The highlight of the past week was a conference aimed at securing funding from the European Commission for major cities, including those in Estonia, to develop civil defence.
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Monday morning began, as is now traditional, with ‘10 Minutes with Yana Toom’ on Radio Maximum. The topic was inspired by current events: five EU countries, seeking funds to mitigate the impending economic crisis, have proposed introducing a tax on the excess profits of energy companies.
This was followed by a meeting with senior pupils at Haabersti Gymnasium in Tallinn. The conversation mainly centred on a related topic – not war, but social policy. The nine most active pupils received an invitation to Brussels.
Immediately after the gymnasium, I gave a lengthy interview to Vilja Kijsler on Delfi, then held a meeting of the Tallinn branch of my office.
On Tuesday, there was another meeting at a school, this time at Tallinn’s 21st Secondary School, where the senior pupils were so enthusiastic that ten more received invitations to Brussels. On the same day, I flew to Brussels and continued preparing for Wednesday’s conference on the way.
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The conference ‘Cities on the Frontline’ was organised by my European political party, Renew Europe, to bring together representatives of major cities from different EU countries and exchange experiences on strengthening civil defence.
The conference has also yielded a purely practical outcome. The fact is that, for some reason, the new EU budget does not allocate funds for major cities. Yet it is precisely these cities that are the first to find themselves in the line of fire – symbolically, if we are talking about pandemics such as COVID-19, and literally, if we are talking about terrorist attacks and military aggression – and are obliged to do everything possible to protect their residents to the utmost. In Estonia, incidentally, the development of civil defence is also the responsibility of local authorities. The problem is that there is often nowhere to get the money for this.
My colleagues and I are convinced that, in times of crisis, Brussels has a duty to help Europe’s cities. There were around 160 registered participants at the conference, of whom thirty represented various cities. Representatives from Vilnius and Helsinki spoke about civil defence. (I really like the Finns’ practical, business-like approach to all such matters – this attitude really helps to maintain composure and coherence. The concrete outcomes were the official position of the Committee on Regional Affairs (REGI) and that of Hadja Lahbib, the European Commissioner responsible for equality. The documents have been forwarded to the European Commission, and it is obliged to listen to us. Local authorities must receive funds directly from the European budget – and must not be dependent on the whims of national governments.
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Furthermore, on Wednesday at a meeting of the informal group of coordinators of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL), we discussed the so-called ‘28th regime’. There are currently 27 countries in the EU, each operating under its own regime, whilst the ‘28th regime’ (common to all countries) is a term used in Euroslang to refer to legal acts which do not replace the relevant laws of specific countries, but offer them an alternative. Among the directives proposed by the European Commission are some that fall within the remit of the EMPL Committee; however, the European Parliament has decided that we have no right to make any amendments. We naturally want to have a say, and we are discussing how to achieve this. Strangely enough, we also have to fight for our rights within the European Parliament. Once again, the outcome was an official document, which has already been sent to the European Parliament’s leadership.
On Thursday, I worked on documents and replied to letters (on days when replies are required, there are several dozen). On Friday, I wrote the ‘Brussels Diary’, focusing on the specific measures other European countries are taking to help their people cope with rising fuel prices, and I also met with a group of teachers from Estonia who were visiting Brussels.