Unofficial translation

Statutes of the Ministry of Agriculture

Regulation no 264 of the Government of the Republic of July 30, 2004

This regulation shall be enacted on the basis of Subsection 1 of § 42 of the “Government of the Republic Act” (State Gazette I 1995, 94, 1628; 1996, 49, 953; 88, 1560; 1997, 29, 447; 40, 622; 52, 833; 73, 1200; 81, 1361 and 1362; 87, 1468; 1998, 28, 356; 36/37, 552; 40, 614; 107, 1762; 111, 1833; 1999, 10, 155; 16, 271 and 274; 27, 391; 29, 398 and 401; 58, 608; 95, 843 and 845; 2000, 49, 302; 51, 319 and 320; 54, 352; 58, 378; 95, 613; 102, 677; 2001, 7, 16; 53, 305; 59, 358; 94, 578; 100, 646; 102, 677; 2002, 57, 354; 87, 505; 90, 520; 96, 563; 2003, 4, 22; 21, 122; 51, 349; 81, 542; 88, 590; 2004, 22, 148).

Chapter 1

GENERAL PROVISIONS

§ 1. Ministry of Agriculture

(1) The Ministry of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) is a governmental authority, which in its area of government performs functions provided by law and functions assigned to it by the Government of the Republic pursuant to law .

(2) The Ministry shall represent the state in the performance of its functions .

§ 2. Seal and budget

(1) The Ministry shall have a circular seal with a diameter of 50 mm, in the centre of which there is a small national coat of arms. On the upper edge of the circle there is the word “PÕLLUMAJANDUSMINISTEERIUM” [MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE].

(2) The budget and bank accounts of the Ministry shall be within the group account of the State Treasury. The expenses of the Ministry shall be covered from the state budget.

§ 3. Accountability

The Ministry shall be accountable to the Government of the Republic, who directs and coordinates its activities and exercises supervisory control over it pursuant to the procedure provided by law .

§ 4. Location

The Ministry is located in Tallinn. The postal address of the Ministry is Lai Street 39/41, 15056 Tallinn.

Chapter 2

AREAS OF ACTIVITY, OBJECTIVES OF ACTIVITIES AND FUNCTIONS OF THE MINISTRY

§ 5. Areas of activity of the Ministry

The areas of activity of the Ministry of Agriculture are drafting and realisation of national agricultural development plans and effectuation of corresponding measures, regulation of activities related to the processing of agricultural products, agricultural market regulation, the national stockpiles of basic grain seed and food grains, food control and supervision, plant protection, veterinary medicine, animal and plant breeding, land improvement. The Ministry provides agricultural research, education and training, and prepares relevant draft legislation.

§ 6. Objective of the activities of the Ministry

The objective of the activities of the Ministry is to provide conditions for the sustainable and diverse development of Estonian rural development, agriculture, and fishing industry, to ensure safe and proper food and feeding-stuffs, and a good state of animal health and protection and plant health and protection fields through evolvement, implementation and assessment of rural development, agricultural, and fisheries policies and elaboration and implementation of food safety, animal health and protection, and plant health and protection requirements.

§ 7. Principal functions of the Ministry

(1) The principal functions of the Ministry shall be:

1) elaboration of development plans for all the fields of activity within its area of government and coordination of financing, exercising, and evaluation of these plans;

2) participation in the evolvement of development plans related to the fields of activity of the Ministry in collaboration with other Ministries concerned;

3) preparation of draft legislation for the operation of the fields of activity within its area of government, ensuring their compliance with the constitution and the law, and performance of the tasks required by legislation;

4) organisation of international collaboration within its area of government, including participation in the European Union decision-making process and the work of its institutions.

(2) The Ministry shall perform the tasks of Priority 3 “Agriculture, Fishery and Rural Development” of the “National Development Plan of Estonia for the Implementation of the Structural Funds of the European Union – the Single Programming Document 2004-2006” and the tasks of the intermediate body at Measure level as provided by this Priority.

(3) The competence of the governmental authorities within the area of government of the Ministry and the state authorities administered by the Ministry in the performance of duties within the area of government of the Ministry shall be laid down in their statutes.

Chapter 3

DIRECTING THE MINISTRY

§ 8. The Minister of Agriculture

(1) The Ministry shall be directed by the Minister of Agriculture (hereinafter referred to as the Minister).

(2) The Minister shall:

1) direct the Ministry and manage issues within the area of government of the Ministry;

2) be responsible for the implementation of the Constitution, other laws regulating the area of government of the Ministry, the resolutions of the Riigikogu, the decrees and decisions of the President of the Republic, and the regulations and orders of the Government of the Republic;

3) decide issues within the area of government of the Ministry, unless the deciding of these issues is assigned, by law or a regulation of the Government of the Republic, to subordinate administrative agencies or officials;

4) represent the Ministry and authorise other persons to represent the Ministry;

5) represent the state in court as the plaintiff or defendant in civil and criminal matters within the area of government of the Ministry, may grant general and special authorisations for the purposes of representation of the state in court and hold the right to authorise a contractual representative of the state in civil, administrative and criminal proceedings within the area of government of the Ministry;

6) organise within the area of government of the Ministry the collection and communication of information concerning representation of the state in court;

7) appoint the representatives of Estonia to office in the institutions of the European Union, dealing with the fields of the area of government, such as the Community Plant Variety Office and the European Food Safety Authority;

8) make a proposal to the Government of the Republic to appoint and release from office the Secretary General;

9) on the proposal of the Secretary General, appoint to and release from office directors general of the governmental authorities within the area of government of the Ministry, as well as other heads of the state authorities, unless otherwise provided by law , the Deputy Secretary Generals and Heads of the Departments, and award incentives to or impose disciplinary sanctions on them , on the proposal of the Secretary General conclude employment contracts with the director generals of governmental authorities administered by the Ministry, unless otherwise provided by law ;

10) approve the job descriptions of the Deputy Secretary Generals and the Heads of Departments;

11) establish the evaluation requirements for officials of the Ministry in concordance with the corresponding competition and evaluation committee;

12) approve the staff and the statutes of structural units of the Ministry;

13) request for information from the officials of the Ministry and the director generals of the governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry and the heads of the state authorities administered by the Ministry;

14) pursuant to procedure provided by law, exercise supervisory control over the legality and purposefulness of the activities of the structural units of the Ministry, governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry and their officials and the state authorities administered by the Ministry, and, where necessary, delegate the task of organising supervisory control over the activities of the officials of the Ministry to the Secretary General of the Ministry;

15) specify the extent and procedure of supervisory control exercised over the director generals of the governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry;

16) decide on the establishment of state authorities administered by the Ministry, approve their statutes, specify their structure, administration and work organisation, unless these are provided by a legislation with a higher authority than the regulation of the Minister;

17) approve the statutes, structure and the staff of the governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry;

18) make proposals to the Government of the Republic concerning the draft annual budget of the Ministry, and where necessary, concerning the draft supplementary budget, decide on the use of the budget funds, and supervise over the exact and purposeful implementation of the budget and the purposeful use of the resources, aid, grants allocated by the European Union and other foreign aid within its area of government;

19) on the basis of the «State Budget Act» (State Gazette I 1999, 55, 584; 2002, 67, 405; 2003, 13, 69; 24, 148; 88, 588; 2004, 22, 148) approve the budgets of the governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry and the state authorities administered by the Ministry, monitor their implementation and, where necessary, issue precepts for the use of the budget resources;

20) make decisions on issues related to the state assets administered by the Ministry;

21) be responsible for the preservation and prudent use of the state assets and manage it in accordance with the «State Assets Act» (State Gazette I 1995, 22, 327; 1996, 36, 738; 40, 773; 48, 942; 81, 1446; 1997, 45, 724; 1998, 30, 409; 1999, 10, 155; 16, 271; 2000, 39, 239; 49, 306; 51, 319; 2001, 7, 17; 93, 565; 2002, 53, 336; 64, 393; 2003, 13, 69; 2004, 24, 166);

22) decide on acquisition of property necessary for the performance of the tasks of the Ministry or ordering the services by organising a public procurement tendering procedure, and authorise the Secretary General to perform activities related to the tendering procedure, where necessary ;

23) settle legal disputes in the cases prescribed by law;

24) make proposals to the Government of the Republic in order to decide on the issues related to the area of government of the Ministry in the prescribed manner;

25) report to the Government of the Republic on the activities of the ministry;

26) ensure the implementation of the internal audit system and the organisation of the internal audit in the Ministry and in the governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry and in the state authorities administered by the Ministry, and direct the Internal Audit Department of the Ministry through the Head of the Department;

27) on the proposal of the Secretary General of the Ministry, approve the rules of administration and internal procedure rules of the Ministry and establish the procedure for the use of the public seal of the Ministry ;

28) conclude contracts or authorise the Secretary General or other persons to do so, where necessary ;

29) perform other functions assigned to him or her by law , a regulation or order of the government of the Government of the Republic or an order of the Prime Minister.

(3) The Minister shall issue regulations and directives and oral and written service-related orders on the basis of law for the organisation of the activities of the governmental authorities that are under the direction of the Ministry in the area of government of the Ministry and the state authorities administered by the Ministry.

(4) The Minister shall be substituted pursuant to the procedure provided by the «Government of the Republic Act».

§ 9. Assistant Minister

(1) The staff of the Ministry may include an Assistant Minister who directs, within the limits of his or her authority granted by the Minister, the structural units, which engage in the development of policies and administers the issues within the area of government of the Ministry and performs other duties assigned to him or her by the Minister.

(2) Upon the absence of the Assistant Minister, the Minister shall substitute for the Assistant Minister.

§ 10. Secretary General

(1) The Secretary General shall direct the work of the structural units of the Ministry, except that of the Internal Audit Department, coordinate the activities of the governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry and the state authorities administered by the Ministry, and organise the operations of the Ministry.

(2) The Secretary General shall:

1) direct directly the work of the Deputy Secretary Generals and, through the Heads of the Departments, the work of the Public Relations Department, Financial Department and Legal Department, as well as the work of the official organising of the protection of state secrets in questions concerning the protection of the state secrets and the work of the Advisers to the Ministry directly subordinate to the Secretary General, monitor and analyse the quality of their work and report to the Minister on their actions;

2) coordinate the activities of the governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry and the state authorities administered by the Ministry and make proposals to the Minister on their administration and work organisation;

3) ensure the provision of organisational and economic conditions necessary for the activities of the Ministry;

4) prepare the draft annual budget of the Ministry and, where necessary, proposals concerning a supplementary budget;

5) control the budget funds within the limits of the budget approved by the Minister, and be responsible for the accurate and purposeful implementation of the budget;

6) countersign a regulation of the Minister and the documents submitted to the Government of the Republic and other documents in cases and pursuant to the procedure provided by legislation ;

7) appoint to and release from office the officials who are on the staff of the Ministry, except those who are appointed to and released from office by the Minister;

8) conclude and terminate the employment contracts of the support staff of the Ministry;

9) approve pursuant to the statutes of Departments and the proposals of the Heads of Departments the job descriptions of officials appointed to office by the Secretary General and, where necessary, the job descriptions of the support staff;

10) exercise supervisory control over the activities of the officials of the Ministry, being assigned by the Minister;

11) promote officials appointed to office by the Secretary General , award incentives to and impose disciplinary sanctions on them on the basis of and pursuant to law;

12) be the chairman of the competition and evaluation committee of the officials of the Ministry or appoint another person as the chairman ;

13) enquire the Deputy Secretary Generals, heads of structural units and governmental authorities within the area of government of the Ministry and state authorities administered by the Ministry about their activities and make proposals to the Minister for promoting of, awarding incentives to and imposing disciplinary sanctions on Deputy Secretary Generals, heads of the structural units and state authorities administered by the Ministry;

14) hold the public seal of the Ministry;

15) manage the use of the state assets under administration of the Ministry within the scope of authority received from the Minister and make proposals to the Minister concerning the use of state assets ;

16) conduct public procurements within the limits of his or her authority granted by the Minister ;

17) organise the development of the statutes of the structural units of the Ministry, governmental authorities within the area of government of the Ministry and state authorities administered by the Ministry, of the rules of internal procedure and administration, and submit these for approval to the Minister ;

18) conclude contracts on behalf of the Ministry and represent the Ministry in connection with the performance of his or her duties or within the limits of his or her authority granted by the Minister or authorise the officials of the Ministry to represent the Ministry within the limits of his or her competence ;

19) perform other functions assigned to him or her by law, a regulation or order of the Government of the Republic, or duties assigned to him or her by the Minister or the Assistant Minister.

(3) The Secretary General shall issue directives for the co-ordination and administration of the activities of the governmental authorities within the area of government of the Ministry and state authorities administered by the Ministry, for the appointment to and release from service of the staff of the Ministry, direction and co-ordination of the work of the structural units and organisation of the operations of the Ministry within the scope of competence provided by law and the Statute of the Ministry, unless provided by a legal act with a higher authority than the directive of the Secretary General.

(4) In directing the work of the Deputy Secretary Generals and the structural units of the Ministry and co-ordinating and organising the operations of governmental authorities within the area of government of the Ministry and state authorities administered by the Ministry, the Secretary General shall issue oral or written service-related orders to Deputy Secretary Generals and heads of structural units and directors general of governmental authorities within the area of government of the Ministry and heads of state authorities administered by the Ministry .

(5) Upon the absence of the Secretary General, the Minister shall, by his or her directive, assign those functions to one of the Deputy Secretary Generals.

§ 11. Deputy Secretary General

(1) The staff of the Ministry includes Deputy Secretary General for Rural Development and Fisheries Policy, Deputy Secretary General for Agricultural and Trade Policies, Deputy Secretary General for Food Safety, and Deputy Secretary General for Foreign Relations and Development.

(2) The Deputy Secretary General shall:

1) direct the work of the departments subordinate to him or her through the Heads of Departments. The Deputy Secretary General for Rural Development and Fisheries Policy shall direct the work of the Rural Development Department and the Fishery Economics Department through the Heads of the Departments, the Deputy Secretary General for Agricultural and Trade Policies shall direct the work of the Agricultural Market Regulation Department and the Trade and Agro-Food Department through the Heads of the Departments, the Deputy Secretary General for Food Safety shall direct the work of the Food and Veterinary Department and the Plant Health Department through the Heads of the Departments, the Deputy Secretary General for Foreign Relations and Development shall direct the work of the European Union and Foreign Affairs Department, the Research and Development Department and the Administrative Department through the Heads of the Departments;

2) co-ordinate the development and implementation of the development plans and other strategic documents of the directed area in accordance with other development plans and strategic documents connected with this area;

3) co-ordinate through the directors general of governmental authorities the work of the governmental authorities of the areas directed and through the heads of the state authorities administered by the Ministry the work of other state authorities;

4) organise the development of the drafts of the acts and the regulations of the Government of the Republic and the regulations of the Minister for the government of the directed area , as well as the pronouncement on the drafts sent for the approval to the Ministry;

5) organise in the directed area the development, approval and submittal for decision-making of draft statements submitted to the Government of the Republic for participating in the European Union decision-making process;

6) make proposals to the Secretary General concerning the draft annual budget of the Ministry and, where necessary, concerning the preparation of the draft supplementary budget and the use of budget funds ;

7) represent the Ministry within the limits of his or her authority granted by the Minister or the Secretary General or authorise the officials of the Ministry to represent the Ministry within the limits of his or her authority ;

8) sign the letters dealing with the activities of the Ministry in the directed area, by which no monetary or other obligations shall be taken on by the Ministry or rights granted or duties imposed on persons outside the Ministry, unless otherwise prescribed by legal acts ;

9) make proposals for promoting of, awarding incentives to and imposing disciplinary sanctions on the Heads of Departments subordinate to him or her ;

10) monitor and analyse the quality of work of the departments subordinate to him or her and report to the Secretary General and the Minster on their activities ;

11) perform other functions assigned to him or her by the law or a regulation or order of the Government of the Republic or by the Minister, the Assistant Minister or the Secretary General.

(3) Upon the absence of the Deputy Secretary General , the Minister shall assign its functions to another Deputy Secretary General by his or her directive.

(4) In the performance of its functions , the Deputy Secretary General shall issue oral and written service-related orders to the Heads of the Departments directly subordinate to him or her and the director generals of the governmental authorities in the area of government of the Ministry and the heads of the state authorities administered by the Ministry.

§ 12. Head of Department

(1) The Head of Department shall

1) direct the work of the department and ensure lawful, accurate and timely performance of functions assigned to the department ;

2) execute service-related orders given to him or her or report on the obstacles preventing their execution;

3) provide instructions and orders to the public servants of the Department;

4) monitor the performance of the duties of the public servants of the Department;

5) sign or superscribe documents prepared in the department in accordance with the statutes of the department and the rules of administration of the Ministry ;

6) represent the department in the performance of its functions and give information, opinions and approvals on behalf of the department with regard to issues within the competence of the department ;

7) make proposals to the Deputy Secretary General or the Secretary General on changing the organisational structure, staff or administration of the Department, determining the salaries or grants to or imposing disciplinary sanctions on the public servants and awarding incentives to them ;

8) apply for the work equipment necessary for the performance of the tasks of the Department;

9) apply for in-service training for the public servants of the Department the better performance of the tasks of the Department;

10) may make proposals to the Minister and the Secretary General for the formation of committees, councils and working groups in order to solve the issues related to the duties of the Department;

11) sign the informative letters dealing with the activities of the Department, by which no monetary or other obligations shall be taken on by the Ministry or rights granted or duties imposed on persons outside the Ministry, unless otherwise prescribed by legal acts ;

12) perform other functions assigned to him or her by the statutes of the department and duties assigned to him or her by the Minister, Assistant Minister, Secretary General or Deputy Secretary General .

(2) The specific duties of the Head of Department shall be specified by the statutes of the department .

§ 13. Advisers

(1) The structure of a ministry shall include A dvisers to the Minister and Advisers to the Ministry who are outside the structural units.

(2) The Advisers to the Minister shall be directly subordinate to the Minister, who shall appoint them to and release them from office

(3) The Advisers to the Ministry shall be directly subordinate to the Secretary General, who shall appoint them to and release them from office .

(4) The functions and subordination of the Adviser to the Minister and the Adviser to the Ministry shall be specified by the job description of the Adviser approved by the Minister or the Secretary General.

Chapter 4

STRUCTURE OF THE MINISTRY AND THE MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE STRUCTURAL UNITS

§ 14. Department and its main functions

(1) A Department is a structural unit of the Ministry that has no authority of executive power with respect to persons outside the Ministry, unless otherwise provided by law.

(2) The departments of the Ministry and their main functions shall be the following:

1) The main function of the Internal Audit Department shall be to perform internal audits within the Ministry and its area of government for the purpose of giving an independent opinion on the legality, purposefulness, economy, efficiency and efficacy of their activities and the operation of the internal audit system, coordinate the internal audit related activities of the Ministry and its area of government, and make proposals for the improvement of internal audit systems ;

2) The main function of the Rural Development Department shall be to devise and implement rural development policy with the objective of increasing the competitiveness of the rural economic activities, and develop the human environment ;

3) The main function of the Fishery Economics Department shall be to devise and implement the fisheries policy with the purpose of developing fishing industry and increasing its competitiveness ;

4) The main function of the Trade and Agro-Food Department shall be to devise and implement the trade policy of agricultural products with the aim of developing the market and increasing the competitiveness of the agricultural products processing industry ;

5) The main function of the Agricultural Market Regulation Department shall be to devise and implement agricultural policy with the intention of increasing the competitiveness of agriculture, raising its orientation to the market, in order to ensure the sustainability of agricultural production ;

6) The main function of the Plant Health Department shall be to set out the directions of development for the fields of plant protection, plant health, plant variety protection, seed and plant propagating material, organic farming, the use of fertilizers and the production of feeding-stuffs; elaborate the relevant development plans and state measures, and organise their implementation with the goal of guaranteeing safe and proper crop production, feeding-stuffs, and human environment ;

7) The main function of the Food and Veterinary Department shall be to work out the directions of development for the fields of food safety, animal health and protection and farm animals breeding; elaborate the relevant development plans and state measures, and organise their implementation with the purpose of providing safe and proper food and human environment ;

8) The main function of the Research and Development Department shall be to devise state research and development programmes within the field of activity of the Ministry and to organise their implementation, design, and put into practice measures for the development of the advisory system, and participate in the national agricultural research and development activities and in the evolvement of agricultural education policy ;

9) The main function of the European Union and Foreign Affairs Department shall be to organise and coordinate the activities of the Ministry and its area of government in the European Union decision-making process and while participating in international cooperation, and to coordinate the preparation of foreign aid projects and supervise their implementation ;

10) The main function of the Administrative Department shall be to organise and coordinate the administration of the Ministry and its area of government, administration and accounting of public property administered by the Ministry, public procurements, personnel work and training activities, management and development of information technology, general crisis management, obtainment and preservation of emergency stocks, organise activities related to the protection of state secrets, and administer the archives ;

11) The main function of the Public Relations Department shall be to inform the public about the activities of the Ministry, manage relations and information activities between the Ministry and the public, and coordinate such activities within the area of government of the Ministry ;

12) The main function of the Financial Department shall be to organise and coordinate budgeting and accounting and to prepare the financial reporting of the Ministry and its area of government ;

13) The main function of the Legal Services Department shall be to coordinate the legislative drafting of the Ministry, participate in the preparation of draft legislation, ensure that the drafts correlate with each other and comply with the constitution and the law , organise the legislative proceeding of draft legislation and their submission to the Government of the Republic, approve of the drafts submitted to the Ministry for approval, represent the Ministry in judicial bodies, and advise the Ministry in legal matters .

§ 15. Structure and competence of the Departments

(1) The structure and competence of a Department of a ministry shall be specified in the statutes of the Department approved by the Minister .

(2) A Department may include bureaux i n accordance with the statutes of the Department, the functions and competence of which shall be specified in the statutes of the Department. A Department may include p ublic servants who do not belong to any Bureau and are directly subordinate to the Head of the Department, the functions of whom shall be specified in the statutes of the Department and their job descriptions.

(3) The rights and duties of the Head of the Bureau included in the Department shall be specified in the statutes of the Department.

Chapter 5

COMMITTEES, COUNCILS AND WORKING GROUPS OF THE MINISTRY

§ 16. Committees, councils and working groups

(1) The Minister may form within the area of government of his or her Ministry advisory standing or ad hoc committees, councils and working groups (hereinafter committee) to achieve the objectives of the Ministry.

(2) The Secretary General may form ad hoc committees to co-ordinate the work of the structural units of the Ministry and the state authorities within the area of government of the Ministry.

(3) The committees shall be formed by a directive of the Minister or Secretary General which shall specify the functions, chairman and members, terms for the performance of functions, serving structural unit and the procedure of the committee

(4) The structural unit servicing the committee shall ensure the operation of the committee and that minutes shall be taken of the meetings of the committee.

(5) A public servant of another governmental authority may be appointed as the member of the Committee on the proposal of the head of the governmental authority concerned. Persons outside the state public service may be involved in the work of the committee with their consent.

§ 17. Other committees and councils

(1) The provisions of § 16 shall extend to other committees and councils formed pursuant to law, unless otherwise provided by law or legal acts enacted on its basis.

(2) The structural unit responsible for organising the operations of the government committees being served by the Ministry shall be appointed by the Minister.

Chapter 6

SYMBOLS OF THE MINISTRY

§ 18. Symbols of the Ministry

(1) The Ministry shall have blank document forms bearing its name, on which a small national coat of arms is used as a design and security feature. A structural unit of the Ministry may have a seal bearing its name, if it is prescribed by the statutes of the Department.

(2) Documents printed on the letterhead of the Ministry shall bear the signature of the Minister, the Assistant Minister, the Secretary General or the Deputy Secretary General pursuant to the operations procedure of the Ministry. The Deputy Secretary Generals shall sign a document printed on the letterhead of the Ministry pursuant to procedure prescribed in subsection 2 (8) of § 11 of the statutes.

(3) The Department of the Ministry shall have its own letterhead, if it is prescribed by the statutes of the Department. The Head of the Department of the Ministry shall sign a document printed on the letterhead of the Department pursuant to procedure prescribed in subsection 1 (11) of § 12 of the statutes.

(4) The Ministry shall have its own emblem, which may be used on the letterhead or blank document form of the Ministry and on other publications or souvenirs of the Ministry.

(5) In the work of the committee functioning within the Ministry, the blank document form of the Ministry shall be used, whereas the name of the committee shall be added to the name of the Ministry.

(6) The Ministry shall use the national coat of arms pursuant to the National Coat of Arms Act (State Gazette I 2001, 65, 376; 2002, 34, 206; 63, 387).

(7) The Ministry shall use the national flag in accordance with the National Flag Act (State Gazette I 1993, 17, 273).

Chapter 7

IMPLEMENTING PROVISIONS

§ 19. Declaration of invalidity of Regulation

Regulation no 85 of the Government of the Republic of March 17, 2000 “Statutes of the Ministry of Agriculture” (State Gazette I 2000, 22, 128; 68, 436; 91, 588; 2001, 36, 210; 69, 418; 2002, 105, 627) shall be declared invalid.

§ 20. Entry into force of Regulation

The regulation shall enter into force on September 15, 2004.

Juhan Parts Ester Tuiksoo Heiki Loot

Prime Minister Minister of Agriculture State Secretary