Skip to main menu 17.04.24 OPINION ... Declaring the Moscow Patriarchate an organization that supports terror does not amount to limiting anyone's religious freedom and rather works to reinforce it, Tanel Kiik writes.
17.04.24 OPINION ... The case of Konstantin Vassiljev is just one piece of a larger puzzle. It is not fair to lay the burden of integration squarely on his shoulders. The problems are much bigger and concern a lot more people than a single footballer, Raul Rebane writes.
17.04.24 OPINION ... Former diplomat Harri Tiido takes a look at emigration from Russia, writing that Russian emigrants have opened Russian private schools, kindergartens and cafes alongside other parallel structures in their new countries.
16.04.24 OPINION ... Politics as a zero-sum game where one only has friends or enemies makes for a dangerous strategy, and restoring social cohesion becomes increasingly difficult, Külli Taro says in Vikerraadio's daily comment.
15.04.24 OPINION ... Both the EU and NATO must expand. It is not just about what we'll be giving, but also what we'll get in return. Next to security, Europe's global competitiveness, resource availability and innovation are at stake, Minister of Foreign Affairs and head of Eesti 200 Margus Tsahkna said in a speech delivered at the party's congress.
12.04.24 OPINION ... The stark difference in the quality of education provided by pedagogues who have been teaching in Estonian from the first and those forced to learn the language overnight is already evident. Learning a language and using it to teach others are not the same thing, Aleksei Jevgrafov writes.
12.04.24 OPINION ... While Estonia is not exactly a back marker when it comes to making use of artificial intelligence or AI, we have fallen behind the leaders. Mistrust in AI still has a lot to do with organizations' level of ambition, management efficiency and failure to involve employees, Martin Rajasalu writes.
12.04.24 OPINION ... Lowering the voting age to 16 at all elections in Estonia would boost a habit among young people for taking part in those societal affairs they have a stake in, plus provide them with the freedom to formulate their own opinions, writes Reform Party MP Hanah Lahe.
12.04.24 OPINION ... Long and strenuous coalition talks in Tallinn have reached yet another impasse: what to order for dinner? Time is of the essence, ideologies clash, and the threat of Baron Mihhail, who has taken refuge in the bastion tunnels of Kiek in de Kök, taking back the throne remains.
09.04.24 OPINION ... Merging hospitals in Tallinn, as it is being planned by the capital's incoming coalition, would go beyond a formality and constitute instead a fundamental decision potential damage and risks associated with which should give every Tallinn taxpayer pause, Monika Haukanõmm writes.
09.04.24 OPINION ... Data leaks require maximally open communication to give the owners of the wayward information know exactly which details were leaked and what may be the associated risks, Aivar Hundimägi writes.
09.04.24 OPINION ... As learning is a lifelong occupation, and perhaps the most worthwhile, the more tools, resources and focus any society places on creating a positive and accessible study environment, the better for everyone, Paul Emmet writes.
08.04.24 OPINION ... The situation in Europe and the world has once again raised the question of Europe's ability to defend itself. It will also be a key issue for the European Parliament. It is our role and task to convince the EU as a whole to boost its defense spending and contribute to its defense industry, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said in a speech given at the Reform Party's general assembly.
06.04.24 OPINION ... In Estonian politics, the principle of steadfastness is increasingly diminishing, and is being replaced by behind the scenes political jockeying, writes Center Party leader Mihhail Kõlvart. Only two opposition parties remain on the Estonian political scene: The Center Party and the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE).
04.04.24 OPINION ... The biggest challenge for Europe's politicians is to convince voters that European elections matter at all. The post-election picture is going to be a varied and complex one, writes Clyde Kull.
03.04.24 OPINION ... The coup in Tallinn hinges on convincing at least a few more Centrists to defect. This hope, as spread by the Reform Party and Isamaa, was the real reason why the Social Democrats gave up their coalition with the Center Party – fear of finding themselves in the opposition with Center instead.
02.04.24 OPINION ... I believe it is high time for Estonia to stop treating the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate as a state within a state the activities of which are merely monitored from a distance and its leaders individually called to order from time to time, Archbishop Urmas Viilma writes.
01.04.24 OPINION ... Even when we recognize all the dangers of migration, the need for openness in the interests of economic development remains. The right policy sees the pros of controlled migration outweigh the risks. Therefore, we need to look for compromise, Ilmar Raag writes.
29.03.24 OPINION ... Today marks the 95th anniversary of Estonia's legendary President Lennart Meri's (1929-2006) birth. To mark the occasion, ERR News is republishing the speech he gave 30 years ago in Hamburg which caused the then St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor Vladimir Putin to storm out in anger.
27.03.24 OPINION ... The alcohol advertising revenue of a few companies and the effect increased alcohol consumption has on economic growth pale in comparison to the damage done by addiction, sickness and premature deaths in society, Health Minister Riina Sikkut (SDE) writes.
25.03.24 OPINION ... On the 75th anniversary of the 1949 deportations, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas Reform) said Estonians need to keep reminding the world about their history because this evil lives on in Russia.
25.03.24 OPINION ... March 25, is a tragic and significant day for both Estonians and Belarusians. The date marks the first bid for Belarusian independence in 1918, and the deportation of 20,000 Estonians in 1941. Russian aggression against Ukraine and the actions of the tyrannical regime in Minsk are brutal throwbacks to the past and we are committed to fighting the forces of evil until we prevail, write Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the democratic forces, and Margus Tsahkna, minister of foreign affairs of Estonia.
25.03.24 OPINION ... It is not by chance that the social sciences seem to flourish in the conditions of democracy. The field, in its own particular way, supports democratic core values and what it means to be a citizen, Tõnis Saarts finds in Vikerraadio's daily comment.
24.03.24 OPINION ... I believe that the car tax will motivate people to buy smaller vehicles, rideshare, drive less and help make our cities a little more environmentally friendly, Karsten Staehr writes.
24.03.24 OPINION ... Instead of improving Estonia's fiscal position by dialing back the sprawling state apparatus and ending the practice of pouring money into concrete, the government has gone with cutting child benefits and hiking taxes, both of which will deliver a blow to large families.
22.03.24 OPINION ... In a situation where Health Minister Riina Sikkut decides to trust incompetent and biased advisers over the economy minister, Estonian businesses and the people in their choices, why should citizens trust their state, Joel Volkov asks.
21.03.24 OPINION ... It is unacceptable to tolerate irresponsible governance, which instead must be challenged, former prosecutor general and chair of the Parempoolsed party Lavly Perling writes.
20.03.24 OPINION ... This week, the Riigikogu is set to make a significant cultural policy decision by adopting amendments to the Cultural Endowment Act which will have repercussions for decades to come, Minister of Culture Heidy Purga (Reform) writes.
19.03.24 OPINION ... In many ways, we are again living in "a time of hesitation", Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said at the Friedrich August von Hayek Conference in Berlin on Tuesday. Winning the fight for freedom requires a clear vision and strong resolve and more than 50 years later Hayek's ideas still hold value, she said.
19.03.24 OPINION ... A tendency towards moral procrastination seems to have emerged in the course of the now fading-away dispute which affect the Ministry of Justice, both in the apparent intervention by Minister Kalle Laanet in some criminal cases, and in the controversy over a rental apartment which sparked his resignation on Saturday, Meelis Oidsalu noted in Vikerraadio's daily commentary Monday.
17.03.24 OPINION ... Talking about the sphere of information and media use of people in Estonia, it would be a big mistake to generalize and suggest that the Estonian-speaking part of the population is this way and the Russian-speaking that way, Kristiina Saks writes.
17.03.24 OPINION ... We should not turn our backs on offshore wind solely on account of economic considerations, Marko Mägi writes.
15.03.24 OPINION ... Estonia has certainly not done enough to prevent people from over-borrowing, from granting "quick" funds to those who cannot afford to repay them, and ensuring that the costs associated with taking out a loan do not exceed that loan amount, writes Social Democratic Party (SDE) MP Eduard Odinets.
14.03.24 OPINION ... Unfortunately, recent years have shown that it is difficult to run a country based solely on wishful thinking rooted in ideological tenets, and outdated economic policy dogmas are rather saddling Estonia with Europe's highest inflation combined with its steepest recession, Raul Parts writes.
14.03.24 OPINION ... The saying that no one is irreplaceable is perhaps true in major corporations and cities. The smaller the place, business or nonprofit, the more it depends on the people running it, Hans Väre finds in Vikerraadio's daily comment.
13.03.24 OPINION ... Sweden's flag was raised at NATO headquarters at noon on Monday, March 11, 2024, ceremonially marking one of the most surprising outcomes of Russia's war in Ukraine, defense and security experts Tony Lawrence, Tomas Jermalavičius and Jan Hyllander write in a piece first published on the website of think tank the International Center for Defense and Security (ICDS).
13.03.24 OPINION ... In the latest installment of the Vikerraadio series "Harri Tiido taustajutud" broadcast this week, the focus was on Ukrainian identity. Tiido says it seems to him that the discussion of Ukrainian identity in Russia as a dangerous, reprehensible thing to be condemned, began in 2014, Tiido noted in his opinion piece which follows.
13.03.24 OPINION ... In the long term, the negative impact of an electricity grid created via the support of subsidies and benefits is that controllable and high-efficiency production capacities remain either not built, or when built, their construction is significantly more costly, writes former environment minister Rain Epler (EKRE).
13.03.24 OPINION ... The e-Residency program has generated €213 million for the Estonian state over the past decade, according to a nationally approved impact assessment model, which follows the same methodology used by the National Audit Office in its 2020 audit of the program, writes Liina Vahtras in response to the article "Estonian E-Residency success metrics impossible to verify."
11.03.24 OPINION ... We have long been preparing the switch to teaching in Estonian to offer all children the chance to obtain a quality education in Estonian, create equal opportunities on the labor market and boost social cohesion. It is one of the most ambitious goals in education of the past few decades, Ingar Dubolazov writes.
11.03.24 OPINION ... We need to get used to the idea that wars are won by those willing to contribute to modern solutions and those fastest to adapt, Marko Kaseleht writes.
10.03.24 OPINION ... If we do nothing, the rest of Estonia will fall even further behind Tallinn and the golden ring of municipalities surrounding the capital, which would in turn encourage emigration, Reili Rand writes.
10.03.24 OPINION ... Politicians have decided to boost the relative importance of renewable energy from 10 percent to 100 percent, while hitting the target will prove consistently expensive for consumers. Onshore wind should be preferred when looking for a power portfolio that is compatible with consumer price tolerance.
08.03.24 OPINION ... This year, women are not going to be paid equally to men until the eve of International Women's Day for the work they did last year. The gender pay gap in Estonia stands at 17.7 percent, which means that women have to work 45 days more in a year to earn the same pay for the same work, writes Lee Maripuu.
08.03.24 OPINION ... The aim of the Western financial system should not be to serve authoritarian kleptocrats. The question is not whether Russia should pay, but how to make Russia pay, writes Anders Åslund, a leading specialist on the East European economies. The Riigikogu Constitutional Committee convened a public meeting with foreign experts on March 7 to discuss uses of Russia's frozen assets to pay Ukraine for war damage.
07.03.24 OPINION ... Should the Riigikogu fail to strip citizens of aggressor states of their right to vote in local elections, there is a real possibility of pro-Estonian local politicians becoming the clear minority in Ida-Viru County cities, Erik Gamzejev writes.
06.03.24 OPINION ... Harri Tiido talks about the increasingly important role of history in how the Russian state operates. In the Kremlin's historical narrative, the current and consequent wars are justified using a fabricated past.
05.03.24 OPINION ... Words matter, but deeds matter even more, International Center for Defense and Security Research Fellow Tomas Jermalavicius writes about French President Emmanuel Macron's comments about sending troops to Ukraine.
29.02.24 OPINION ... Allow me to make a relatively confident prognosis for the post-crisis Estonian economy. We are headed into a decade of bumpy generational shifts, Erik Sakkov writes.
28.02.24 OPINION ... Of course, there are people among Russian citizens who pose a threat to Estonia's security, but there are also such people among Estonian citizens. Depriving Russian and Belarusian citizens of their right to vote is a bad idea, despite its political appeal, writes Jevgeni Ossinovski.