The Prime Minister confirmed the ministerial substitutions and areas of jurisdiction, and the government discussed its organisation of work

Stenbock House, 2 May 2019 - At the opening session of the new government coalition, Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop gave an overview of the organization of work of the government, discussing how the minister's work as a member of the government, relations with the Riigikogu, and participation in the decision-making process of the European Union have been organized.

During the discussion of the organization of work, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas stressed that the principle of work of the incoming government is collegiality and decisions are made only by consensus.

The Prime Minister also confirmed the procedure for the substitution of ministers. The first substitute for Prime Minister Jüri Ratas is the Minister of the Interior Mart Helme and the second substitute is the Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu. The order of substitutes is determined according to the size of the Riigikogu faction of the party making up the government.

The Prime Minister also decided the minsters’ jurisdiction in managing the ministry and the ministers’ areas of responsibility. Compared to the past, in addition to the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Population will also manage their area of responsibility within the Ministry of the Interior. There is also a change in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, where in addition to the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, the Minister of Foreign Trade and Information Technology will manage their area of responsibility. The Ministry of Social Affairs, which was previously headed by the Minister of Health and Labour and the Minister of Social Security will now be headed by the Minister of Social Affairs.

The official titles of other ministers have not changed.