Estonia reports positive progress after 3 months of Pact implementation

Joosep Kaasik, Deputy Undersecretary for Internal Security at the Ministry of the Interior, stated that Estonia is progressing well with the implementation of the Pact. New legislation has entered into force, new working procedures and guidelines have been established for practitioners, and the necessary procurements, contracts, recruitment and training have been completed with the support of EU funding.

Marina Põldma, Head of the International Protection Group at the Police and Border Guard Board (PBGB), noted that the newly-introduced border procedure represents a new area of work for the PBGB. Its implementation requires sufficient procedural capacity, appropriate premises and infrastructure, interpretation and legal aid, assessment of special needs, and the capacity to act within specific procedural deadlines. She noted that it is still too early to assess the reform’s long-term impact, as the implementation of new systems and cooperation between the relevant authorities require time. Põldma emphasised that adopting the legislation is only one aspect of effective implementation, which also depends on adequate staffing, information systems, infrastructure, training and inter-agency cooperation.