16.06.19 ... On Saturday evening, President Kersti Kaljulaid hosted a gala dinner at the Arvo Pärt Centre in Laulasmaa in honor of the visiting Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. On Sunday morning, the queen's visit concluded with a service at St. Mary's Cathedral in Tallinn, which, like the Danish flag celebrating its 800th anniversary on Saturday, dates back to the 13th century.

16.06.19 ... RB Rail AS, the central coordinator for the international Rail Baltica railway project, concluded two new design contracts on Friday with Spanish engineering company IDOM Consulting, Engineering, Architecture for the design of the high-speed railway in Estonia and Lithuania.

16.06.19 ... The council of the Centre Party, the senior member of the current ruling coalition, decided on Saturday to support reorganizing Estonia's current electoral districts to ensure that Estonian citizens are more equally represented in the Riigikogu.

15.06.19 ... Next Wednesday and Thursday, June 19-20, the Command Surgeon of the United States Air Force in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA), the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF), the Medical Rehabilitation Clinic, and the East Tallinn Central Hospital (ITK) will cohost the International Military Rehabilitation Symposium in Tallinn.

15.06.19 ... Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu, Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs Edgars Rinkēvičs and Lithuanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Linas Linkevičius issued a joint statement on Friday, expressing concern over recent events in Moldova and calling on its political parties to settle their differences.

15.06.19 ... Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, who arrived in Tallinn for an official visit on Saturday morning, visited Freedom Square on Saturday afternoon, where she laid a wreath at the foot of the War of Independence Victory Column and stopped by the public Family Day being held in the square in celebration of the Danish and Estonian flags.

15.06.19 ... Queen Margrethe II of Denmark arrived in Estonia for a two-day official visit on Saturday, where she was received by President Kersti Kaljulaid at the Seaplane Harbour.

15.06.19 ... President Kersti Kaljulaid met with Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne at Kadriorg Palace on Friday, where the two leaders discussed bilateral Estonian-Finnish relations as well as topics related to the EU and the Baltic Sea region.

14.06.19 ... On his first foreign visit since being appointed on June 6, Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne visited Estonia on Friday, where he met with Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) and President Kersti Kaljulaid.

14.06.19 ... As part of his visit to Lithuania, Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) laid a wreath at the memorial to the victims of the Soviet occupation in Vilnius on Friday. He also paid a visit to the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights.

14.06.19 ... A drive to collect donations to local initiative Toidupank ("Food bank") on Thursday evening raised over half a tonne of food for those in need.

14.06.19 ... Following a meeting with one of the heads of a consortium in charge of developing an undersea tunnel connecting Tallinn and Helsinki, Tallinn City Council Chairman Tiit Terik (Centre) said that the planned tunnel would benefit all of Estonia.

14.06.19 ... Filming of a major Hollywood movie in Tallinn is to lead to many further street closures, should it go ahead, and not only that of Laagna Road, Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart (Centre) told ERR's online Estonian news Friday.

14.06.19 ... Saaremaa Municipal Government has decided to announce a procurement for finding an operator for the Mõntu-Ventspils ferry route that would connect Estonia's largest western island of Saaremaa directly to the Latvian coastal town of Ventspils to its southwest, regional paper Saarte Hääl writes.

14.06.19 ... For the final time, the Estonian Institute of Human Rights set up an installation of light blue balloons called the "Sea of Tears" in Tallinn's Freedom Square on Friday, in memory of the victims of the more than 10,000 victims across Estonia of the 1941 June deportation.

14.06.19 ... June 15 marks the 800th anniversary of the date when, according to legend, the Dannebrog, the red and white flag of Denmark, fell from the heavens during the Battle of Lyndanisse in modern-day Tallinn. Queen Margrethe II of Denmark will be in Tallinn this weekend to take part in celebrations of the 800th anniversary of the Danish flag, the 135th anniversary of the Estonian flag, Estonia's centennial as well as Estonian-Danish relations.

14.06.19 ... The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) welcomed four new members on Thursday — Bulgaria, Denmark, Norway and Romania — bringing the total number of member countries to 25. The accession was celebrated with a special flag-raising ceremony at the CCDCOE.

14.06.19 ... A group of Republican U.S. senators introduced a bill on Thursday that would sanction entities involved with the construction of Nord Stream 2 as Washington seeks to force its European allies to reduce their dependence on Russian energy.

14.06.19 ... Every year, Estonia commemorates the anniversary of the June 1941 deportation with a national day of mourning. Seventy-eight years ago, Soviet security authorities deported 95,000 people from the Baltic states, Poland, Bukovina, and Bessarabia (today's Moldova and Southwest Ukraine). In this move, Stalin's regime destroyed local rural economies and forced the collectivization of farms and local agricultural businesses.

14.06.19 ... Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) doesn't see how the state budget strategy could accommodate such an increase in research and development spending within the next three years. Ratas said that the agreement signed last year to peg research spending to 1 percent of Estonia's gross domestic product is "alive," and that the government's eventual aim hasn't changed.

14.06.19 ... The website and online services of Estonian Public Broadcasting, including ERR News, were down for several hours on Thursday night following the malfunction of an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) in ERR's server room. All web-based services have since been restored.

13.06.19 ... The Estonian government appointed Col. Riho Ühtegi commander of the volunteer Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit) on Thursday, replacing Maj. Gen. Meelis Kiili. Prior his appointment, Ühtegi had been in charge of special operations at the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) since 2012.

13.06.19 ... Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović will be in Estonia next Tuesday, June 18 for a state visit, during the course of which she will meet with President Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Riigikogu Henn Põlluaas (EKRE) and Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre).

13.06.19 ... Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise has suggested several changes which could be made to ensure the better functioning of the electoral system in Estonia, particularly with Riigikogu elections, ERR's online news in Estonian reports.

13.06.19 ... Minister of the Interior Mart Helme (EKRE) has signed a directive disbanding a workgroup formed at the Ministry of the Interior two years ago tasked with coming up with proposals for amendments to Estonia's immigration regulations.

13.06.19 ... The Estonian government at its Thursday Cabinet meeting decided to announce a public procurement for the purchase of four hybrid trains for Eesti Liinirongid AS, the Estonian state-owned operator of passenger trains operating under the Elron brand, with the option to buy an additional two electric trains.

13.06.19 ... The Supervisory Committee on Party Financing (ERJK) is set to decide if a radio broadcast made by Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) leader and interior minister Mart Helme, and his son Martin Helme, current finance minister in the coalition government, constituted electoral advertising.

13.06.19 ... Speaking at Thursday's government press conference, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) said that he supports Lavly Perling continuing to serve as prosecutor general for another term.

13.06.19 ... Estonian film production company Allfilm announced on its Facebook page on Thursday that the City of Tallinn had reached an agreement with British director Christopher Nolan's team regarding the use of Lasnamäe District's Laagna Road for filming for his new movie "Tenet."

13.06.19 ... A plenary of the Riigikogu heard a report by Centre Party MP Kadri Simson, candidate for European Commissioner, on Wednesday, in which she affirmed that she wants to take advantage of her ministerial experience in Europe.

13.06.19 ... At its third and final reading on Thursday, the Riigikogu voted 70-9 in favor of a bill that will lower the alcohol excise duty rates for beer, cider and hard liquor by 25 percent beginning July 1.

13.06.19 ... Starting June 20, operator TS Laevad are adding another ferry to their Virtsu-Kuivastu route. A total of 513 additional trips are planned, the company said. At the same time, the Road Administration announced that they are chartering additional flights from Tallinn to Kuressaare on Fridays and Sundays.

13.06.19 ... Speaking during Question Time in the Riigikogu on Wednesday, Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Reinsalu (Isamaa) said that there is nothing wrong with Estonia's reputation, and that he has not sensed any negative attitudes.

13.06.19 ... Since the 2019 Riigikogu elections on March 3, the coalition Centre Party has lost support among Russian-speaking and older voters, allowing its junior coalition partner, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE), to catch up with it in popularity, it appears from the results of a June survey commissioned by ERR and conducted by Turu-uuringute AS.

12.06.19 ... The Riigikogu voted Wednesday afternoon against displaying the EU flag in the White Hall. The EU flag, which had previously been on display together with the Estonian flag, was removed on the orders of speaker Henn Põlluaas (EKRE) in late April, shortly after the coalition of Centre, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa took office.

12.06.19 ... Russian authorities are demanding bail of €720,000 for the release of the Roxen, an Estonian fishing trawler impounded in the Russian Federation exclave of Kaliningrad since mid-May, ERR's online news in Estonian reports.

12.06.19 ... Speaking during Question Time in the Riigikogu on Wednesday, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas (Centre) said that Marti Kuusik (EKRE), who held the position of Minister of Foreign Trade and IT for just a day and a half at the end of April, has no right to compensation.

12.06.19 ... Construction of the four-lane Tallinn-Tartu highway has run into difficulty related to funding, Minister of Economic Affairs and Infrastructure Taavi Aas (Centre) said on Wednesday.

12.06.19 ... According to information available to daily Postimees, Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) chairman and Minister of the Interior Mart Helme has told leaders of the coalition parties that he will in no way agree to Lavly Perling continuing as prosecutor general.

12.06.19 ... Listed Estonian shipper Tallink Grupp will begin transporting regular passengers with vehicles on its Muuga-Vuosaari route on Wednesday, giving passengers the option to avoid the congestion of Central Tallinn and Central Helsinki alike.

12.06.19 ... U.S.-led allies are conducting the international regional exercise Baltops on the Baltic Sea this week, while the U.K.-led deployment exercise Baltic Protector will also be carried out this summer, and according to Minister of Defence Jüri Luik (Isamaa), both exercises demonstrate NATO allies' commitment.

12.06.19 ... In 2018, Centre Party MP Viktor Vassiljev earned over €130,000 in income, €42,000 of which consisted of an MP's annual salary.

11.06.19 ... British director Christopher Nolan arrived in Tallinn on Tuesday afternoon, on a Boeing 777-200LR VIP Crystal Skye direct from Los Angeles. Nolan will be filming parts of his upcoming movie "Tenet" in Estonia's capital city.

11.06.19 ... Estonia has joined a joint statement on the EU's commitment to the European integration of the Western Balkans.

11.06.19 ... Minister of Justice Raivo Aeg (Isamaa) has sent for a round of approval a bill that would abolish the bans currently in effect on outdoor political advertising and active campaigning on Election Day. According to Aeg, the current bans are no longer fulfilling their original objective.

11.06.19 ... Estonia's energy policy needs to be disassembled, as wind energy does not ensure stability, and thus cannot be Estonia's long-term plan, Minister of Finance Martin Helme (EKRE) said on Monday.

11.06.19 ... The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu was given an overview on Monday of last Friday's elections of non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for 2020-2021 as well as future activities.

11.06.19 ... Harju County Court has enforced its May ruling ordering an Apotheka pharmacy to immediately vacate the premises at North Estonia Medical Centre (PERH) and pay damages resulting from its unlawful occupation thereof. Pharmacy owner Terve Pere Apteek OÜ has 15 days to appeal the decision.

11.06.19 ... The Office of the Prosecutor General confirmed to ERR's online news portal that Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) politician Marti Kuusik, who served for less than two days as Minister of Foreign Trade and IT in Jüri Ratas' (Centre) second Cabinet, was charged with physical abuse last week.

11.06.19 ... Following remarks made by Minister of the Interior Mart Helme (EKRE) according to which the state could come up with enough money to increase first responder wages if it partially privatized Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR), Minister of Culture Tõnis Lukas (Isamaa) responded that he is awaiting an Interior Ministry analysis regarding the matter.