Members of the Cultural Committee were surprised on Monday. Liina Kersna (RE) added a proposal to increase the number of experts in the ERR Council.
The change came as a surprise both to the representative of the Ministry of Culture and to the Social Democrats. Isamaa accuses the coalition of political games.
Kersna explained that the goal is to improve the balance of the council. Currently, there are too many politicians and too few experts. She wants there to be more experts.
The Ministry of Culture has long been ready to amend the law, but the government has not pushed it forward. Therefore, it was decided to change only the composition of the council.
Social Democrat representative Madis Kallas said he was informed of the change only on the morning of the session. However, he supports increasing the number of experts.
Isamaa representative Tõnis Lukas criticized the coalition. According to him, the coalition wants to place its people in the council before the elections. This would give them long-term influence there.
Currently, the ERR Council has six politicians and four experts. Kersna wants there to be seven experts. This would make them more numerous than politicians.
The current experts in the council are Sulev Valner, Paavo Nõgene, Raul Rebane, and Rein Veidemann. Two of them will soon be replaced. The coalition wants to appoint new people in their place.
Lukas asked whether experts are truly selected based on expertise. Kersna replied that so far, good specialists have been chosen for the council.
The decision to amend the law will be made in June. Kersna hopes the bill will pass quickly.