President Lennart Meri received the new Board of the Riigikogu consisting of Toomas Savi, Tunne Kelam, and Peeter Kreitzberg in the presidential palace of Kadriorg today, congratulated them upon their election to the Board and reminded them that it is the task of the Board of the Riigikogu to improve the parliamentary culture of Estonia.

President Meri asked Toomas Savi, the Chairman of the Riigikogu, to see the harmonious acting of the coalition and the opposition in the Riigikogu as his duty. President Meri pointed out that so far, dangerously little had been done in the Riigikogu to that effect. Tunne Kelam, Deputy Chairman of the Riigikogu, agreed that the squabble between political parties in basic matters of the life of the state undermined the Estonian citizens’ sense of security and certainty about the future. The President also expressed his negative attitude towards the privatisation of railways in general and denounced the solution of the passenger traffic problem on railways, which restricts the passengers' transport opportunities and will raise the prices of travelling by rail to a prohibitive level, especially for citizens of more modest means.

On the meeting, the President expressed his regret that the proceedings of the Law of Obligations Act in the Riigikogu have become the symbol of the Parliament's delayed work. The Board of the Riigikogu assured the Head of State that the Law of Obligations Act would be passed before the summer holiday of the Riigikogu.

On the meeting, it was unanimously pointed out that the lack of equal opportunities in society is one of Estonia's major problems. The members of the Board of the Riigikogu emphasised that it is the duty of the Riigikogu to pass laws that develop Estonia as a whole and have no preferences towards any interest groups.


Press Service of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, March 14, 2001

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