Estonian Prime Minister J. Ratas has resigned

The text added to the section will not be a referendum on marriage.

If the prime minister resigns, his government will also have to resign.

The Center Party’s board of directors met on Tuesday night to discuss the situation in which the Center Party and five people, including party members, had been found suspect in a criminal investigation into the financing of the Porto Franco project.

Among those people are Mikhail Korb, general secretary of the Center Party, who has also decided to resign, an advisor to Finance Minister Kersti Kracht and businessman Hillar Teder. These people are suspected of bribery and influence peddling.

Addressing journalists, Mr. Ratas thanked him for the opportunity to work for Estonia for four years as Prime Minister, to help improve people’s living standards and strengthen the country’s position on the international stage.

“Politics also have to make very difficult decisions when it comes to difficult situations. The politician must be prepared for that,” said the Prime Minister.

He noted that the decision to resign was made after several hours of consultations with party members.

“This decision, as I said, was made after consultation with the Estonian Party Central Board, members of the party faction and people closest to my post. There is no doubt that there could be other solutions, but only this seems the right correct, “added J. Ratas.

“The accusations made today by the Attorney General’s Office do not mean that anyone is actually at fault, but they inevitably cast a serious shadow over all parties involved. In such a situation (decision), giving the opportunity to shed light on all the circumstances and clarify everything through one’s own resignation seems to be the only right thing to do. In conditions of political and social peace. I am confident that investigating officers will do their job in a professional and impartial manner and establish the final truth, ”said J. Ratas.

He denies knowing the corruption scheme

Rat said he was not aware of Porto Franco’s suspicious financing plans.

“Although I assume political responsibility, I can confidently say that as Prime Minister I have not made any malicious or deliberately bad decisions. Today, I interacted with the Attorney General’s Office and the Internal Security Service, who confirmed that they had no suspicions about me. head of government in the case of Porto Franco, I did not feel that any minister or political party was trying to divert government decisions in the wrong direction, ”said Ratas.

It stated that the decision to lend was made on the basis of an offer from the state fund KredEx and that the terms of the loan were similar, for example, to the terms of the decision of the ferry operator Tallink.

“As president of the Center Party, I can also confirm with all my sincerity that under the leadership of the party I have never taken actions that are detrimental to justice or the sense of justice, and I have not accepted them. Of course, as party president, I must also take responsibility for ensuring that this issue is resolved unequivocally, clearly and fairly, ”added J. Ratas.

As Chief Prosecutor Taavi Pern said at a press conference, it is suspected that businessman Teder and the General Secretary of the Center Party, Corb, agreed last year that Teder would donate up to one million euros to the party before local elections and, in return, its affiliate company Porto. Franco ”will receive 40 million LTL through the fund established by the Ministry of Economy and Communications. EUR credit.

In the third quarter of last year, H. Teder donated 30,000 euros to the Center Party twice: on July 1 and September 9.

The KredEx board discussed granting the loan to Porto Franco in early July and the government approved the loan on September 3.

Police detained four suspects.

On Wednesday morning, Mr. Ratas went to the presidency to meet with Head of State Kersti Kaljulaid. After the resignation of the government, the president must offer the leader of a political force to begin forming another government of the country.

The resigned government will continue in office until a new cabinet is appointed.

Will there be no referendum on marriage?

The government’s resignation could undermine the coalition’s plans to hold a controversial referendum on same-sex marriage this spring.

However, new elections will only be held if no candidate for prime minister wins a majority.

The previous Estonian parliament took place in 2019.

The main opposition party, the Liberal Reform Party, led by former MEP Kaja Kallas, received the most votes in the elections, but failed to agree on a majority coalition.

Instead, the Center Party formed a coalition with the far-right EKRE party against the European Union and the right-wing conservative Isamaa.

The Center Party and the Reform Party have been in power for almost three decades since the restoration of Estonian independence.

They both strongly support Estonia’s membership in the European Union and NATO, which is seen as a kind of protection against Soviet-era host Russia.

These parties supported cost reduction measures to control costs. Estonia’s debt-to-GDP ratio is one of the lowest in the euro area.

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