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Estonia · Bill · UA

664

The Law on Amendments to the Defense Service Act and Amendments to Other Acts Related Thereto

avaldatud riigiteatajasEstonia· Riigikogu· ET

Introduced

2 June 2025

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Status

AVALDATUD_RIIGITEATAJAS

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Discovery layer

Source updated

19 November 2025

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Summary

The bill expands the opportunities for participation in the activities of the Defense Forces to include more reservists, conscripts and civilians working in the Defense Forces than before. For this purpose, several laws are being amended, including the Defense Forces Service Act and the Defense Forces Organization Act. The changes are intended to increase flexibility and efficiency in the deployment of personnel without the need to increase the number of active duty personnel in peacetime positions. The bill creates a new type of service - voluntary service - which allows reservists to temporarily participate in the performance of the tasks of the defense forces in a non-commissioned position. This includes, for example, training conscripts as instructors, manning standing readiness units or participating in international military operations (RSOs). According to the bill, conscripts' opportunities to contribute to the tasks of the Defense Forces will be expanded, allowing them to participate after completing certain training in international naval operations. The conscript must give written consent to this. The law is being changed so that in the navy, where conscripts make up a significant part of the crew, it would be possible to get practical experience in NATO mine countermeasure groups, which is very valuable from the point of view of training. The amendment is strictly a necessity of the Navy and the participation of conscripts in other international missions is excluded. Estonia has a third conscripts from the crew of naval ships. For more than 20 years, Estonia has been participating in NATO's permanent mine countermeasures group, where conscripts also get sea and ship internships. However, NATO has decided to join these anti-mine ships in the composition of its rapid response unit, which is why these ships formally participate in an international military operation. Since conscripts cannot participate in military operations according to the current law, a situation has arisen where Conscripts' ship practice remains scarce on the ships of the mine countermeasures group. The bill provides an opportunity for civilians working in the Defense Forces and civil service employees to participate in military exercises and undergo the necessary training. This will help reduce the need for active duty troops in peacetime and allow better use of available resources.

Machine translation from Estonian. The official text remains authoritative.

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34 official files

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