Pro Patria sitting on fence in UN Compact matter, not joining EKRE
Minister of Justice Urmas Reinsalu (Pro Patria) refused to say on Thursday whether or not his party will support a motion of no confidence against Minister of Foreign Affairs Sven Mikser (SDE) in the matter of the UN Global Compact on Migration.
The parliamentary group of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) is in the process of collecting signatures for a motion of no confidence against Social Democratic minister Sven Mikser.
Pro Patria: Estonian vote in favour of UN Compact not backed by government
As minister of foreign affairs, Mr Mikser has been responsible for Estonia's stance on the UN Global Compact for Migration. Following a declaration of support adopted by the Riigikogu on 26 November, Estonia's ambassador to the UN voted in favour of the Compact in the UN General Assembly vote this week.
Several Pro Patria members, including Mr Reinsalu and Mr Sibul, have said that this was a "bad vote" on the part of the Estonian ambassador, and are continuing to question the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' current course as it is based only on a parliamentary declaration and not a government mandate.
"All options are on the table," Mr Reinsalu said at a government press conference on Thursday when asked how his party will act if signatures for Mr Mikser's removal are gathered.
EKRE said last weekend that it is prepared to initiate a motion of no confidence against Mr Mikser if Estonia votes in favour of the UN Compact.
Reinsalu: "Poor vote"
"I think that this was a poor vote by the ambassador of the Republic of Estonia," Reinsalu said, but added that he doesn't blame Ambassador to the UN Sven Jürgenson, but the foreign minister, who gave Jürgenson the necessary mandate despite the government not having made a decision to that effect.
"I've expressed my stance and made a proposal to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish a joint work group with the Ministry of Justice that would assess the political and legal consequences of the agreement," Reinsalu said.
"The Ministry of Justice will carry out an additional analysis regarding the agreement. We will definitely consider future actions to ensure that this agreement does not have legal and political consequences for the Republic of Estonia," the minister added.
In order to initiate a motion of no confidence against a minister, altogether 21 signatures in support of it are needed. EKRE has seven seats in the parliament, Pro Patria has 11. EKRE have already said that they "expect" Pro Patria to join.
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Editor: Dario Cavegn