‘Estonian people and companies urgently need additional support to recover from the damage of the COVID-19 crisis,’ Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said. ‘The recovery instrument of the European Union provides important support for this, and the speed with which we emerge from the crisis depends directly on the introduction of the recovery instrument. We cannot waste time here. This is why blocking the work of the Riigikogu by submitting 766 meaningless amendments is especially painful for Estonian society. Aid must reach our people and businesses quickly, and that is why the Government has decided to intervene and link the approval of EU recovery instrument to its matter of confidence.’
The recovery instrument, which offers nearly a billion euros to Estonia, has two major goals: supporting the sectors most affected by COVID-19 and improving future resilience, in particular for the green and digital transformation.
The 17.7 million euros from the recovery instrument will be provided to support the tourism sector, which has been hit hard by the crisis, and 28 million euros for product development and overall development of the companies.
For the recovery instrument, the most important investments are related to the green and digital transformation, to which more than 600 million euros are planned to be directed.
Among other things, the Ministry of Finance proposes to use 24 million euros to ensure the last mile Internet access, 73 million euros for the digital revolution of companies, and 206 million euros for the introduction of innovative green technologies.
The financing plan approved on the proposal of the Minister of Finance also includes the construction of the Ülemiste joint terminal, which is part of Rail Baltic, and 26 million euros to support the construction of the Tallinn Old Port tram line.
The amount of the funding Estonia is about to receive will become clear at the end of June 2022, when the European Commission will calculate the exact amount of funding for all Member States based on the latest gross domestic product (GDP) data.