The Center Party and EKRE find it unacceptable that Minister Alender has repeatedly and knowingly lied to the public regarding the plan to support offshore wind farms with €2.6 billion.

"There have been deceptions, confusion and secrecy surrounding this enormous financial allocation," said MP Martin Helme, chair of the EKRE parliamentary group.

"We find it necessary to thoroughly investigate all the circumstances surrounding this plan and, if needed, launch a criminal investigation," he continued. "Climate Minister Yoko Alender, who has repeatedly been caught lying, must take political responsibility and resign from her position."

MP Lauri Laats, chair of the Center Party group, said that the state cannot assume obligations amounting to billions of euros that would place such a heavy burden on taxpayers for decades based on classified data.

"We must be sure that the benefits of energy policy decisions reach household consumers and businesses in the form of lower electricity bills, not just as profits for a small group of developers," Laats stressed.

"Energy chaos has arisen under the climate minister's leadership, and it is clear that managing energy policy is more than Yoko Alender can handle, and she must resign," Laats added.

Helme and Laats believe that Alender is co-responsible, due to her short-sighted and corruption-tainted energy policy, for the fact that Estonian industrial companies are not competitive on the international market and that the Estonian economy has contracted for 11 consecutive quarters.

"Estonia needs a new and responsible climate minister," they underscored.

Isamaa wants an investigative committee

During Wednesday's Riigikogu sitting, Isamaa leader and MP Urmas Reinsalu introduced a bill to establish an investigative committee to determine the circumstances that led the leaders of Estonia's three coalition parties to sign a €2.6 billion deal for state subsidies to build offshore wind farms.

"Today, the prime minister answered MPs' questions during Question Time regarding the chaos in energy and the government's opaque, bungled handling of the offshore wind farms auction," Reinsalu said. "We received no answers, only loud and undermining rhetoric."

According to the party chair, Isamaa is of the firm belief that the parliament must fully identify the circumstances — from both a corruption risk and competence perspective — regarding how these decisions were made.

"The impact of these agreements would be in the billions of euros," Reinsalu highlighted. "And if they come into effect, they would result in the creation of a subsidized energy economy in Estonia, which would lock in high electricity prices and supply security risks for an entire generation, as noted by the Estonian Academy of Sciences' Committee on Energy."

This investigative committee should determining whether the plans of the leaders of Estonia's three ruling parties — the Reform Party, Eesti 200 and the Social Democratic Party (SDE) — were in line with public interests, including enhancing Estonia's energy security and adhering to anti-corruption rules, as well as promoting good business practices and fostering fair competition in the economy.

The committee should also clarify the actions of the politicians and officials involved in drafting the plan in question.

"We believe it is important in this draft decision to emphasize that the government should not make any long-term energy policy decisions with financial implications until the results of this investigative committee are in," Reinsalu noted.

"And secondly, there should be no proper drafting and finalization of [Estonia's] energy sector development plan within the state, as demanded by the Estonian Employers' Confederation (ETK)," he added.

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