19.09.21 NEWS ... Estonia is the only EU member state that has not adopted a car tax to influence people's transport preferences. Taxation of transport falls short of the EU average by 11 percent, a report by the Riigikogu Foresight Center reveals.

19.09.21 NEWS ... The government is working on a plan to require road builders to include communications infrastructure in the planning phase of new state roads to aid future high-speed broadband solutions.

18.09.21 NEWS ... Annual inflation in the euro area accelerated from 2.2 percent in July to 3 percent in August, according to Eurostat, while inflation in Estonia sped up from 4.9 percent to 5 percent, which was the fastest inflation in the euro area for the second month in a row.

17.09.21 NEWS ... Consumers are being advised to be cautious when thinking about changing their electricity package by the Competition Authority after a week of record-high prices.

17.09.21 NEWS ... Apartment prices in Tallinn are rising too fast for residents of the capital to keep up. However, lower interest rates on housing loans is providing a bit of breathing space.

17.09.21 NEWS ... Flights between Finland and Estonia's second largest city Tartu are expected to restart in spring 2022, although no firm agreement is in place yet.

17.09.21 ECONOMY ... The popularity of e-commerce has grown in Estonia with 62 percent of the population aged 16-74 making online purchases in the previous year. Among enterprises, the use of enterprise resource planning and customer relationship management software continues to increase as companies are trying out AI technologies, state agency Statistics Estonia reports.

16.09.21 NEWS ... The proportion of income from alcohol and tobacco excise duty in Estonia's state budget is among the largest in the European Union at almost 4.8 percent of the budget, a survey by the Foresight Center shows.

16.09.21 NEWS ... The high electricity prices that broke records this week are not the fault of renewable energy or its producers, but the lack of renewable energy capacity and the unexpectedly rapid recovery of the economy, Elering's CEO Taavi Veskimägi said on Wednesday. He said it is too early to say that European energy policy would have failed.

16.09.21 NEWS ... The third reading of the Electronic Communications Act bill scheduled for this Wednesday was postponed over what would have been a retroactive entry into force date. [Mobile communications operator] Elisa, the network of which relies on Huawei technology, maintains that changing the entry into force date is a fundamental rather than a technical change and one that will affect its business.

16.09.21 NEWS ... it is unacceptable to apply a uniform percentage of cuts to all functions of the state, leaders of Estonia's Supreme Court have said. In this case it would lead to the unconstitutional underfunding of the administration of justice, which is a core function of the state.

15.09.21 ECONOMY ... Each European Union state has their own model to aid vulnerable consumers and Estonia has its subsistence benefits, the European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson told ERR in response to record-high electricity prices.

15.09.21 NEWS ... Energy firm Viru Keemia Grupp (VKG) board chairman Ahti Asmann criticized politicians for not being decisive in their quest for climate neutrality and their incompetent decisions, which have led to high electricity prices.

15.09.21 NEWS ... Demand for taxis using ride hailing apps has significantly increased since spring and transport company Bolt has said this is behind recent price rises.

15.09.21 ECONOMY ... The government is discussing the state budget for next year, which is set to measure out at around €12 billion and the government sector's costs are €600 million higher than revenue. Ministers are asking for pay increases for teachers, police officers and culture workers.

15.09.21 NEWS ... Grid distributor Elering chairman of the board Taavi Veskimägi told ERR that the current high electricity prices stem from the high prices of coal and natural gas and the increased CO2 quota price. There is plenty of capacity to produce electricity in Europe and people worried about the climate should consider considerably higher prices, he added.

15.09.21 NEWS ... The growing economy and high level of collected taxes are due to work carried out by the previous government, former finance minister and chairman of EKRE Martin Helme claimed on Tuesday.

14.09.21 NEWS ... Electricity prices rose to a new record high on Tuesday, beating the previous record set on Monday. The price rose by 4.9 percent to €141.6.

14.09.21 NEWS ... Estonia's state-owned Estonian energy group Eesti Energia AS will receive €30 million in compensation after signing a compromise agreement with GE Power Estonia AS.

13.09.21 ECONOMY ... Estonian-Latvian offshore wind farm project ELWIND is progressing rapidly and has reached a notable milestone – a public procurement for a pre-feasibility study, the aim of which is to preselect suitable geographical areas for the construction of the wind farm, has been successfully completed.

13.09.21 ECONOMY ... The Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce has made a proposal to establish a lower limit on the price of retail milk, which would depend on how much the merchant pays to the supplier. The Traders Association does not approve of the idea.

13.09.21 NEWS ... A plan approved by the European Commission sees that vehicles with internal combustion engine coming into the market in 2030 can only emit half of the carbon dioxide they do now. Since this is unrealistic according to scientists, car manufacturers should turn their attention to electric vehicles.

13.09.21 ECONOMY ... A large part of the money people received from second pillar payouts went toward eliminating small debts. But shopping malls were also filled with people last week buying small appliances and electronics.

13.09.21 ECONOMY ... The exchange price for electricity in the Nord Pool Eesti price range went up 26.7 percent compared to Sunday's price and hit €134.99, which is an all-time record.

11.09.21 ECONOMY ... The Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) will receive ammunition stocks worth €80 million under a recently-announced procurement. The ammunition is for both large- and small-caliber.

11.09.21 ECONOMY ... Around 4,000 British companies have taken up virtual residence in Estonia post-Brexit, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) told the website of free London business paper City A.M., adding that Estonia has as a result benefited hugely from the United Kingdom's departure from the European Union.

11.09.21 NEWS ... Foggy conditions close to Tallinn Airport caused the diversion of two passenger flights Saturday morning.

10.09.21 ECONOMY ... Fuel prices in Tallinn continue to be the highest of the three Baltic capitals, according to a price comparison issued by retailer Circle K on Friday, ERR's online news in Estonian reports.

10.09.21 ECONOMY ... In the light of accelerated price growth in Estonia, the number of failed state tenders is already close to the record yearly number. With a third of the year still to go, the rate of tenders that fail is steadily moving toward a new record.

10.09.21 ECONOMY ... Estonia's imports of services grew by 125 percent on year to the second quarter of 2021 (Q2 2021), while exports of services rose by 46 percent, state agency Statistics Estonia reports.

10.09.21 NEWS ... Estonia is still trying to reach an agreement on the OECD-led international tax reform which will set corporation tax to a global minimum of 15 percent.

09.09.21 ECONOMY ... A more-optimistic-than-expected summer economic forecast stands testimony to the government's crisis management policy, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) said Thursday, the first day of the 2022 state budget cabinet talks.

09.09.21 ECONOMY ... The economy will grow by 9.5 percent this year, the finance ministry says, and by 4 percent in 2022. The ministry says inflation will be 3.8 percent this year, slightly lower in 2022 and substantially lower (around 2 percent) in 2023-2025.

09.09.21 NEWS ... In July, exports of goods increased by 29 percent and imports by 27 percent year on year, data from Statistics Estonia shows. Trade growth was significantly influenced by the increase in the exports and imports of mineral fuels and base metals and articles of base metal.

09.09.21 NEWS ... There will be no cuts in next year's state budget at the expense of internal security, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) promised on Wednesday.

09.09.21 NEWS ... The planned excise duty rise on diesel fuel, electricity and gas in spring 2022 should be reevaluated due to inflation, Chairman of the Center Party Jüri Ratas said on Thursday. Budget discussions start this week.

08.09.21 ECONOMY ... Eesti Energia board member Einar Kisel said there are no expectations for electricity prices to fall anytime soon. While the high electricity prices currently mostly stem from Nordic hydro plants, connections with Belarus and between Norway and Great Britain will begin affecting prices soon, Kisel told ETV's morning show "Terevisioon" on Wednesday.

08.09.21 NEWS ... In July 2021, Estonian accommodation establishments served 381,000 tourists, which is a tenth more than in the same month last year, data from Statistics Estonia shows.

08.09.21 NEWS ... In the second quarter of 2021, there were 10,542 job vacancies in Estonia, data from Statistics Estonia shows. The number increased by 30 percent year on year. More than 12,000 persons were made redundant.

07.09.21 ECONOMY ... Inflation of close to 5 percent is likely to remain for several months, and may even be exceeded some months, according to an economist from Scandinavian-owned bank SEB.

07.09.21 NEWS ... Apartment building electricity consumption is to be analyzed nationwide as a way of mapping empty dwellings, including entire apartment buildings and not just individual addresses, ETV news show 'Aktuaalne kaamera' reported Monday night.

07.09.21 ECONOMY ... The price of electricity in Nord Pool (NP) bidding area Estonia for Wednesday rose by almost 2.7 percent, to €127.17 per megawatt-hour – and all-time record.

07.09.21 ECONOMY ... On Monday afternoon, a new auction started for the sale of the T1 Mall of Tallinn shopping center in the Estonian capital with a starting price of €65 million. Bids can be made until November 4.

07.09.21 ECONOMY ... In August 2021, the consumer price index increased by 0.7 percent compared to July 2021 and by 5.0 percent compared to August 2020, data from Statistics Estonia shows.

06.09.21 NEWS ... The government is about to begin talks on the 2022 state budget on Thursday of this week.

06.09.21 ECONOMY ... In 2020, power plants produced 5,516 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, which is three quarters of the production the year prior, data from Statistics Estonia shows. The volume of electricity produced from oil shale decreased by a half.

06.09.21 ECONOMY ... On Thursday, the government approved amendments to laws, which should force electric grid distributors to open larger competition in the electric market, opening distribution options and allowing greater competition in the electric vehicle loading infrastructure field.

06.09.21 ECONOMY ... The largest payout made to people that quit the second pillar pension system last week was more than €440,000 and the smallest payout was less than one euro.

05.09.21 NEWS ... Bank analysts expect most of second pillar pension money people have withdrawn to end up in private consumption. It is expected to liven up already considerable growth and might lead to overheating in some sectors.

04.09.21 ECONOMY ... International credit rating agency Fitch has affirmed Estonia's long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating at 'AA-', with a stable outlook.