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Friday, 26.04.2024, 15:22
Estonia to compensate aid given to ship guards held in India
"I am glad that the government supported my proposal to exempt these
people from the repayment obligation, in accordance with the Consular
Act," Foreign Minister Sven Mikser
said at the press conference after the meeting of the government.
The government approved a draft order filed by the finance minister to
allocate 122,565.34 euros to the Foreign Ministry from the government's
contingency reserve to cover the financial aid related expenses incurred in
relation to the consular case pertaining to the freeing of the ship guards in
India.
The Estonian citizens were given unsecured financial aid for covering their
accommodation and living costs during their freedom on bail and also after the
court decision made on Nov. 27, 2017, which satisfied their appeal. Aid was
given also to pay the men's medical bills, Mikser said.
After the men were freed, Foreign Minister Sven Mikser on Dec. 6 said that
he is about to make a proposal to refrain from reclaiming from the Estonian
ship guards the money that the government spent to aid them during the more
than four years that they had to spend in India.
According to a regulation adopted by the foreign minister on the basis
of the Consular Act in 2009, the decision to abandon reclaiming financial aid
granted by the ministry to people in distress abroad is legally within the
jurisdiction of the foreign minister.