07.12.24 NEWS ... The concept behind the Climate-Resilient Economy Act is inherently a good one, provided that it sets goals with explanations in the form of initial measures, Estonian Employers' Confederation (Tööandjate keskliidu volikogu) council chair Kai Realo said.

06.12.24 NEWS ... Support for the non-parliamentary political party Parempoolsed rose to a record-high 7 percent in a poll conducted by Turu-uuringute AS in late November. Support for EKRE, SDE, and the Center has equalized.

06.12.24 NEWS ... Tallinn City Government's social media policy includes using Chinese-owned app TikTok, despite risks raised by Estonia's intelligence agencies about data security.

05.12.24 NEWS ... Prime Minister and Reform Party chair Kristen Michal says there is no need to rush with the Climate-Resilient Economy Act, since the bill still requires thorough public debate as well as debate within the government.

05.12.24 NEWS ... The new Climate-Resilient Economy Act reached the Estonian government's economic cabinet for discussion on Thursday. According to Minister of Climate Yoko Alender (Reform), the bill has been updated to reflect more than 900 proposed amendments.

05.12.24 NEWS ... The debate over offshore wind farms in Estonia is warming up, and opposition politicians have cautioned about the projects undermining national defense capabilities.

05.12.24 NEWS ... The Estonian economy is showing green shoots of recovery again, and people's real purchasing power has risen since June of last year, Minister of Economic Affairs and IT Erkki Keldo (Reform) said.

05.12.24 NEWS ... Lavly Perling, leader of the Parempoolsed party, said on the "Otse uudistemajast" webcast that the party aims to increase its support from the current level of just under 5 percent to 10 percent. However, she dismissed the idea of merging with Eesti 200, as the two parties' values are too different.

04.12.24 NEWS ... Tartu city council is now one party fewer after the right-wing Estonian Nationalists and Conservatives (ERK) wound up its group on the legislature, due to one deputy leaving for another party.

04.12.24 NEWS ... Health expert Maris Jesse has criticized a recent decision by the Riigikogu Finance Committee to cancel a planned increase in alcohol excise taxes, and said that the argument given on cross-border trade and black market growth lacks credibility.

04.12.24 NEWS ... The opposition Isamaa party, the long-term leader in party ratings in Estonia, has been losing support in recent weeks, while the coalition Reform Party has been closing the gap in second place.

04.12.24 NEWS ... Estonian business lobby groups are calling for a socioeconomic impact analysis of the European Union's 2040 climate targets, and are urging that Estonia take a more precise stance on the matter.

03.12.24 NEWS ... After recent structural changes, the Ministry of Justice is to gain two new deputy secretaries general, both focused on digital matters.

03.12.24 NEWS ... The ongoing discussion about renting out unused prison facilities in Estonia is focusing on Tartu Prison, with the Ministry of Justice analyzing the opportunities and risks associated with the plan.

02.12.24 NEWS ... Estonian Supreme Court Justice Julia Laffranque will run for European Ombudsman again this month, after finishing as runner-up in 2019.

02.12.24 NEWS ... Although all parties have affirmed that amendments to the Political Parties Act are indispensable for enhancing the work of the Political Party Financing Surveillance Committee (ERJK), no further progress has been made over the past four months, according to committee chair Liisa Oviir.

02.12.24 NEWS ... The Center Party (Keskerakond) may wait until some time next year before deciding which political grouping to join at the European Parliament, party leader Mihhail Kõlvart has said.

30.11.24 NEWS ... Four members of the Narva City Council left the Center Party on Saturday after a vote of no confidence in Mayor Jaan Toots (Center). They faced expulsion for voting against their colleagues.

30.11.24 NEWS ... Narva's Mayor Jaan Toots (Center) survived a vote of no confidence on Saturday by one vote.

29.11.24 NEWS ... According to Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform), the Ministry of Justice's proposals to cut red tape need to be analyzed in depth to avoid the risk of inadvertently creating additional bureaucracy.

29.11.24 NEWS ... Estonia's political parties are already gearing up for the October 2025 local elections, across all 79 municipalities nationwide.

29.11.24 NEWS ... Before users end up bearing the full costs of the nationwide postal service in Estonia, Regional Minister Piret Hartman (SDE) has urged the Ministry of Justice to address depleted funds set aside for that purpose, plus to reimburse state postal carrier Ominva/Eesti Post in respect of past expenses.

29.11.24 NEWS ... Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) was named 2024's most influential person by media outlet Delfi in its annual rankings, pushing his predecessor Kaja Kallas (Reform) into second place.

29.11.24 NEWS ... A Ministry of Justice plan to reduce bureaucracy focuses more on limiting legislation and, ironically, increases paperwork, according to the secretary general of another ministry.

28.11.24 NEWS ... Several prominent politicians in Estonia do not disclose their permanent residence, stating that they divide their time between two or more residences, ETV investigative show "Pealtnägija" reported.

28.11.24 NEWS ... A constitutional amendment under discussion in the Riigikogu which, if it became reality, would strip Russian nationals resident in Estonia of their voting rights runs into two possible obstacles, according to Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) leader Martin Helme.

27.11.24 NEWS ... Close to half of Estonia's 79 municipalities have said they do not plan to join the nationwide education agreement set to be signed next month, as set out by the Ministry of Education and Research.

27.11.24 NEWS ... Estonia's government faces a significant challenge in implementing the Competition Act, whose progress has been held up by years of debate and changes in coalition government.

27.11.24 NEWS ... Is the era of political "decoy ducks" finally over? An Estonian court has confirmed in a landmark ruling that politicians running in local elections must genuinely reside in the same area where they are candidates, and municipalities are responsible for verifying whether a candidate actually lives in the electoral district. However, ERR investigated the issue and found that, although Estonia is full of curious migratory candidates, it is very difficult to enforce the ruling.

27.11.24 NEWS ... Support for the opposition Isamaa party fell by 1.5 percentage points over the past week according to a recent poll, though it remains the most-supported political party in Estonia.

26.11.24 NEWS ... Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) on Tuesday had a telephone call with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to discuss bilateral relations, support for Ukraine and developing NATO's defense capabilities.

25.11.24 NEWS ... If Eesti 200 wishes to cooperate with Parempoolsed, their first step should be to vote against the planned tax increases in next year's state budget. If this takes leaving the government, they should be prepared to do so, said Parempoolsed deputy chair Siim Kiisler.

22.11.24 NEWS ... Men and women prefer different parties, data from Kantar Emor's recent survey shows. Male voters tend to lean towards more conservative parties.

22.11.24 NEWS ... Narva council elected Tatjana Stolfat as chairman on Thursday. The opposition does not think the new union will last long.

22.11.24 NEWS ... November's political ratings remained largely static, according to a recent survey.

21.11.24 NEWS ... According to the final report arising from a special audit of state owned Eesti Energia, severe environmental violations occurred at the group's energy production company Enefit Power AS, which could potentially lead to fines, criminal proceedings, reputational damage, and challenges in securing financing.

21.11.24 NEWS ... A recently released special audit, commissioned by the Ministry of Finance, of the state-owned energy firm Eesti Energia revealed significant mistakes and uncovered deeper issues beyond misjudgments of price, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi (Reform) said.

21.11.24 NEWS ... Representatives from the state-owned airline Nordica, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, did not attend a extraordinary session of the Riigikogu's Anti-Corruption Select Committee on Thursday.

21.11.24 NEWS ... Opposition Center Party Chairman Mihhail Kõlvart said discussions about revoking voting rights and changing the constitution have turned into a competition to show who is the biggest Estonian patriot. He said more important issues need attention.

21.11.24 NEWS ... A major scandal erupted in spring 2023 amid revelations that Henrik Hololei, at the time Estonia's highest-ranking EU official, was indulging in long-distance air travel funded by Qatar at the time the European Union directorate he headed was negotiating with the oil-rich Gulf state.

21.11.24 NEWS ... Former Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) will become the European Union's top diplomat after the European Parliament agreed to approve seven commissioners on Wednesday, Politico Europe writes.

20.11.24 NEWS ... The draft bill put forward by Estonia's governing coalition, which essentially seeks to remove the rights of citizens of aggressor states and most third-country nationals to vote in local elections, passed its first reading before the Riigikogu by 79 votes to seven.

20.11.24 NEWS ... The Riigikogu has hired marketing agency Goal Marketing for a price of €6,800 in order to attract more young people to follow its Facebook and Instagram pages. In turn, Goal hired directional moderator and Estonian social media influencer Roosabanaanike to increase engagement with young people.

20.11.24 NEWS ... Belarusian NGOs in Estonia are calling on Riigikogu members to stop equating the community with Russia and Russians. It is "unjustified" and creates "numerous problems", the diaspora says in a written appeal.

20.11.24 NEWS ... Eesti 200 have to be prepared to merge with another party in order to implement their ideas in the next elections, former party chair Margus Tsahkna told ERR's "Otse uudistemajast" show. According to Tsahkna the programs of Eesti 200 and Parempoolsed essentially overlap as both are liberal and have a lot in common.

20.11.24 NEWS ... Politicians' expenses will be reduced by a sixth under a new agreement struck between the board of the Riigikogu and four parties on Wednesday.

20.11.24 NEWS ... The opposition party Isamaa is advocating constitutional amendments at the Riigikogu, via legislative amendments, to adjust voting rights for Russian and Belarusian nationals, stressing consensus and legal alignment ahead of next year's local elections.

20.11.24 NEWS ... Katri Raik, who formed a new coalition this week with controversial independent politician Mihhail Stalnuhhin in Narva, has hit back at fellow SDE members who criticized the move. She told them to come to the border city and try and make changes themselves.

20.11.24 NEWS ... The saga of Katri Raik (SDE) as the next mayor of Narva continues this week, ahead of Thursday's vote on city council chair.

20.11.24 NEWS ... Support for political parties remained largely unchanged over the past week, according to a recent survey.