Interior minister: Legislation guided by need to ensure Estonia's security

TALLINN - While Estonian President Alar Karis on Thursday decided to not promulgate amendments to the Churches and Congregations Act, adopted by a large majority in the Riigikogu on April 9, then Minister of the Interior Igor Taro noted that the legislation has been based on the need to ensure Estonia's security.

"The president has the right not to promulgate the law. Due to the failure to promulgate the law, it will be sent back to the Riigikogu's legal affairs committee, where amendment proposals will be considered. Then a vote will be held in the Riigikogu plenary, where a decision will be made to either adopt the amendments or adopt the law unchanged," Taro said.

"I will take a closer look at the reasons for not promulgating it in cooperation with the government and parliamentary committees and we will consider the next steps," the minister said.

According to him, the president's decision on Thursday does not change the Interior Ministry's position that organizations operating on the territory of the Republic of Estonia cannot and must not be led from countries hostile to Estonia.

“The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as the Riigikogu, have recognized the Moscow Patriarchate as an institution supporting the military aggression of the Russian Federation. At the same time, the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (formerly the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate) and the Pühtitsa Convent are still directly subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate, thereby being hostages to the Kremlin’s influence," the minister said.

"It is of paramount importance for the Estonian state to ensure security and constitutional order and to ensure peace and security for the people living here. The work of the Interior Ministry will continue in the future for this purpose. We are working to ensure freedom of religion -- believers in Estonia must be able to practice their faith without hostile influences," Taro added.

The aim of the law was to clarify the existing regulation, based on the bottlenecks that emerged in previous practice, the diversification of religious associations, and the risks to security that accompany the radicalization or political instrumentalization of religion.