Kaja Kallas: I cannot stand just sitting around

Recent news mean we have to start this conversation by talking about Russia. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Russia is prepared to sever ties with the EU if there will be new sanctions. “If you want peace, prepare for war,” Lavrov said. How should one interpret this statement?

Russia is playing a very serious game, while international law needs to be upheld. Looking at Russia’s treatment of the opposition leader, attempts to suppress the opposition, these threats simply mean that there is inability to understand the consequences of their actions and it is hoped the other side will buckle. That is definitely not what should happen.

Should there be additional sanctions?

Navalny’s case must merit a reaction. The message we are sending is very clear. If you want the sanctions lifted, you need to do what you have promised – leave Ukraine and comply with the Minsk agreements.

Let us switch to another EU-related matter. One would guess that your government wants to concentrate on topics with the potential to take Estonia forward, instead of controversial value judgments that cannot take us far. Why seek hate speech legislation?

Section 12 of the Estonian Constitution provides that no one can be discriminated against because they are part of a group and that such hatred should be punishable in criminal procedure. It is provided by the Constitution. We need to separate two things here. No one is seeking to take away the right to speak in anger. It will still be there. The concept of feud speech (as proposed by the government – ed.) concerns explicitly urging violence, a credible threat to public order. Someone telling others to attack a particular minority or group of people. And in cases where those calls are acted on.

Does this mean careless words could also merit a punishment? Even if no action follows?

There will be no law against criticizing people, talking about them in anger or insulting them.

Criminalization of hate speech makes for a very divisive topic. Is the Estonian society ready for this law?

That is what we need to discuss. We could complement the Penal Code with a provision where a crime that follows hate speech is interpreted as an aggravating circumstance. The police should start keeping tabs on such crimes.

No one should have anything against that. If a crime has been committed and if someone has been hurt as a result, we should determine whether the criminal act followed incitement of hatred.

We looked at your first 100 days plan and it says nothing about the implementing provisions of the Registered Partnership Act. What is the problem?

We agreed to try and find a compromise in the parliament. This means that the government will not be coming up with a bill.

Coming to suspicions of corruption against your coalition partner – Mailis Reps’ case was recently reclassified as criminal, at least for the duration of the investigation. Will it have political consequences for the coalition?

Mailis Reps is not part of the government. She needs to see to her affairs and law enforcement needs to take this process to its lawful conclusion.

Are you not headed for Jüri Ratas’ fate who was constantly forced to smooth over coalition partner EKRE’s conduct? Will you be forced to explain and apologize for Center’s corruption scandal?

This comparison with the Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) is not accurate. I believe EKRE went through 27 scandals during their time in the government. They were damaging for Estonia and something Jüri Ratas had to sort out. The scandal at hand is being handled by law enforcement and has nothing to do with how the country is run.

When still in the opposition, the Reform Party found that Estonia’s contract with Freeh Sporkin & Sullivan should be terminated immediately. Jürgen Ligi has referred to him (Louis Freeh – ed.) as the Kremlin’s lawyer. Why didn’t you terminate the contract first things in a situation where the cancellation fee is just €60,000? It is peanuts when compared to national security interests.

We are working on it. [Former] Minister of Finance Martin Helme has created a parallel structure in the finance ministry officials of which didn’t even have access to these documents. That access has been granted now and they are analyzing how we could terminate the contract. It should become clear by early March.

How much have we paid and have we benefited in any way?

We have gained nothing as there is nothing to gain right now. I believe Estonia has paid the lawyer around half a million euros, while I might not have the figure right.

Things are not going well on the coronavirus front. What do you say as PM in a situation where doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine have been stuck in a warehouse for a week instead of the state simply holding a raffle of who gets the shot?

Yes, a highly unfortunate incident. We worked on getting things going all day. We have a vaccination expert committee that convened on February 3 and decided we will not be administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to people over the age of 70 as its effects have not been studied enough. It became clear the vaccine would be used to help other groups.

Was moving teachers forward a conscious strategic decision?

Keeping schools open is crucial. It does not just concern teachers but school staff in general. We have 7,000 doses of vaccine to distribute. It needs to be sent to hospitals, family medicine centers and major schools. We are working on the logistics.

Teachers at Russian schools in Tallinn do not want to get vaccinated. For example, only eight employees of a Tallinn basic school’s total staff of 113 are prepared to be vaccinated. They do not trust the AstraZeneca vaccine. How to convince them?

Indeed, the Russian media is spreading misinformation about the AstraZeneca vaccine. We need a better awareness campaign for teachers to get vaccinated. Hopefully, the fact that the Russian consul decided to be inoculated using the AstraZeneca vaccine instead of Russia’s own Sputnik V is encouraging.

It seemed to have little effect. Where does Estonia stand on the use of Sputnik V?

There is no reason for Estonia to avoid the vaccine if the European Medicines Agency greenlights it.

Lithuania have said that they will not be using the Sputnik V vaccine because Russia will use the money to promote its geopolitical interests.

Russia might use Sputnik V to further political goals. They want to increase their influence beyond their own borders. The same goes for China. However, we will adopt the vaccine should the EMA find it is safe to use. Fending off COVID-19 should not be a political tool. The important thing is to vaccinate people quickly.

Coming now to energy security – could we continue to rely on oil shale power plants such as we have today in case of very cold weather like we are seeing right now?

We are part of the Nordic grid or Nordpool and power goes where it’s cheaper. Oil shale power plants are not able to contribute to the grid most times because it is too expensive. That is why we need alternatives. We have already seriously curbed our oil shale energy generation.

That’s a no then?

It is sensible to invest in alternative energy sources in a situation where we will have to give up oil shale sooner or later.

Next of kind of MS Estonia victims are concerned as recent statements by the head of the new investigation suggest they will be sidelined. Have attitudes changed?

The process needs to be transparent and no one is looking to hide anything. I believe all proposals [by next of kin] will be discussed. I can promise as much.

[Minister of Public Administration] Jaak Aab said during the government press conference on Friday that he is beginning to look like [Minister of Health and Labor] Tanel Kiik because he cannot find the time to visit the hairdresser. How demanding are you as a boss?

I am particular. Once all obstacles have been removed, decisions need to be taken forward. Indeed, I cannot stand just sitting around.

You cannot even go out for milk anymore, not to mention a family picnic, without being surrounded by bodyguards. To what extent have you and your family gotten used to it.

I can move around freely everywhere in Estonia. Our bodyguards are not that restrictive. I also have a very strong husband.