Tsahkna: No conflict of interest with IT association and minister foreign trips
Foreign Minister and Eesti 200 chair Margus Tsahkna has said he sees no risk of a conflict of interest in the decision to have the main IT association in Estonia validate the foreign trips embarked on by Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200).
When asked by ERR if he saw any conflict of interest in the situation, given the links between the association and his party, Tsahkna replied that he did not.
He said: "No, I don't. And I absolutely cannot understand why business people are being treated so negatively. Entrepreneurs are those who create added value."
"Their interactions with the state and government in Estonia are transparent and open to everyone. So, in my opinion, labeling like this is not appropriate for Estonia as a rule-of-law state and a democracy," Tsahkna went on.
The Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL) is validating Minister Pakosta's foreign trips; one of the organization's leaders, Priit Alamäe, is both CEO of IT firm Nortal and a co-founder and major sponsor of Eesti 200.
Tsahkna said he saw no conflict of interest here.
"What is connected with this question I don't understand. ITL encompasses dozens and dozens of very different firms. ITL is certainly the organization that represents the entire sector," he said.
In response to ERR's question whether the situation would be more transparent if the position of Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs did not belong to Eesti 200 also, Tsahkna said he saw no issue with that either.
"I don't see any connection at all regarding which party a particular minister is a member of. The fact that the government has partner organizations, which bring together hundreds of companies from various sectors, means these are the partners who the issues should be discussed with. Liisa Pakosta is absolutely on the right track here," Tsahkna said.
The ITL will also be recommending the composition of business delegations accompanying the justice and IT minister on her trips; Ats Albre is another leader of both the ITL and Nortal, while the ITL's vice president is Anna-Greta Tsahkna, spouse of the foreign minister.
Until the formation of the second Reform-SDE-Eesti 200 coalition earlier in the summer, the justice minister position was just that, and did not include any IT component.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte, Aleksander Krjukov
