"The situation is such that the new defense minister cannot take office before the Riigikogu has convened, and the Riigikogu convenes next week. Within the party, different candidates are currently being screened," Vaga said.

"Next week, when the Riigikogu convenes, it should be known," he added.

Vaga said that the first serious discussion on the topic will take place on Wednesday at the party board meeting. "By the end of the week or the beginning of next week, it will be clear who the next defense minister candidate would be," Vaga said.

Search for suitable candidates ongoing

Last week it became clear that Prime Minister Kristen Michal had also spoken with former commander of the defense forces Martin Herem about the defense minister position.

"He has been spoken to, but no official proposal has been made. The screening process is underway, where defense and security policy experts from both inside and outside the party are being considered, in order to restore credibility in the defense field and work to ensure that Estonia is as well protected as possible. Martin Herem is certainly one of Estonia's most reliable defense experts, and I think he would be a very worthy candidate," Vaga commented.

One option is to choose the new defense minister from among the government's existing ministers. However, according to Vaga, they are rather looking for a new person from outside the government. "Everything is possible, but we are not discussing that right now. Rather, we are looking for a new person who would be strong in this field," he said.

Pevkur may not join the defense committee

Riigikogu Reform Party faction leader Õnne Pillak said that Hanno Pevkur, who resigned as defense minister last week, may not join the Riigikogu national defense committee upon returning, but may instead begin working in another committee.

"Considering his previous position — for example, he was justice minister — it could be the constitutional committee or the legal affairs committee. There are different options," Pillak said.

"Yes, his last position was defense minister, but that does not mean he will definitely go to the defense committee because of that. We will discuss these matters next week," Pillak said.

Pevkur said last week that according to the coalition agreement, the chairmanship of the defense committee belongs to Eesti 200.

Defense committee currently without chair

"We will certainly not reopen the coalition agreement because of this change. We'll see. I have not yet discussed this with the faction leadership. But there is time, a wise person does not rush," Pevkur said.

The previous defense committee chair, Kalev Stoicescu, left Eesti 200 at the beginning of August and joined the Parempoolsed party. Therefore, Eesti 200 recalled him from the chairmanship of the defense committee. Toomas Uibo (Eesti 200) moved into the committee as a member instead, but a new chair has not yet been elected.

Hanno Pevkur announced last Wednesday that he is resigning as defense minister. He had served as defense minister since 2022.

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