Coalition talks between the Reform Party, Isamaa, and the Social Democrats (SDE) debate issues related to forestry, family allowance, and the transition to all-Estonian education. As the parties have been looking for compromises in order to form a coalition for a long time, the members of the negotiating group are hopeful that a final agreement will be reached in the coming days.
The Riigikogu had voted on 103 of a total of 1,191 amendments to a bill which would raise family support benefits as of Monday night. The amendments are part of a filibuster brought on by the Reform Party, and the Riigikogu sitting ended just before midnight Monday.
The Riigikogu sitting to conduct the second reading of the controversial family benefits bill that started on Wednesday has lasted through the night and is still in progress. The Wednesday sitting will be ended at 10 a.m. with deliberations continuing straight away as the Thursday session.
Isamaa party Secretary General Priit Sibul believes that the Riigikogu will spend the whole of next week on the contentious family benefits bill irrespective of which major coalition partner Isamaa will pick. The party maintains that family benefits must be hiked.
Approximately 2,000 amendments have been submitted to the draft Family Benefits Act by the Reform Party to slow the bill's progress through the Riigikogu. The Center Party has agreed to hold extended sittings to process them.