"The aim of the Just Transition plan is to support changes in Ida-Viru County caused by the green turn once the oil shale industry contracts. People stand to lose their jobs in the region, and the 1,300 new jobs to be created using the measure would be mostly for those living in the area. Investments of €350 million will hopefully also attract new residents to Ida-Viru County," Hartman said.

The incoming minister said that oil shale cannot be given up next year. "It will require a transitionary period, while we also cannot lie to Ida-Viru County and tell them we'll be able to stick with oil shale. It would go against every policy Estonia has pursued recently. The people there know. But transitionary processes do not happen in a day, and the transition should be smooth," she said.

New income and the chance to feed their families is what should motivate miners to retrain, Hartman suggested. "Less than 20 percent of Ida-Viru residents are Estonian-speakers, and we need to reinforce local culture. We keep taking away the Russian community's symbols, while the government must also offer something in return," Hartman noted.

She said that her predecessor Madis Kallas (SDE) managed to get quite a lot done, while it's not easy serving as minister when your family is in Saaremaa. "We should be developed enough as a society to believe a man when he tells us he wants to spend more time with his family," Hartman commented on Kallas' resignation.

To save rural areas, investments are needed, Hartman suggested. "Talking about EU support, just 25 percent of it goes beyond Tallinn and the municipalities that flank it. We could do something about that," the minister said.

Hartman described the so-called Robin Hood program (where less fortunate municipalities would be given more revenue at the expense of wealthier ones – ed.) rather as a truth and justice measure. "We need to render the current system fairer. For example, we have a lot of regions where the population is increasingly retired, which impacts tax revenue, and we need to help them," she said. "No budgets would be cut, while we would slow the pace at which certain areas grow. Looking at the revenue base of local governments, Tallinn pockets a cool billion, which grows by €40 million annually. It would be surrendering a very small part of that. Most enterprise support also reaches major centers today," Hartman said.

On the subject of mobility reform, set to land alongside Estonia's car tax next year, Hartman said it has already begun. "Analysis is underway as are pilot projects, and the government will be allocating €84 million for spearheading the reform next year," the incoming regional affairs minister said.

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