14.01.26 NEWS ... The Riigikogu has decided to introduce a bill to quickly fix a legislative mistake that would have slashed culture and sports funding.

14.01.26 NEWS ... A recent legislative mishap that inadvertently abolished taxation of online casinos is evidence of a systemic error in legislative drafting, Allar Jõks finds.

13.01.26 NEWS ... Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said the public is unlikely to support introducing €20-a-month passes for children and pensioners to use rural buses. However, a minimal charge could be brought in to get a better overview of public transport use.

13.01.26 NEWS ... Culture and sports should not miss out on funding because of a drafting error left in last year's gambling tax amendments, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said Tuesday.

13.01.26 NEWS ... The Central Criminal Police has launched a criminal investigation into possible misuse of expense allowances by Lauri Läänemets, SDE chair and MP.

13.01.26 NEWS ... MEP and Center Party deputy chair Jaak Madison said he would leave Brussels if the Center Party joins Estonia's next governing coalition. Madison also spoke about the party's worldview and recent shifts within the European Parliament.

13.01.26 NEWS ... A drafting error left Estonia's online casinos untaxed for 2026, drawing sharp criticism from Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi (Reform) and lead lawmaker Tanel Tein (Eesti 200).

13.01.26 NEWS ... The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is currently tasked with duties it lacks training for, expert Andreas Kaju said.

13.01.26 NEWS ... The Riigikogu's Anti-Corruption Select Committee has sent documents to investigators involving flagged language editing service expenses filed by MP Lauri Läänemets (SDE).

13.01.26 NEWS ... Deputy Secretary General for Financial and Tax Policy at the Ministry of Finance Evelyn Liivamägi apologized for an error in the Gambling Tax Act that will leave online casinos tax-exempt in 2026.

13.01.26 NEWS ... Estonia will propose that the European Union step up pressure on Cuba and review its current policies, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) on Tuesday.

12.01.26 NEWS ... A typo in the draft Gambling Tax Act, which was approved in December, eliminated the taxation of online casinos for the current year. Riina Sikkut (SDE), a member of the Riigikogu's Finance Committee, said the error will deprive culture and sports of expected revenue.

12.01.26 NEWS ... A clerical error in the gambling tax bill approved last December removed online casinos from taxation this year. MP Annely Akkermann said the law must be reprocessed to fix the mistake.

12.01.26 NEWS ... The two coalition parties are searching for a presidential candidate, with politicians and non-partisan public figures in the picture, but history demonstrates the right choice will be hard to find.

11.01.26 NEWS ... Former Tallinn mayor and longtime political figure Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) doubts that the next president will be successfully elected by the Riigikogu. However, he believes the Social Democrats have every opportunity to win over many voters who have grown disillusioned with the Reform Party and currently favor Isamaa.

10.01.26 NEWS ... The Estonian Employers' Confederation rejected the national conciliator's proposed minimum wage for this year – €956 per month – saying it is too high. Negotiations will continue.

09.01.26 NEWS ... Reform Party MPs have criticized Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Terras' (Eesti 200) plan to introduce fares for children and pensioners on rural buses.

09.01.26 NEWS ... Tallinn is investigating whether it is possible to pause the design process for the city's new hospital until EU funding has been applied for, said Deputy Mayor for Social and Health Affairs Riina Solman (Isamaa).

07.01.26 NEWS ... The Center-Isamaa Tallinn coalition is to put off around €100 million from planned investments in the capital, Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa) said Wednesday.

09.01.26 NEWS ... Social Democratic Party chair Lauri Läänemets told ERR in an interview that if the governing coalition were to lose its parliamentary majority, the Social Democrats would immediately support a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform). Nevertheless, he believes it is still possible to find common ground to elect the next president in the Riigikogu.

07.01.26 NEWS ... There is a strong chance that if the math lines up, the next Estonian president will be elected by the Riigikogu, political commentator Tarmo Jüristo said.

07.01.26 NEWS ... At the start of the new year, support for the Reform Party has increased, while backing for the Social Democrats (SDE) and the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) has declined.

06.01.26 NEWS ... Half of Estonia's Russian-speaking basic school graduates are still unable to achieve B1 level Estonian despite having studied the language for nine years. B1 is required for them to continue studying at vocational education centers.

06.01.26 NEWS ... At the first coalition council meeting of the new year, it was decided to begin consultations to find a presidential candidate. The presidential election will take place at the end of summer.

06.01.26 NEWS ... The Office of the Prosecutor General acknowledges that its handling of the case against former police chiefs was mistaken and promises to conduct a thorough analysis.

05.01.26 NEWS ... Leaders from the Nordic-Baltic countries, including Estonia, have issued statements of support for Denmark after repeated comments from the U.S. president and administration about the possibility of annexing Greenland.

05.01.26 NEWS ... The international situation is highly dynamic in the aftermath of the weekend's U.S. swoop to capture Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee chair Marko Mihkelson (Reform) said.

05.01.26 NEWS ... Estonian coalition and opposition politicians say Venezuela must swiftly become a rule-of-law state and that chaos and a possible civil war must be prevented after the U.S. operation to capture ex-president Nicolás Maduro.

04.01.26 NEWS ... Justice and Digital Minister and Eesti 200 board member Liisa Pakosta says the party could merge with several others, driven not by success but by shared necessity.

03.01.26 NEWS ... The United States' attack on Venezuela raises questions about the protection provided by international law that is vital for the survival of small states, including Estonia, said Marko Mihkelson (Reform), chair of the Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee.

03.01.26 NEWS ... Summertime surfers swapped their boards for skis, skates and kites on Estonia's west coast this week as the temperatures dropped below zero for the first time this winter.

02.01.26 NEWS ... Estonia's border city Narva is still without a city government almost three months after the local elections, following a failed attempt on Friday to appoint the body due to a lack of votes.

02.01.26 NEWS ... Estonian businesses in the agriculture and forestry sectors are calling on the state to support a Finnish initiative calling for the simplification of the European Union's nature restoration regulation.

31.12.25 NEWS ... With support down to around 2 percent, the coalition Eesti 200 party hopes to stay relevant by embracing value-based conflicts and is considering a name change.

30.12.25 NEWS ... Estonia's party finance watchdog says Eesti 200 used Viimsi municipal funds this summer to pay for a TV3 program promoting the party — a banned donation from a legal entity.

29.12.25 NEWS ... The past 12 months has brought new industry and political challenges to Narva, writes ERR journalist Sergei Stepanov in this look-back at the key events from 2025 in the Estonian border town.

29.12.25 NEWS ... Public criticism of the government, driven by tax confusion during the coalition with the Social Democrats, was behind the Reform Party's weaker local election results, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on Vikerraadio. While some tax decisions were later reversed, the positive message never reached the public, he added.

29.12.25 NEWS ... According to the latest survey by the Institute for Societal Studies, Urmas Reinsalu and Mihhail Kõlvart are tied as the most popular prime ministerial candidates.

28.12.25 NEWS ... Estonian politicians do not expect the war in Ukraine to end until Russia seriously comes to the negotiating table, despite U.S. President Donald Trump saying the latest round of discussions is making progress.

26.12.25 NEWS ... The Ministry of Culture plans to launch a campaign aimed at reinforcing positive attitudes toward integration in 2026, which will cost around €275,000.

25.12.25 NEWS ... Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) took part in the highest number of weekly government press conferences this year, after the prime minister himself.

24.12.25 NEWS ... Prime Minister Kristen Michal, reflecting on the past year, said that U.S. President Donald Trump's impact on European security has been positive in prompting increased defense spending but negative in enabling Vladimir Putin's return to the negotiating table. According to the prime minister, NATO's response to the region's hybrid attacks confirms that Estonia remains well protected.

23.12.25 NEWS ... Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stressed solidarity with Denmark and Greenland on Monday after U.S. President Donald Trump nominated an envoy to the Arctic island, reawakening discussions about annexation.

23.12.25 NEWS ... While Isamaa has seen a recent fall in support, the Social Democratic Party (SDE) has seen a rise, according to a freshly released poll.

23.12.25 NEWS ... The right wing political parties in Estonia have benefited the most from new members this year, while most other parties have seen a net loss in membership.

23.12.25 NEWS ... EU foreign policy chief and former Estonian PM Kaja Kallas told Delfi she finds Kristen Michal lacks fight at the EU level and took a swipe at Andrus Ansip.

22.12.25 NEWS ... The European Union has sanctioned a Russian judge and prosecutor who sentenced the director of Estonia's Narva Museum to a decade in prison in absentia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

20.12.25 NEWS ... Former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has publicly retracted comments made about the authorities being attacked at a demonstration during the coronavirus pandemic. Kallas was obliged to do so following a court ruling.

19.12.25 NEWS ... The presidents of the three Baltic Olympic committees have sent a joint letter to Kirsty Coventry, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), expressing their deep concern about the recent recommendation to allow young athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports to participate in international competitions.

19.12.25 NEWS ... New Mayor of Tallinn Peeter Raudsepp has hired former prime minister Juhan Parts as an adviser.