24.01.25 NEWS ... U.S. President Donald Trump's proposal to cut oil prices is an effective way to influence the course of the Russia-Ukraine war, but may not be enough to end it, experts say.

24.01.25 NEWS ... The Kiisa emergency reserve power plant, which is owned by system operator Elering, is set to undergo maintenance work until the end of January. From January 25 until February 3, electricity will only flow from Finland to Estonia via EstLink 1 due to the construction of the Lihula substation.

24.01.25 NEWS ... A passenger ferry will be added to Tallink's Paldiski–Kapellskär route from Sunday.

24.01.25 NEWS ... French company Oxan Energy submitted the winning bid for the Saare 1 marine area, off the west coast of Saaremaa. The company plans to erect up to 60 offshore wind turbines in the zone.

23.01.25 NEWS ... According to Estonia's governing coalition, the money needed to increase defense spending should come mainly from the European Union, while the Maastricht criteria ought to be amended to allow Estonia to borrow. Investing five percent of GDP in defense would require an extra €600 million a year, which would not be covered by public sector cuts or tax increases alone.

23.01.25 NEWS ... At the government press conference Thursday, Minister of the Interior Lauri Läänemets (SDE) criticized the approach of ISP Telia in forcing new and more expensive internet packages on people and said that telecoms should be called to order in Estonia.

23.01.25 NEWS ... Telia's fast internet default contract change – which increases the speed and raises the bill – was actually supposed to lower prices, said the company's Chief Technology Officer Andre Visse. But the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) believes it is legally questionable.

23.01.25 NEWS ... A major renovation, including electrification, of the Tapa-Narva rail section will, proponents say, modernize Estonia's rail infrastructure, improving train speeds and enhancing travel efficiency for over 1.5 million passengers annually.

23.01.25 NEWS ... The 2024 net profit of Swedbank's Estonian branch, the largest commercial bank in Estonia, amounted to €358 million. This marks a decrease of €28 million compared to 2023.

23.01.25 NEWS ... Estonian state-owned airline Nordica, which filed for bankruptcy at the end of last year, received a loan of €1.5 million from Kredex last spring. However, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) denies allocating additional funds to the airline in his previous role as climate minister.

23.01.25 NEWS ... A campaign run by internet provider Telia which automatically upgrades customers to faster and more expensive packages violates consumer rights, according to the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA). The agency has opened an investigation but Telia believes the offer is innovative and straightforward.

22.01.25 NEWS ... Although Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo did not confirm that the agricultural land long used by Tartu Agro is planned to be divided into 51 parcels for a new auction, Minister of Regional and Agricultural Affairs Piret Hartman stated that this is precisely the plan that has been communicated to them by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications (MKM).

22.01.25 NEWS ... The Estonian Employers' Confederation has proposed to the leaders of the coalition parties that the state suspend indexing public expenditures until economic growth is restored or permanently reform the indexing system.

22.01.25 NEWS ... Security expert Meelis Oidsalu cautioned against fixating on a single percentage figure for defense spending and called for a more substantive discussion. It should exceed 5 percent if needed, he added.

22.01.25 NEWS ... The government has established a €100 million fund to support investments in the defense industry. Startups will benefit the most from the new scheme.

22.01.25 NEWS ... The Saaremaa-based shipbuilding company Baltic Workboats AS has signed a contract with the Belgian state-owned company DAB Vloot to design and construct an environmentally friendly 80-meter pilot station vessel.

21.01.25 NEWS ... A special audit conducted on the recently bankrupt national airline Nordica found shortcomings in the work of both the company's management and supervisory boards. According to the audit, there were cases where the supervisory board asked for more detailed info from the management board but approved project implementation or contract signing before the data was submitted.

21.01.25 NEWS ... The main beneficiaries of the European Union's recovery fund are currently the state and local governments, while businesses are only beginning to gain momentum. However, the use of recovery fund money has not contributed to improving competitiveness or export capacity, according to Aivar Sõerd, member of the Riigikogu Finance Committee and former foreign minister.

21.01.25 NEWS ... According to the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the current economic and security situation makes the requirement for a minimum €100 million investment to qualify for large-scale investment support too high.

21.01.25 NEWS ... Discontent is growing in Narva over the rising cost of district heating. Residents are gathering signatures for a petition and planning a protest. The city government intends to request support from the government to mitigate the price hike.

21.01.25 NEWS ... The second-tier Tartu County Court on Monday declared meat producer OÜ Saaremaa Lihatööstus bankrupt, regional daily Saarte Hääl reported.

21.01.25 NEWS ... A court has ruled in favor of supermarket Prisma over the latter's decision to close a 24/7 outlet in the Lasnamäe district of Tallinn.

21.01.25 NEWS ... In 2024, the construction price index increased by 1.6 percent compared with the average of 2023 and was mostly pushed up rising wages, data from Statistics Estonia show.

21.01.25 NEWS ... The Estonian State Fleet is applying for funding from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) transport program to build a new environmentally sustainable icebreaker.

21.01.25 NEWS ... It is hard at this point in time to assess the impact of newly inaugurated President of the United States Donald Trump on the global and European economies, some economic analysts in Estonia say, since it is unclear which pledges he will get to fulfill, and to what extent.

20.01.25 NEWS ... According to Climate Minister Yoko Alender, the State Forest Management Center (RMK) could consider purchasing land in Estonia being sold by the Swedish forestry group Södra. RMK has declined to speculate on the matter but confirmed that all options are being evaluated.

20.01.25 NEWS ... The recent tragic death of a sick child after a helicopter was unable to be sent from the mainland due to bad weather has once again raised the question of what capabilities Estonia needs. The Ministry of the Interior will complete an analysis within a month.

20.01.25 NEWS ... Higher wood product prices drove Estonia's producer price index up 1.1 percent on year to December 2024, state agency Statistics Estonia reported, with significant increases in manufacturing and food production, while export and import prices also saw notable changes.

19.01.25 NEWS ... On Monday, the average daily price of exchange electricity in Estonia will rise to €178.30 per megawatt-hour, marking the highest price of the year. During two hours of the day, the price will exceed €400.

19.01.25 NEWS ... The number of spruce bark beetles has decreased across nearly all of Estonia over the past year, according to the annual monitoring results of the Environment Agency. However, it is still too early to declare the end of the epidemic. In the longer term, forest owners are advised to continue making their forests more resilient to disturbances and to plant tree species other than spruce.

19.01.25 NEWS ... Greenful, a company planning to establish a textile waste sorting facility in Sillamäe and produce construction boards and panels from the waste, will now begin seeking additional investors following a €39 million funding decision by the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS). The majority of the investment is expected to be financed through bank loans, with entrepreneur Heiti Hääl contributing to the company's equity capital.

17.01.25 NEWS ... At the end of 2024, railway company Operail was privatized, as the state wanted to cease business with Russia. Now, as a private company, Operail is once again transporting goods to Russia, something the Estonian state cannot prohibit under the current sanctions.

17.01.25 NEWS ... New U.S. restrictions on AI chip exports will hold back Estonia's digital and technological development, computer scientists believe. Additionally, they say this is a deliberate attempt to weaken the European Union's competitiveness.

17.01.25 NEWS ... Estonia's economic climate has slightly improved but remains poor, with no significant improvement expected in the near future, the Estonian Institute of Economic Research (Konjunktuuriinstituut) said in its latest assessment.

17.01.25 NEWS ... Estonia's workforce showed a slower decline in 2024 than in the previous year, with shifts apparent in age, sector, and region, including an aging labor force and growth in healthcare and technology, state agency Statistics Estonia reported.

17.01.25 NEWS ... Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform) has suggested privatizing Pärnu Airport, citing rising operational costs as the reason.

17.01.25 NEWS ... Coalition party Eesti 200's Chairman Kristina Kallas believes there is no reason to rush into decisions about supporting offshore wind farms. Electricity consumption in the coming years is likely to grow more slowly than estimated by the Ministry of Climate, she said.

17.01.25 NEWS ... Estonian train operator Elron hopes to conduct test runs for the Tartu-Riga line in Latvia within the next few weeks. The connection is scheduled to launch later this year.

17.01.25 NEWS ... Estonia's rising food prices are partly driven by the large number of stores, said Kai Realo, head of the Estonian Employers' Confederation board and CEO of Ragn-Sells. Production costs in Estonia are also high.

16.01.25 NEWS ... On the Nasdaq Tallinn exchange, Tuul Mobility bonds are trading at approximately half of their nominal value. The company's CEO, Tauri Kärson, attributed this to the low volume of transactions and reassured investors that there is no cause for concern.

16.01.25 NEWS ... The Ministry of Defense plans to build a factory in Estonia, valued at over €100 million, to produce explosives from oil shale. The facility would be partially funded by private investors, but the state would retain a controlling stake. The government approved a feasibility study for the project on Thursday.

16.01.25 NEWS ... A textile recycling center is being planned for the eastern Estonian town of Sillamäe. When open, it will be the largest of its kind in the Baltics.

16.01.25 NEWS ... A decision made by the outgoing U.S. administration to restrict advanced AI chip exports to some allies – including Estonia – is "completely ungrounded, thoughtless, and harmful," Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said on Thursday.

16.01.25 NEWS ... Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform) believes there should be more supervision around selling alcohol but does not agree with introducing sales licenses.

16.01.25 NEWS ... Nordica's bankruptcy filing has led to the dismissal of over 270 employees. Severance and unpaid wages are pending, with compensation only possible after the bankruptcy is officially declared by a court.

16.01.25 NEWS ... This year, several tax changes entering into force mean less money will be returned in overpaid income tax. Some families are concerned about the lost money.

16.01.25 NEWS ... Estonia's population fell to 1,369,285 as of January 1, 2025, state agency Statistics Estonia reported, representing drop of 5,402 on year.

15.01.25 NEWS ... The Competition Authority has given the go ahead for the acquisition of Estonia Farmid, one of Estonia's largest agricultural companies, by Joakim Helenius' company Trigon Capital.

15.01.25 NEWS ... Kiviõli Chemical Plant (Kiviõli Keemiatööstus), which is part of the Alexela Group, asked the Estonian Ministry of Climate for a time extension last year in order to comply with environmental requirements, promising to close down the company if it was not granted The company now expects to reach an agreement by the end of January.

15.01.25 NEWS ... The Tax and Customs Board will focus on the declaration of income from securities and investment transactions this year, as both the number of such transactions and the use of investment accounts have grown significantly in recent years.