"The objectives for which it was created have not been abandoned. But it will now take a bit of time to simplify it, and that's probably why it will take two years and not come into force as quickly as it was supposed to," Ligi told ERR.

"It will be a relief for the reporters and obviously the obligations will be reduced, the limits of the obligation will be reduced," Ligi said.

"But, yes, the environmental or accountability targets have not gone away. The idea was to ensure a level playing field, to prevent money laundering, for example. If somebody declares that they are green in their processes, that has to be verifiable. And consumers have to be sure they can't be fooled," Ligi said.

However, the potential postponement is currently still at the discussion stage. "Legislation will be adopted after a debate, and this is probably what we are looking at in Estonia. In any case, we also need to review what legislation we already have in force and then reopen it," Ligi said.

Last Thursday, the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry sent a letter to the Ministry of Finance asking for the deadline for the sustainability report to be postponed by two years.

Ligi said the appeal by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry is certainly an argument, but the desire to change the rules has been in the air for several months.

"The targets were agreed in Europe, but the world has changed a bit. The reality of how much energy this reporting still takes has set in," Ligi said.

"However, it is a selling point. In Europe, and indeed in other parts of the world, the accountability label is also a selling point going forward. Our companies have also recognized that they are failing in our region, in our export markets, if they do not demonstrate that they are environmentally responsible. So this is not something that comes out of the blue. And it was certainly not intended to bully companies," Ligi said.

Speaking on ETV show "Impulss" last week, Tallink CEO Paavo Nõgene said it would cost the company €350,000 to prepare a sustainability report this year.

"This is money very badly spent, because it will not change anything in Europe for the better, greener or make things more innovative," Nõgene said.

Ligi was critical of Nõgene's statement. "Let's just say that Paavo Nõgene is sometimes quite propagandistic. I would be very, very skeptical about those kinds of claims," Ligi said.

"It all depends on what his sales strategy is. If Tallink reviews all its advertising or marketing expenditure, it will certainly get a much bigger bang for its buck than the reporting that ought to be associated with it. It depends on what the company wants to show. Ido think the criticism could be slowed down a bit after leaving the public sector and it still be acknowledged that businesses do all sorts of nonsense to push their own products," Ligi said.

"So let there be something in there that – and I say this cautiously – is also regulated a little bit and that speaks of a sense of responsibility, and not just a desire for to make more money. So it's not so bad for the big companies in percentage terms compared to their turnover now. But I can assure you that we are taking on less of the burden now and postponing it," Ligi said.

"I am not defending it, I am not the author of it. But I don't agree with such broad criticism either," he added.

Ligi was not able to provide a precise timeframe regarding how the issue would be taken forward, and said only that the current legislative initiative was in the hands of the European Commission.

"Brussels' bureaucracy is complicated but fair. Whoever developed it is now working around it. But things are discussed with member states all the time," Ligi said.

On February 26, the European Commission presented a package of simplification proposals, one part of which was the postponement of the sustainability obligations. Following the Commission's proposal, the number of entities in Estonia covered by the reporting obligation will be reduced to an estimated 30-40 companies.

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