Ahti Kuningas, Secretary General of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, wrote the proposes undermine democracy and the legislative process.

In his recent communique, Kuningas argued that one of the Ministry of Justice's proposals – to present information in a more concentrated form during the legislative process – would not only increase the volume of paperwork needed, not reduce it, but also undermine the principle of representative democracy.

At the heart of this principle, Kuningas wrote, is the assumption that lawmakers fulfill their constitutional duty of reviewing the materials presented to them, including legislation. In short, democratic principles would be sacrificed in favor of making MPs' lives easier.

Kuningas wrote: "The goal of bureaucracy like this could only be to ensure the convenience of parliament members, allowing them to read a so-called one-pager, instead of thoroughly reviewing the explanatory memorandum of the legislation in question."

Kuningas noted that while the title of Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta's (Eesti 200) initiative implies a desire to reduce red tape in state administration, the outlined goals focus on practically the opposite.

In his ministry's view, the "Üks sisse, üks välja" ("one in, one out") approach to legislation, which is based on a popular slogan, Kuningas wrote, is not a suitable foundation for developing the state and its economic environment.

This would mean every time an obligation is imposed via the Riigikogu, an existing one must be struck off.

However, any obligations set to achieve this new goal should not interfere with previously established ones, and each obligation must be proportionate to its intended purpose, Kuningas added. The secretary general noted that the focus should be on the efficiency of legislation, not its volume.

"The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications cannot give credence to the idea that the executive and legislative branches have failed so much in fulfilling their constitutional duties that we must now accept the necessity of repealing an equivalent obligation for each new one introduced," the secretary general wrote.

Justice and Digital Minister Pakosta contacted ministries this summer for feedback on proposals to reduce bureaucracy, which was called for in the Reform-SDE-Eesti 200 coalition agreement signed that summer.

The initiative was titled "Bürokraatiale vitsad peale" ("Cracking down on bureaucracy"). Pakosta inquired how the Ministry of Justice could reduce oversight of small and medium-sized enterprises and clarify distinctions in draft EU transposition legislation between narrow adoption and necessary adjustments.

Given the justice and digital minister's concerns about unnecessary legal obligations, Kuningas suggests the ministry develop a plan for a legal system review. He wrote that reducing the burden on businesses requires enabling automated data submission and allowing public institutions to reuse previously submitted data, while also pointing out that the current practice for transposing EU law is the most effective in terms of legal clarity.

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