Parliament committee picks three ERR council experts

Estonia’s parliamentary Culture Committee has selected Merit Kopli, Veronika Kalmus and Marek Tamm as expert members of the Estonian Public Broadcasting Council, ERR reported.

Kopli is a former Postimees journalist and editor-in-chief who worked for 10 years as Estonia’s cultural representative in Germany. Kalmus is a sociology professor at the University of Tartu, while Tamm is a leading professor of cultural history at Tallinn University.

The public competition for three new expert positions received 40 applications, or 14 applicants per position. The candidates included communications experts, cultural-sector managers, journalism executives and academics.

Under a law passed by Estonia’s parliament this summer, the broadcasting council must include more experts than representatives of parliamentary factions. The Culture Committee therefore sought three new experts for the council.

The council currently has four experts: Paavo Nõgene, Raul Rebane, Rein Veidemann and council chairman Sulev Valner. It also has six representatives of parliamentary factions: Vadim Belobrovtsev, Raimond Kaljulaid, Evelin Poolamets, Valdo Randpere, Marek Reinaas and Priit Sibul.

Once the new experts are appointed, the number of experts on the council will rise to seven. The change is intended to strengthen the political independence of the public broadcaster’s highest governing body.

The parliamentary Culture Committee currently includes four coalition lawmakers: Liina Kersna, Signe Kivi and Margit Sutrop from the Reform Party, and Kadri Tali from Estonia 200. The committee’s other members are Madis Kallas of the Social Democratic Party, Tõnis Lukas of Isamaa, Vadim Belobrovtsev of the Centre Party and Moonika Helme of the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia.