2023-05-17 08:05:03
Today, the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu discussed a collective petition expressing the desire to provide Russian citizens who own real estate here, as an exception, with the opportunity to apply for a visa and visit Estonia in order to maintain real estate in proper condition. The Commission concluded that the creation of conditions for the lifting of restrictions depends on the Russian Federation.
According to Igor Taro, Chairman of the Constitutional Commission, the authors of such an appeal should receive a clear explanation from the Estonian legislature why this situation has developed and where to look for a solution to it. “The right to own real estate in the Republic of Estonia for Russian citizens is not written into our Constitution,” he said. “If the situation described in the appeal – the property is not being properly maintained or there are numerous debts accumulating on it – starts to cause problems for the people of Estonia, we should consider ways to solve it, based on the interests of the people living in the Republic of Estonia.”
According to the decision made by the commission, the lifting of restrictions and sanctions primarily depends on the activities of the Russian Federation. For this reason, the authors of the collective appeal should appeal to the authorities of the Russian Federation and demand that Russia stop the war and begin to comply with international law. “It is necessary to increase internal pressure on the Russian regime, which unleashed this war. It is impossible to look indifferently at the inhuman acts that Russia is committing on the territory of Ukraine,” the commission noted in its decision on a collective appeal.
Initiated by Anton Peterson and collecting 1,133 signatures, the collective appeal “To allow property owners to apply for a visa and visit the Estonian state in order to maintain their property in proper condition (pay utility bills, carry out repairs, etc.)” was accepted by the Riigikogu on 21 Martha. The appeal contained a request to reconsider the situation that had developed due to the government’s order of September 2022: the right of all Russian citizens with a short-stay Schengen visa to visit Estonia was temporarily suspended, which is why Russian citizens who own real estate in Estonia cannot maintain it in proper condition.
The Riigikogu Rules and Procedures Act gives the committee the right to initiate a draft law or debate on an issue of national importance when conducting proceedings on an appeal; organize an open meeting; refer the proposal to the competent institution or government, reject the proposal, or otherwise resolve the issue. Today, the constitutional commission decided to resolve the problem posed in the collective appeal in a different way.
The post The Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu rejected the appeal of Russian citizens first appeared on gazeta.ee.
#Constitutional #Committee #Riigikogu #rejected #appeal #Russian #citizens