The council will be based at the Chancellery of the Riigikogu.

The members of the Council are Viljar Arakas, Robert Kitt, Paavo Nõgene, Jüri Raidla, Anne Samlik, Taavi Kotka, Veiko Veskimäe, Raul Jeets, Raul Kirjanen, Kai Realo, Ain Hanschmidt and Hando Sutter.

Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform), State Secretary Keit Kasemets and representatives of different businesses presented their plans on Tuesday.

"Today, we are at the dawn of a historic gathering, in which entrepreneurs from different fields, with different skills and experience, come together at the Prime Minister's Office and the State Chancellery. The aim is to make Estonia more efficient," Michal said.

"Reforming the Estonian state and making it more rational has been discussed for a long time, and now the work begins," he added.

The head of the advisory council, Viljar Arakas, said it would not take on the private sector side of teaching the state how to run itself. "No businessman is going to come to the door of a government office with a chainsaw and say we don't know what you are doing here, but we know you have to do it differently."

Arakas explained that the council will only deal with regulations.

State Secretary Keit Kasemets said he would act as a mediator between the council, the prime minister and the economic cabinet.

The board proposes four main focus areas: planning, reporting, public oversight and redundant requirements and regulations.

Businesses say that the entire planning process needs to be reviewed, including the necessary consents and permits and impact assessments and studies. They consider it especially necessary in the case of energy generation capacity, industrial investments, and building construction.

Companies also recommend the creation of a "green corridor" for the rapid processing of planning applications for new investments.

Businesses will be required to review their reports and to cancel the least necessary ones. The council also believes reporting should be made as automatic as possible for companies willing to do so.

The main areas and agencies that need to be addressed regarding that issue, according to the council, are Statistics Estonia, the Environmental Board, the Agriculture and Food Board, the Health Board, the Tax and Customs Board, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA), the Ministry of Finance (sustainability reporting, taxonomy) and the Financial Supervision Authority.

On the ground, the council recommends a review of all burdensome requirements and a radical reduction of on-the-spot checks.

Instead of a separate control function for each authority, operators say that joint supervision should be established.

The main areas and agencies that operators believe need to be addressed in this respect are the Environmental Board, the Agriculture and Food Board, the Health Board, the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA), the Agricultural Registers and Information Board and the use of EU pathways (all implementing agencies).

On the issue of redundant requirements and regulations, the council recommends reviewing and removing the most burdensome requirements, as there is a large body of legislation that, in addition to reporting and monitoring, brings different requirements and guidance to businesses.

According to the council, a major administrative burden arises in areas that require authorization or registration. The main areas and agencies that businesses this relates to are the Environmental Board, the Agriculture and Food Board, the Health Board, Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) and the Rescue Board.

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