
These consist mainly of serious data leaks from the gene testing company Asper Biogene and from the Apotheka pharmacy chain, according to the EKRE leader.
"Furthermore, the minister caused the state a loss of over €800,000 when he decided to terminate the collaboration with Ukraine on developing the national mobile application mRiik, only to start the process again; taking into consideration these facts, it is difficult to trust the development of m-voting under Minister Riisalo's leadership," Helme continued.
"Instead of developing a personal state which would save money, save lives, and enhance the reputation of Estonia as a digital nation, only long-term planning has occurred in cooperation with the backers of Eesti 200," he added.
A motion of no confidence requires the signatures of at least 21 MPs to be heard. Center and EKRE have 25 MPs combined.
The motion itself is a straight binary pass-fail vote.
The third opposition party, Isamaa, has not joined in with the motion.
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Editor: Mirjam Mäekivi, Andrew Whyte