Government to set up global Estonianness cooperation committee

TALLINN – The Estonian Ministry of Education and Research has prepared a government order bill for the establishment of a global cooperation committee for Estonianness, public broadcaster ERR reports.

The bill will establish a new committee alongside the Government Office that will be led by the minister of education and research. The committee will also include the minister of entrepreneurship and IT, the minister of justice, the minister of culture, the minister of economic affairs and infrastructure, the minister of the interior and the minister of foreign affairs. In addition, those to participate in the work of the committee are a representative of the council of the Compatriots' Program and representatives of organizations of Estonians living abroad.

The task of the committee will be to shape the stances of compatriots' policy in issues within the jurisdiction of the government, analyze and assess the current situation of the state's compatriots' policy, assess the necessity of principles for the compatriots' policy and, if needed, coordinate the development of those policy principles.

In addition, the bill will task the committee with the coordination of the activity of institutions of executive power in realizing the compatriots' policy and the fulfilling of other tasks given by the government.

In order to fulfill its tasks, the committee will have the right to issue tasks to institutions of executive power and receive from them documents and information, set up expert bodies for developing proposals for the compatriots' policy, initiate the compilation of analyses and submit inquiries and receive from government and local government institutions documents and data necessary for the work of the committee.