Security doctrine, supplementary budget, and a drone law: Riigikogu's packed week

The Riigikogu debated Estonia's new national security doctrine and a 2026 supplementary budget, while also advancing a sweeping crisis-management law and drone-policing rules.

It was one of the busiest plenary weeks of the spring session, with 43 agenda items spanning national security, fiscal policy, social welfare, and a raft of regulatory reforms. Here are the main threads.

National security doctrine

The most politically significant item of the week was the Riigikogu resolution approving the new Eesti julgeolekupoliitika alused — Estonia's foundational national security policy document. The resolution (908 OE I) was on the agenda on both Tuesday and Wednesday, suggesting extended deliberation. The agenda does not record a final vote count, so it is not possible to confirm from this data alone whether the document was formally adopted during the week, but its prominence across two sitting days signals its priority status.

Complementing that discussion, a bill amending the Defence Forces Organisation Act specifically on lahinguvalve — combat guard duties (907 SE I) — was also tabled, alongside a broader Defence Forces Organisation Act amendment package (898 SE I). Together, these bills indicate a sustained legislative push to align Estonia's defence structures with its updated security posture.

Crisis management and drones

The Kriisiolukorra ja riigikaitse seadus (668 SE II), the long-in-development crisis situations and national defence law, was on the Wednesday agenda with one recorded vote. This bill has been through multiple readings and, if passed, would restructure how Estonia coordinates civilian and military responses to crises. The vote recorded suggests it reached a decisive procedural stage, though the outcome is not confirmed by the agenda data alone.

Also on Wednesday, the law-enforcement framework for unmanned vehicles — the so-called drone surveillance and countermeasures bill (902 SE I) — was introduced. The bill would clarify which agencies hold responsibility for monitoring and neutralising drones, a question that has grown more urgent given security concerns along Estonia's eastern border.

Supplementary budget and cost-of-living pressures

The 2026 supplementary budget bill (910 SE I) was on the Monday agenda with one recorded vote, marking an early reading of what will be a closely watched fiscal document. Monday's session also featured a thematic oral question hour focused on price rises and household coping (hinnatõusude leevendamine ja inimeste toimetulek), reflecting the broader cost-of-living debate that has shadowed budget discussions all spring.

The social insurance tax amendment package (860 SE III), which also had a recorded vote on Wednesday, is directly tied to social funding questions and has been through multiple readings — another indicator that it was approaching a final decision.

Energy and war-damage compensation

Thursday brought three Riigikogu resolutions requiring an absolute majority (koosseisu häälteenamus), all with recorded votes. One called on the government to accelerate the construction of new electricity generation capacity in Estonia (847 OE I). A second asked the government to develop a scheme for compensating Estonian citizens and residents for property losses caused by the Russia–Ukraine war (863 OE I). A third proposed measures to ease the impact of motor fuel price rises (874 OE I). All three required a majority of the full membership to pass, making the recorded votes especially meaningful — though the exact tallies are not available from this agenda data.

Other notable bills

Wednesday's marathon session also covered a planning-law amendment to create an expressway permit track for strategic investments (906 SE I), a cybersecurity law update (897 SE I), a criminal-law amendment package with two recorded votes (773 SE II), and the transposition of the EU anti-SLAPP directive into civil procedure law (865 SE II). A bill on international protection for foreign nationals (831 SE III) — requiring an absolute majority — was voted on Monday.

What's next

Several bills introduced this week in their first reading — including the drone-policing law, the strategic-investment planning track, and the Defence Forces combat-guard amendments — are likely to move to committee before returning to plenary for further readings in the coming weeks.