ESTONIA AMENDS LAW ON ALIENS TO CONFORM WITH

UNCLAS TALLINN 000411

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA AMENDS LAW ON ALIENS TO CONFORM WITH
EU LONG-TERM RESIDENT DIRECTIVE



1. (U) Summary: The Estonian Parliament adopted an
amendment to the Estonian Aliens Law on April 19, 2006.
The updated law widens non-citizen residents? freedom of
movement and employment in other EU countries, and has
generated strong interest among Estonia's 135,000 mostly
Russian-speaking "stateless" residents. The amendment
harmonizes Estonian legislation with the EU directive on
the status of third-country nationals who are long-term
residents, which entered into force in January. Our
interlocutors predict the measure may reduce the
incentive for Estonia's remaining stateless residents to
take steps necessary to naturalize. End summary.


2. (U) The EU directive (2003/109/EC) that deals with
the status of non-EU country nationals living in EU
member states has received growing attention in Estonia
since late 2005, in particular from the mostly Russian-
speaking 135,000 "stateless" residents. Under the
directive, which took effect on January 23, 2006,
nationals of third countries who acquire long-term
resident status in a member state enjoy rights similar
to EU citizens, including the right of residence in
other member states (subject to existing limitations)
for work and study.


3. (U) A draft law amending the Aliens Law passed a
first reading in the Estonian Parliament in February,
and a final reading on April 19. The law allows both
permanent and temporary non-citizen residents to apply
for the EU long-term residency status provided they (a)
have lived in Estonia for 5 years prior to the
application; (b) have stable and legal income; (c) have
medical insurance. Current holders of permanent
residence permits who meet the above conditions will
automatically receive long-term residency status. The
new status makes long-term EU residents equal to
Estonian citizens except for the right to vote in
parliamentary elections and to occupy a number of senior
state positions.


4. (U) The second reading of the draft law in parliament
motivated discussion on numerous questions related to
the status of persons that currently have temporary
residency permits in Estonia, many of whom are Soviet
military pensioners. The EU directive does not set
limitations on military pensioners; thus they can apply
for long-term residency status unless found to be
"endangering the Estonian statehood."


5. (U) The directive allows each member state to
establish integration requirements -- such as language
proficiency -- as a condition for receiving long-term
resident status. Estonia has decided not to impose
Estonian language requirements for applicants until June
1, 2007. After that time the GOE intends to test
applicants for a basic knowledge of the language,
including understanding of everyday topics, ability to
fill in forms, etc. The language requirement will not
be imposed on: persons under 15 or over 65; persons that
received basic, secondary, or higher education in the
Estonian language; people with certain disabilities and
those unable to take the language exam for reasons
related to health problems.


6. (SBU) Comment: Transposition of the EU directive
into Estonian law is a double-edged sword. On the one
hand leaders of even the more strident Russian language-
based parties tell us the measure makes the matter of
Estonia's remaining 135,000 "stateless" residents a much
less urgent issue. The leader of the newly-elected
chairman of the Constitutional Party has dropped
citizenship from his party's top three priorities. On
the other hand, Integration Foundation and other GOE
officials tell us they are concerned that the measure
removes an important incentive for non-citizens to learn
Estonian and take the citizenship test, steps they
believe important to pushing forward with integration in
its fullest meaning.
WOS