Estonian Parliament Rejects President’s Amendments to the Law on Churches

On August 4, 2025, the Constitutional Committee of the Riigikogu supported the law on churches and parishes in its original form, disregarding the comments of the President of Estonia. This was announced by the chairman of the committee, Ando Kiviberg (Eesti 200), who noted that the majority of members consider the text sufficiently clear and see no grounds for revision, reports Delfi.

Earlier, the President of Estonia expressed concerns that certain formulations of the law might be overly vague and could affect the daily activities of religious communities, not just their external relations. Despite this, the chairman of the Legal Committee, Madis Timpson (Reform Party), stated that he sees no need for changes and intends to propose that the parliament vote on the document again without amendments in September.

Timpson emphasized that the law is not aimed against any particular confession and does not impose restrictions on religious activities. According to him, the purpose of the document is to prevent external influence disguised as freedom of speech and democratic values. If the Riigikogu adopts the law again, the president will either sign it or refer it to the Supreme Court for constitutional review.

Recall that the President of Estonia, Alar Karis, commented on his decision to veto the amendments to the state law “On Churches and Parishes” again, through which the parliament attempted to ban the activities of the Estonian Orthodox Christian Church (in communion with the Moscow Patriarchate). The head of state stressed that he does not accept “labeling” Estonian citizens based on their religious preferences.