The media advisor of the Ministry of Culture, Andres Jõesaar, said that the government was supposed to discuss the ERR law on Monday. But now it has disappeared from the agenda. Jõesaar said: "I had information that it should be there today, but it turns out it's not."
Jõesaar said that neither the State Chancellery nor the government informed the Ministry of Culture about what happened. On Friday, the ministry knew that the draft would be discussed on Monday. Jõesaar added that all documents have been submitted.
The communication advisor of the State Chancellery, Jevgenia Värä, said that the ERR law did not receive approval. It needed additional work. Hopefully, the draft will be discussed again on Thursday. The Ministry of Culture will provide more detailed information.
Jõesaar said that the Ministry of Culture does not know that the draft needs additional work. On Friday, minor clarifications were made to the draft. At that time, it was known that it would be discussed on Monday. Now Jõesaar hopes that the ministry will be contacted and clarified what is expected of them.
This is not the first time that the ERR law has not been discussed. Previously, agenda items have dragged on for too long, and there has been no time for the draft.
Jõesaar has said that funding and platform neutrality are important for the ERR law. He said: "The funding model and platform neutrality were in the initial task – TV channel, radio station, and web."
The draft includes a four-year funding model for ERR. This ensures stability and allows for longer-term planning. Jõesaar said that there are also smaller technical-administrative matters. Fixed-term employment contracts for senior employees are also important.
If the government approves the draft, it may go to the parliament. The current Public Broadcasting Act was developed in 2005-2006 and has been in force since 2007, when ERR was established.