While consultations had previously been held on a possible merger, Eesti 200 has now decided not to enter into merger negotiations with the Greens.

Party leader Kristina Kallas said the meeting heard the views of parliamentary group members and regional representatives and that the discussion was lengthy and heated.

"Ultimately, the party council decided that we would not enter into merger negotiations with the Greens and that Eesti 200 would continue as an independent party and begin preparing for the elections," she said.

The coalition party's head of communications, Johannes Merilai, said the Greens' policies differ from those of Eesti 200 and that a merger would add nothing to the party's core identity, which is based on progressive and liberal views.

"They have strong positions on certain issues, but if we were to bring the two parties together, it's not clear whether that would add anything," Merilai said.

He noted that Sunday's meeting did not address whether Eesti 200 would participate in next spring's Riigikogu elections. "There is still time to make that decision. There's no need to rush," Merilai said. He added that the party is currently preparing for the elections and aims to field a full slate of candidates. However, no final decision was made on Sunday.

Greens: Eesti 200 made a poor decision

The Greens met Sunday evening to discuss next steps. Party council chair Marti Soosaar said that while the party will likely still take part in the 2027 elections, the final decision is up to the party's new board and council.

According to Soosaar, the discussion focused primarily on why Eesti 200 had voted overwhelmingly against the merger. "They said the main reason was that they considered it the responsible thing to do — otherwise, a government crisis could arise, some important things might be left undone and that would be irresponsible," he explained.

"Whether everyone who used that as their justification genuinely believed it or whether some simply wanted to serve out the remainder of their term in government or as substitute members of the Riigikogu, is a matter for their own conscience," Soosaar continued. He said Eesti 200's overall reasoning was that a government crisis could arise and that the party wanted to avoid it.

Soosaar believes Eesti 200 made a poor decision. "In my view, what they decided as a party was whether to continue operating at all or cease their activities," he said.

He explained that taxpayers expect political parties to run in elections and seek a new mandate. Soosaar noted that, with the Greens' help, Eesti 200 could have built a stronger team with more people and a broader range of ideas.

Toomas Uibo, chairman of Eesti 200's Riigikogu parliamentary group, announced in a social media comment on Thursday that he does not intend to run in the next Riigikogu elections. Fellow party member Irja Lutsar announced similar plans in July, although just three and a half months ago, party leader Kristina Kallas said that, to her knowledge, all Eesti 200 MPs were prepared to run for reelection.

The latest weekly poll conducted by the Institute for Societal Studies (MTÜ Ühiskonnauuringute Instituut) and polling firm Norstat Eesti AS showed support for Eesti 200 at 1.2 percent.

The article was updated to add comments from Eesti 200 and Estonian Greens members.

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