Central

Civil protection is highly centralised. The central government is responsible for:

• Ensuring public order and constitutional order;
• Prevention of fires and other accidents, firefighting, and demining;
• Organising crisis management, for example during the COVID-19 crisis of 2020;
• Distributing operational information;
• Guarding the national border and ensuring the border regime;
• Organising citizenship and migration affairs and rescue work;
• Developing and implementing the country's internal security policy;

Planning and implementing support measures of the European Union structural funds and foreign funds aimed at the development of internal security.

Regional

No competencies remain at the regional level. County governments' functions were transferred to ministries or other government bodies (e.g. carrying out risk analysis to be prepared for emergencies).

Local ​

Local authorities are responsible for:

• Organising the supervision of public order and citizen protection;
• Establishing rules in order to ensure public order (municipal council);
• Supporting local volunteer groups and auxiliary fire services;
• Examine and analyse the national crisis management system, including preparedness for emergencies and resolving emergencies while also controlling the functioning of vital (essential) services in local government;
• Analyse and define possible emergencies, and the possibilities of preventing them or minimising their consequences in local government;
• Review the risk analysis of an emergency of a certain region;
• Assist the person responsible for the emergency and obey their orders;
• Assist all local government agencies, which are responsible for responding to emergencies, in terms of communication systems and coordination of emergencies;
• Provide training in crisis prevention, preparedness and response for local government;
• Inform the public about the emergency.

Responsible ministries/bodies

Estonian Rescue Board

Ministry of the Interior

4 Rescue Centres 

Sources

Local Government Organisation Act

Statutes of the Ministry of the Interior (available only in Estonian)

Civil Protection Systems in the Baltic Sea Region: Towards Integration in Civil Protection Training, Christer Pursiainen, Sigrid Hedin and Timo Hellenberg, Aleksanteri Institute, 2005