Skip to main menu 19.04.24 NEWS ... Leaders of the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian parliaments stressed the importance of supporting Ukraine in a joint statement to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, saying U.S. aid is "indispensable".
19.04.24 NEWS ... Reform and the Social Democrats (SDE) are both forecast to pick up two mandates at the European Parliament elections in June, a new poll by Kantar Emor and commissioned by ERR shows.
19.04.24 NEWS ... No one should be required to indicate how they voted during the course of a secret ballot, head of the Chancellor of Justice's office Olari Koppel said Thursday.
19.04.24 NEWS ... Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise deems it objectionable when ballots are filled out according to a predetermined pattern or with different colored pencils, as it violates the principle of secret voting.
19.04.24 NEWS ... Support for coalition party the Social Democrats (SDE) and opposition party Isamaa have both fallen recently, according to one survey.
19.04.24 NEWS ... Eesti 200 has announced its two Tallinn district elder (Vanavallem) candidates.
19.04.24 NEWS ... The newly-installed Tallinn City Government is investigating the circumstances of how a former councilor and current municipal mayor was hired by a city foundation, suspecting it may have been a case of providing a sinecure.
18.04.24 NEWS ... The opposition in the Riigikogu is not satisfied that the coalition MPs ended the possibility of taking breaks on Wednesday, and therefore the night sitting was cancelled. The coalition is of the opinion that whether and how long to take breaks will be decided anew for each bill.
18.04.24 NEWS ... Discussions about developing nuclear energy in Estonia started in the Riigikogu on Thursday where members are looking at how, and if they should, proceed. A decision is expected by the middle of June.
18.04.24 NEWS ... In an interview with ERR on Thursday, Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) chair Martin Helme confirmed that if he earns a mandate in the European Parliament elections taking place this June, then he will serve as MEP. He would not resign as party chair, however, maintaining that an MEP has both more time and more money for political work than an MP.
18.04.24 NEWS ... The control action initiated by former Justice Minister Kalle Laanet into the Prosecutor's Office led by Prosecutor General Andres Parmas did not find any violations, and the ministry will not initiate any disciplinary proceedings. The document summary only presents a few mildly worded recommendations for improving the work of the Prosecutor's Office.
18.04.24 NEWS ... On Thursday, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) submitted its list of candidates for the European Parliament elections in June.
18.04.24 NEWS ... The April results of the regular Turu-uuringute AS party ratings poll saw the ruling Reform Party overtake national conservative EKRE for second place.
18.04.24 NEWS ... A motion of no confidence in Mayor of Tallinn Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) was submitted by city council opposition parties Center and EKRE on Thursday over alleged rule-breaking at Sunday's (April 14) election.
18.04.24 NEWS ... Center representatives handed over the party's candidate list for the upcoming European Parliament election this week.
18.04.24 NEWS ... Representatives of Riigikogu parties debated the state of the Estonian economy on the "Esimene stuudio" on Wednesday but did not reach any agreement on how to make improvements
18.04.24 NEWS ... The Ministry of Climate says it has abandoned a long-planned points system on traffic violations and instead wants to focus on the most serious violations and offenders.
18.04.24 NEWS ... Five of the seven seats being voted on at June's European Parliament elections in Estonia have been in effect allocated to current MEPs, meaning the real electoral battle is now for the last two seats, according to a recent poll.
18.04.24 NEWS ... If it turns out that the marking of ballots at last Sunday's vote at Tallinn City Council which resulted in Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) becoming mayor did indeed make it possible to determine how individuals voted, this would undoubtedly constitute a violation of the principle of secret ballots, constitutional expert Liia Hänni said Wednesday.
18.04.24 NEWS ... For the first time, coalition parties broke a filibuster in the Riigikogu by limiting the opposition's ability to take breaks before voting on amendments.
18.04.24 NEWS ... The Reform Party has changed its original distribution plan on leadership positions given to its party in Tallinn, following the entry into office of the coalition involving that party, the Social Democrats (SDE), Isamaa and Eesti 200.
17.04.24 NEWS ... This year's Riigikogu Open House Day on Saturday (April 20) will focus on cultural diversity. The Estonian parliament celebrates its 105th anniversary this year.
17.04.24 NEWS ... The Social Democratic Party's (SDE) Riigikogu faction has elected Priit Lomp as its new chair, replacing Jevgeni Ossinovski, who last Sunday was elected Mayor of Tallinn.
17.04.24 NEWS ... Center Party chairman and former Mayor of Tallinn Mihhail Kõlvart on Wednesday said several rules were broken during the Tallinn mayoral elections and the vote should be annulled.
17.04.24 NEWS ... The Center Party suspects that during Sunday's Tallinn City Council session, which saw the appointment of a new mayor and city government, the four parties of the ruling coalition used marking ballots during the voting to ascertain how each member voted. This would constitute a violation of the secrecy of the vote.
17.04.24 NEWS ... A proposed economic revitalization plan from Minister of Economic Affairs and Information Technology Tiit Riisalo (Eesti 200) has not even been discussed at cabinet level, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said Tuesday.
17.04.24 NEWS ... The Supreme Court's Grand Chamber on Tuesday discussed whether the responsibilities imposed on local governments by national legislation are a task for those municipalities, or rather for the state.
17.04.24 NEWS ... The past week has not brought major change to party ratings, fresh results of NGO Institute for Societal Studies and Nortstat Estonia's regular poll reveal.
17.04.24 NEWS ... Numbers count more than ideals, Center Party chair and former Tallinn Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart said Tuesday, commenting on the slim majority the new city government has at the Tallinn City Council.
17.04.24 NEWS ... The opposition Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) says it is preparing for a late-night Riigikogu session on Wednesday, to oppose amendments to electoral law, specifically e-voting, which EKRE has long been skeptical of.
17.04.24 NEWS ... The Social Democrats (SDE) prospective new Minister for Regional and Rural Affairs, Piret Hartman, said that if entering office, she would consider reducing regional inequality a priority, as this is the issue that initially brought her into politics.
16.04.24 NEWS ... Former Minister of Culture Piret Hartman has been put forward as the candidate to replace regional affairs minister Madis Kallas, who resigned on Tuesday morning, by the Social Democratic Party (SDE).
16.04.24 NEWS ... Money promised for raising teachers' wages has not been allocated to municipalities as the legislation is still stuck in the Riigikogu. Local governments, including Tallinn, have not paid educators their additional money.
16.04.24 NEWS ... EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell on Tuesday nominated Estonian diplomats Aivo Orav and Toivo Klaar as the next EU ambassadors to Kosovo and Uzbekistan, respectively.
16.04.24 NEWS ... Prime Minister of the Principality of Andorra Xavier Espot Zamora visited Estonia on Tuesday to discuss bilateral relations. He is the first Andorran prime minister to officially visit Tallinn.
16.04.24 NEWS ... In an interview with ERR regarding his resignation Tuesday, Minister of Regional Affairs Madis Kallas (SDE) said on one hand that he said he very much enjoyed his work and hadn't grown tired. On the other, however, the time had come for him to leave, and he acknowledged that the job demanded a great deal of energy as well as time at the expense of being with family.
16.04.24 NEWS ... The supervision report started by former justice minister Kalle Laanet (Reform) on the prosecutor's office is complete, though it is not yet known when its findings will be made public.
16.04.24 NEWS ... Social Democratic Party (SDE) Chair Lauri Läänemets said the reason for the resignation of Minister of Regional and Rural Affairs Madis Kallas (SDE) was a desire to spend more time with his family.
16.04.24 NEWS ... Isamaa has presented its list of nine candidates who will be contesting the June 9 European elections in Estonia.
16.04.24 NEWS ... On Tuesday morning, the Reform Party submitted its list of candidates for this June's European Parliament elections to the electoral commission for registration.
16.04.24 NEWS ... Tallinn City Secretary Priit Lello has signed an order awarding bonuses to advisors to the previous city government's deputy mayors.
16.04.24 NEWS ... The Prosecutor's Office wants Estonia's former Minister of Education Mailis Reps handed a conditional prison sentence of one year for fraud and embezzlement.
16.04.24 NEWS ... Madis Kallas (SDE) announced on Tuesday he is stepping down as Minister of Regional Affairs after exactly a year in office.
16.04.24 NEWS ... A former Tallinn district elder issued a final bonus to her second-in-command in the dying hours of the Center Party being in office in the capital.
15.04.24 NEWS ... Tallinn's newspapers Pealinn and Stolitsa and the editorial staff of its TV programs will stop working by May 31, the new city government agreed on Monday.
15.04.24 NEWS ... Former Mayor of Tallinn Mihhail Kõlvart (Center) said the agreement drawn up by the new city government is empty, and only includes ideas initiated by the previous coalition.
14.04.24 NEWS ... The coalition Eesti 200 held an elections congress on Sunday, where the party unveiled its candidate list and election campaign platform for the upcoming European Parliament elections this June.
14.04.24 NEWS ... After four parties greenlit a new coalition agreement this weekend, Tallinn City Council convened for an extraordinary sitting Sunday to elect a new mayor and appoint the Estonian capital's new city government. Following two failed rounds of voting, sole candidate Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) was elected the next mayor of Tallinn with 41 votes.
14.04.24 NEWS ... MEP Riho Terras (Isamaa/EPP) says that a draft EU priority list leaked to the media last week gives reason to hope that the European Commission will ditch the planned economy-like green transition and will instead prioritize the EU's security and economic interests.
13.04.24 NEWS ... Three of the four parties involved in Tallinn coalition talks have revealed their candidates for positions within the new government in the capital.