Estonia National Platform

History

Following the adoption of the Sendai Framework, the Ministry of the Interior in Estonia established its national focal point within the Department of Rescue and Crisis Management Policy. 

At the end of the very same year, the Government of Estonia passed a decision to form a task force for civil protection, which consisted of two levels: the steering group and the expert group. The national platform itself was established in January 2020. 

The civil protection task force included the following institutions and organizations: 

• Government Office
• Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Defence; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications; Ministry of Education and Research; Ministry of Social Affairs; Ministry of Rural Affairs; Ministry of Climate; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Ministry of Finance
• Estonian Rescue Board
• Police and Border Guard Board
• Estonian Internal Security Service
• Estonian Emergency Response Centre
• Headquarters of the Estonian Defence Forces
• Estonian Defence League
• Environmental Board
• Estonian Academy of Security Sciences
• Estonian Tax and Customs Board
• Health Board
• Association of Estonian Cities and Municipalities 

The work of the task force was coordinated by the Government Office and the Ministry of the Interior. The aim was to increase public awareness and preparedness for potential crises, to improve the public's ability to cope with such situations and the preparedness of the population for such situations, and to ensure the protection of the population through the cooperation of various institutions. In order to achieve this, the emphasis was placed on the necessity of agreeing on a comprehensive approach to civil protection as well as on the roles and responsibilities of different parties in civil protection in any national crises, which could include civil crises (such as natural disasters, catastrophes), terrorist activity or a military conflict. 

At the government level, Estonia has developed an internal security strategy (in Estonian, also known as STAK), which lays the groundwork for internal security policy in Estonia.

Structure

Estonia uses a three-level crisis committee system as a national platform:

1. Government Crisis Committee (held at least four times per year): Coordinates the performance of the crisis management duties of authorities of executive power, where necessary imposes on them duties for preventing and preparing for emergencies as well as monitors the performance of duties imposed.

2. Regional Crisis Committee (held at least four times per year): Coordinates, in the region, the performance of crisis management duties of regional structural units of authorities of executive power and local authorities and forms a permanent or ad hoc territorial or field subcommittee, if necessary.

3. Local authority crisis committee: Coordinates crisis management within the local authority and submits to the regional crisis management committee annual summaries of the activities of the local crisis management committee and the workplan for the following year.

All crisis committees work in close cooperation. All policy documents, recommendations and guidelines will be sent to the regional and local level. In addition, as a bottom-up approach, the local level sends relevant information to the regional and government level. 

The Ministry of the Interior also organizes risk communication network meetings and coordination meetings for vital service providers. Both groups meet regularly and provide relevant bottom-up information to the crisis committees. The Ministry of the Interior is also a service unit of the Government crisis committee. This means that two-way information (policy documents, recommendations, guidelines, etc.) moves quickly between the government/regional/local level and stakeholders. 

The platform supports, among other things, the implementation of the goals of the Sendai Framework in Estonia.

Mandate

Main areas of activity: 

• Preparing for emergencies
• Emergency response
• Vital service continuity
• Risk communication

Budget

Measures indicated in national risk assessments (such as capacity gaps) include estimated costs, and the relevant ministry decides which of the proposals need to be applied. However, additional applications from the State budget have to be lodged in larger cases. If the amount is smaller, the financing usually comes from the authority's budget. State reserve is used only in cases of emergencies.