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The Estonian Government approved on 11 December the site agreement between Estonia and eu-LISA and mandated the Minister of the Interior Hanno Pevkur to sign it on behalf of the Estonian side.
The agreement, consisting of 25 articles outlining the rights and obligations of both signatories, stipulates that the headquarters of the Agency will be built in Tallinn and defines a number of rights of Agency employees, in line with other agreements signed between established EU Agencies and their host states.
Under the terms of the agreement, Estonia has undertaken to build a head office with space for 100 employees for the Agency. The building will be available for eu-LISA to use free of charge and the office should be ready by December 2017. The Estonian budget strategy 2014-2017 has assigned euro 8,4 million for this purpose.
The Agreement also defines the status and rights of the employees of the Agency. Thus, for example, the principle of privileges and immunities will apply to the staff in the execution of their duties in a similar manner to staff working in diplomatic representations and in compliance with international practices. Additionally, the staff of the Agency and members of their household are not subjected to immigration restriction to Estonia.
The agreement needs to be ratified also by the Management Board of eu-LISA.
