Parlt committee initiates bill of amendments to Bank of Estonia Act

TALLINN – The finance committee of the Estonian parliament decided to initiate a bill of amendments to the Bank of Estonia Act, with which the committee wishes to specify the rules regarding the nomination of members of the central bank's supervisory board.

According to committee chair Aivar Kokk, it is necessary to specify the forming of the composition of the central bank's supervisory board and the terms and conditions for a member of the supervisory board as well as the term of validity of the powers, Riigikogu spokespeople said.

"The bill aims to clarify that all parties of the Riigikogu are represented in the supervisory board in addition to experts of the field," Kokk said.

He explained that the composition of the central bank's supervisory board must reflect reporting requirements before the Riigikogu. Therefore, it is appropriate for the supervisory board to include representatives of all political parties represented in the Riigikogu.

Kokk added that this has been the default agreement thus far as well. The amendments will specify that the parliamentary groups of the Riigikogu shall nominate their representatives and the chairman of the supervisory board of the Bank of Estonia shall nominate the experts of the field.

The bill will specify that members of the supervisory board must have sufficient knowledge and experience to participate in the work of the supervisory board and that a member of the central bank's supervisory board may not be appointed for more than two consecutive terms, the finance committee's deputy chair Maris Lauri said.

The Riigikogu did not approve supervisory board chairman Mart Laar's list of candidates for the central bank's supervisory board in September. 

Laar submitted to the Riigikogu a draft resolution to appoint Enn Eesmaa, Kaie Kerem, Enn Listra, Rein Minka, Ivari Padar, Jaanus Tamkivi and Urmas Varblane as members of the supervisory board of the Bank of Estonia.

Laar was criticized for failing to consult with parliament parties when nominating candidates, even though the law does not require him to. Laar said he wanted a politically independent team.