Climate Minister Yoko Alender and Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Svet argue that the regulation of draft legislative development plans and concepts has become outdated and is no longer justified in its current form. "In practice, VTKs (legislative intent documents) have turned into unnecessary, formal and burdensome additional steps, as specific issues, problems and solutions usually emerge during the actual drafting of the legislation, when the legal norms forming the system are defined," Alender and Svet wrote in response to a call from Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) to submit proposals for reducing bureaucracy.

The ministers believe that the purely informative purpose of the VTK is not justified given the resources it consumes.

"Certainly, in some cases, a VTK may have value, but its preparation should be optional, not a mandatory requirement every time. In the future, the VTK's purpose could be fulfilled by a notice in the co-creation environment when legislative drafting begins," Alender and Svet suggest. They also point out that the accelerating pace of lawmaking and the reduction of resources further justify the elimination of VTKs.

In addition to abolishing the VTK requirement, Alender and Svet also propose limiting the requirement for constitutional analysis.

"The explanatory memorandum for a draft law should only require a constitutional analysis in cases where there is a significant infringement of fundamental rights. This would align the requirement with the practice outlined in the regulation for Good Legislative and Regulatory Practices, as most legal norms set certain limitations or restrictions, but they do not inherently require a constitutional analysis, nor is one conducted – alternatives are simply considered," the ministers argue. They add that a thorough analysis should only be conducted for drafts that involve very intensive infringements.

Altogether, Alender and Svet present 14 proposals for reducing bureaucracy. These include suggestions for standardizing the formatting of legal drafts and explanatory memoranda, reducing the extent of language editing of drafts and halting the translation of technical amendments to international agreements, among others.

Previously, Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise has also submitted her proposals for reducing bureaucracy.

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