Speaking to ERR, Kallas said that cash payouts — i.e. financial support — make up a significant share of Estonia's family policy, but a major sticking point lies in services, meaning access to support for families with children.

"We have a very good parental benefit system, one that robustly supported birth rates at the time it was introduced," she acknowledged.

"We've already made it more flexible, allowing parents to work [while receiving benefits], but we now have a proposal to offer even more support to young families who are considering whether to have kids at all, or whether to have a third child," the minister continued.

According to Kallas, the parental benefit system should be made even more flexible, and allow for it to be paid out to grandparents too, who could, if needed, go on parental leave in lieu of the child's mother or father while the parents reenter the labor market.

Asked what Eesti 200's coalition partner Reform thinks of such a plan, Kallas said that for now, the response has been cautious, with concerns about whether parental benefits should even be touched at all right now.

"At the moment, it seems to us we've moved forward with this idea," she said.

"There's also another proposal from Eesti 200 on the table, which is to make the last six months of the 18-month parental benefit period significantly more flexible," the education minister continued. "Meaning those six months of benefits could be taken up until the child starts school, or until the age of eight."

She explained that many parents need to take a break again as their child gears up to start school, as this marks a major change for families.

"This is also based on the Swedish example, where the system is much more flexible," Kallas said. "In Sweden, parts of parental benefits can be used until the child turns 18. Part of it could be made more flexible and mobile in Estonia as well, since parental benefits are paid out over a very long period of time."

She added that this, too, would provide parents with the peace of mind that if they need to balance work and family life, they'll be able to do so.

According to Kallas, the Ministry of Social Affairs will complete an in-depth analysis by the end of May on the causes of the drop in Estonia's birth rate, based on which even more specific proposals can be made for how to resolve the birth rate crisis.

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