Peeter Raudsepp, head of the institute, said the outlook for Estonia's economy remains modest: "This survey did not reveal anything groundbreaking or transformative. In that sense, there were no particular surprises in the indicators."

Experts surveyed by the institute identified the primary economic challenges in Estonia as insufficient demand and low innovation. Additionally, in December 2024, significant shortcomings persisted in areas such as international competitiveness, trust in the government's economic policies, and the availability of skilled labor.

Raudsepp's view of the economic climate was bleak and highlighted the continued poor performance of Estonia's major economic partners, Germany and Scandinavia. Economic growth forecasts have been revised downward, and there is no visible acceleration in growth.

Another issue he raised was Estonia's rising prices. This has reduced the competitiveness of domestic goods and services in foreign markets, stunting the likelihood of export growth.

However, Raudsepp noted that people no longer expect the economic situation in Estonia to worsen. "No one is calling the situation worsening anymore because everything has stabilized. But on the other hand, it's not improving either," the expert said.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM) is slightly more optimistic. For example, it pointed to improved optimism regarding exports, with experts anticipating export growth.

Minister of Economic Affairs Erkki Keldo (Reform) highlighted government decisions and state support as measures bolstering exports and the economy in a press release.

Ministry cancels press conference again

In the past, the institute and MKM have presented its assessments of Estonia's economic climate together at joint press conferences. However, for the second quarter in a row, no event took place.

Raudsepp said press conferences are unlikely to resume.

"I believe it will never happen again. It is up to the minister or someone else to decide whether to hold these or not," he said, noting that previous press conferences were canceled either during the pandemic or due to the illness of the institute's former director, Marje Josing.

The ministry blamed the institute and said it does not stick to agreements.

"We received the fourth-quarter economic overview from the institute for review on January 14 and agreed to publish it jointly via a press release, which we issued early Friday morning," said the ministry's Communications Director Laura Laaster.

However, the institute's fourth-quarter economic overview, authored by Raudsepp, was published in Postimees on Thursday evening.

MKM said it will continue collaborating with the institute and regularly publishing economic research.

"We are always ready to provide additional comments and interviews on the state of the Estonian economy. However, from the ministry's perspective, we follow the agreements made with our partners regarding the initial publication of information," Laaster said.

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