The minister said that the plan brings security concerns.

"Criminal gangs from different countries and sectors might get to meet behind the prison walls and to ally with Estonian [inmates], then initiate criminal activities after their release or via their contacts. This could serve to make Estonia a significantly less safe country," Läänemets told "Aktuaalne kaamera."

The minister also expressed skepticism about the proposed scheme's financial benefits.

If the plan does move forward, local prison staff would for instance require additional training.

Prison service manager Rait Kuuse told "Aktuaalne kamera": "In principle, we would need to agree on how many staff we require and what specific skills they need to have. That would likely present a challenge for us, requiring training in certain approaches to work as used in other countries.

"Another challenge would undoubtedly be the language barrier," Kuuse added.

Under the plan as it stands, no foreign inmate would get day release to range around Tartu, plus once their sentences are served, they would be returned to their country of origin.

Estonia's three prisons, in Tallinn, Tartu and Jõhvi (Viru Prison), could collectively house about a thousand additional inmates it is reported.

Tartu has been singled out as the likely destination for most of the prison space to be rented out under the plan.

"We already house international war criminals in Tartu Prison, and we know how highly trained and skilled the guards need to be to ensure security," Minister of Justice Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) said.

Tartu Prison currently has space for 933 inmates, but one of its 600-capacity buildings has been decommissioned, and it now has an occupancy rate of just 29 percent.

As of 2022, the daily cost of housing an inmate in Estonia is just over €90 per day, less than half the rate in Finland.

Per month, an inmate costs about €3,500, Rait Kuuse said, to which healthcare costs, which are not managed by the Ministry of Justice, education expenses, and various social services both before and after prison, have to be added.

The Estonian Minister of Justice is planning reforms to the prison system aimed at ensuring that empty prison facilities don't become a burden on the state.

One proposed solution is to rent out vacant prison cells to states that lack sufficient space for their own inmates, such as the U.K. has recently been reporting.

This would bring in at least €30 million annually to the state budget, Minister Pakosta has said.

The idea is not completely new; similar rental systems are already in use in some other western European countries, including the Netherlands.

Alternatives such as demolition of prison buildings or their sale are less attractive, the minister added when unveiling the plan.

A comprehensive legal analysis on the feasibility of the prison rental scheme is expected from the Chancellor of Justice's office next week.

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