Isamaa's lead negotiator, Riina Solman, told ERR the free papers, Pealinn and its Russian-language equivalent, Stolitsa, will be discontinued. District newspapers will remain in circulation, though these will be stripped of political propaganda.

Solman told ERR: "District [free] newspapers will continue, because people need to be informed about municipal services."

"Older residents like to read the newspaper; they don't all use the internet. And when they want to visit concert venues or other events, a district paper is a good source of information," she continued.

Tallinn is subdivided into eight administrative districts.

"We've decided to remove the political propaganda aspects, such as politicians cutting opening ribbons at monuments, or sandpits," Solman went on.

The negotiating parties have also decided to close down City of Tallinn TV broadcasts, though the dates for this and the Pealinn/Stolitsa shutdown have not been determined yet.

Pealinn currently employs seven staff, Stolitsa nine, and the TV studio 10 people.

Isamaa is in talks with the Social Democrats (SDE), Eesti 200 and the Reform Party, to form the next city government. Former Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart (Center) narrowly lost a motion of no confidence a week ago.

The development not only triggered the exit from office of the Center-SDE coalition which had been in place since late 2021, but also spelled the end of nearly 20 years of the Center Party being the governing party in Tallinn.

Isamaa Disapproves of the Location for Tallinn Hospital

As reported by ERR News, the City of Tallinn is terminating a design contract for the planned Tallinn hospital.

Solman said that Isamaa does not favor the project's planned location, at the western edge of Lasnamäe, close to the Song Festival Grounds.

She said: "There has been much controversy over the location choice. If the hospital complex had been built on Peterburi mnt, where there is a lot of open space and good access to the regions, Isamaa would have supported the project."

A significant amount of money has already been spent on the design phase, Solman said, even as the contract, with two Italian firms, has been terminated.

A decision now needs to be made on how to proceed, she added, noting that budgetary factors are likely to lead to its cancellation.

"We need to increase teacher salaries, and there are issues that must be resolved, so maybe moving forward with the hospital is not the best idea."

"While I understand it's a major setback for those promoting the hospital network, we need to face up to reality," Solman continued.

"We need to put in place the city's financial goals, and it's not sensible to start multiple projects at once if we can't complete these," Solman added, noting that many city construction projects have been planned and budgeted for, but then haven't been completed, or have stalled, as is the case with the hospital project.

Solman said a longer-term perspective was needed, putting the time frame at 10 years.

Isamaa also opposes cutting speed limits on city center streets, Solman added, saying that doing so was a way of "harassing" car owners.

"We understand the need for cycle lanes, as many people prefer to ride cargo bikes or bicycles, so we'll continue to build lanes," she went on, adding that this would not be at the expense of cars being pushed out of urban spaces.

Solman said that the other parties involved in the talks agreed on putting speed limit reductions on pause also.

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