Skip to main menu 06.11.24 NEWS ... The Estonian government coalition has agreed on a draft amendment to the Constitution, which will remove the rights of citizens of aggressor states to vote in local elections, while still allowing holders of grey passports to do so. The opposition Center Party has said it does not support the constitutional amendment. The coalition's draft is also not backed by EKRE.
06.11.24 NEWS ... Tallinn's 2025 city budget talks have now reached the point of hinging on just a few million euros. However, some key disputes between Isamaa and the other coalition parties still remain to be resolved before the budget reaches the city council.
06.11.24 NEWS ... The Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) will not agree to the proposed Constitutional amendment if it preserves the right for non-citizens to vote. According EKRE leader Martin Helme, the coalition has to listen to their input on the draft, as they will need EKRE's votes to amend the Constitution.
06.11.24 NEWS ... Estonia does not need to change its foreign and security policy nor be concerned following Donald Trump's election as U.S. president, as it has already been acting in line with what Trump has sought from European countries, said Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna. The minister also expressed doubt that the U.S. would reduce its close ties with Europe after Trump assumes office.
06.11.24 NEWS ... Chairman of the Constitutional Committee Hendrik Terras (E200) said the coalition agreed to amend the constitution to restrict voting rights for Russians and Belarusians. Gray passport holders will still be allowed to vote in local elections.
06.11.24 NEWS ... On Tuesday evening, the board of the Social Democratic Party decided to proceed with a compromise proposal regarding voting rights. The coalition's plan is to initiate a constitutional amendment process to restrict the voting rights of third-country nationals in local government elections, while maintaining the right to vote for stateless persons.
06.11.24 NEWS ... Removing local elections voting rights from Russian citizens resident in Estonia may lead to resentment and dissatisfaction in Narva, but may not have a noticeable impact on election results, politicians in the border town told "Aktuaalne kaamera."
05.11.24 NEWS ... The Riigikogu National Defense Committee has unanimously decided to begin drafting a national defense report initiated by Meelis Kiili (Reform Party), committee member Raimond Kaljulaid (SDE) announced.
05.11.24 NEWS ... Revoking the local government council voting rights of Russian citizens threatens the Center Party's lead in Tallinn, but playing its cards right, the party might even benefit from the change, experts find.
05.11.24 NEWS ... The Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee (ERJK) has initiated proceedings on political party Parempoolsed over money owed for consultancy work conducted ahead of the European Parliament elections earlier this year.
05.11.24 NEWS ... SDE's chairman reached a compromise with coalition partners Reform and Eesti 200 to support amending the constitution and restricting voting rights, said MP Eduard Odinets. But the party still believes it is wrong to apply a blanket ban on Russians and Belarusians.
05.11.24 NEWS ... Auditor General Janar Holm has stated support for drafting a mock-up budget, based on the expenses of a single ministry, as a way of addressing shortcomings in the annual state budget process and presentation.
05.11.24 NEWS ... The Riigikogu's Anti-Corruption Committee has initiated the process of updating the MPs' code of conduct, targeting expenses , interactions with lobbyists, and behavior in the Riigikogu itself, as the main issues which need addressing.
04.11.24 NEWS ... Tallinn Mayor and Deputy Chair of the Social Democratic Party Jevgeni Ossinovski does not support the amendment to the Estonian Constitution to remove the voting rights of citizens of aggressor states.
04.11.24 NEWS ... With the U.S. presidential elections set to take place on Tuesday, ERR's U.S. correspondent Laura Kalam spoke to voters in Pennsylvania, who are eagerly awaiting the end of a campaign that has gone on for several months.
04.11.24 NEWS ... Last Friday, Tallinn Administrative Court heard an appeal against Estonian Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Piret Hartman's (SDE) decision to dismiss Urmas Kirtsi from his role as director general of the agriculture and food board (PTA) before the official end of his term, said Allar Jõks, the lawyer who is representing Kirtsi.
04.11.24 NEWS ... On Monday, Auditor General Janar Holm presented the National Audit Office's annual report to Riigikogu President Lauri Hussar (Eesti 200), focusing on the state budget and the so-called performance-based budget reform. The National Audit Office highlights that the current budgeting process is artificial, impractical, and that obtaining a clear picture of the state's finances has become even more challenging.
03.11.24 NEWS ... Tallinn's current authorities are working to completely centralize municipal services without a vision of where it might lead, former Mayor Mihhail Kõlvart says in an interview with ERR. Kõlvart confirms he will be running for mayor again at the 2025 local elections.
03.11.24 NEWS ... Conservative People's Party (EKRE) leader Martin Helme announced that he will run in the local elections in Tallinn. According to him, the party's deputy head, Mart Helme, may run in either Tallinn or Pärnu.
03.11.24 NEWS ... Before discussing the construction of a new hospital complex in Lasnamäe, the city and state should first agree on how to integrate hospitals across Tallinn and explore ways to provide improved healthcare services, Prime Minister Kristen Michal told ERR.
02.11.24 NEWS ... Opposition parties on Friday criticized the coalition's draft amendment to restrict voting rights of third-country nationals. There was also little support for granting special exemptions to Ukrainians.
01.11.24 NEWS ... Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) met with his Latvian counterpart Evika Siliņa on Friday. The two prime ministers discussed shared priorities in the EU and NATO, support for Ukraine, progress in Baltic energy and transport projects as well as ways to expand bilateral cooperation.
01.11.24 NEWS ... Former Estonian Prime Minister and European Commissioner Andrus Ansip (Reform) has ruled out running for the role of president in two years' time.
01.11.24 NEWS ... The European Public Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation into former senior Estonian European Commission official Henrik Hololei, French newspaper Libération reported on Thursday.
01.11.24 NEWS ... MP Hendrik Terras (Eesti 200) said that a bill being drawn up will allow for the possibility of concluding an agreement with Ukraine granting Ukrainians living in Estonia the right to vote in local government elections.
01.11.24 NEWS ... Political parties have started to publically discuss their top candidates and party lists for the local election next October.
31.10.24 NEWS ... The plan by Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Piret Hartman (SDE) to cover public transportation's funding shortfall of dozens of millions from the government's reserve next year sounds a bit reckless. It would be more prudent to see clear plans and consider reallocating funds through supplementary budgets, Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi told ERR.
31.10.24 NEWS ... No country in the world has ever boosted economic growth through tax hikes, opposition politicians said Wednesday evening on the "Esimene stuudio" talk show, while criticizing the government's plans.
30.10.24 NEWS ... More than 75,000 Americans gathered in Washington D.C. on Tuesday to hear Democratic Party candidate Kamala Harris give her last major speech before next week's elections. Although Harris and Trump are currently tied in the polls, Democrats are hoping that fear of a new Trump term will help Harris make it to the White House.
30.10.24 NEWS ... The biggest coalition party, Reform, saw its support fall over the last week, a new poll by Norstat survey and commissioned by the Institute of Societal Studies shows. Other parties' ratings were stable.
29.10.24 NEWS ... It is probably not possible to change the constitution to withdraw voting rights from Russian and Belarusian citizens before next year's election, Minister of the Interior and Chairman of the Social Democratic Party (SDE) Lauri Läänemets said on Tuesday. The topic would also become the main issue of the elections, he believes.
28.10.24 NEWS ... Prime Minister and Reform Party chair Kristen Michal (Reform) stated that the government's goal is to amend the Constitution so that, a year from now, Russian and Belarusian citizens residing in Estonia would no longer be able to participate in local elections. According to Hendrik Terras, chair of the Riigikogu Constitutional Committee (Eesti 200), such a constitutional amendment would also remove voting rights for stateless persons.
28.10.24 NEWS ... Minister of the Interior and chairman of the Social Democratic Party Lauri Läänemets said the party will withdraw a proposal tasking the security services with checking the suitability of third-country citizens to have voting rights in Estonia.
27.10.24 NEWS ... This Sunday, the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu began a visit to South Korea and Taiwan, where the focus will be on the regional security situation and the impacts of Russia's war in Ukraine.
27.10.24 NEWS ... Riigikogu parliamentary groups are once again discussing ideas for cutting MPs' expense allowances. While all parliamentary parties say they support the cuts, disagreements over the details could yet again leave the status quo unchanged.
26.10.24 NEWS ... According to the draft bill developed by the Social Democratic Party (SDE), foreign nationals with Estonian residency would have to register to vote in local elections a month in advance. The explanatory memorandum accompanying the draft would see the removal of people from the electoral list as only happening in exceptional cases.
26.10.24 NEWS ... The Social Democratic Party's (SDE) proposal to only allow foreign nationals with long-term residency in Estonia, who declare their condemnation of Russia's war in Ukraine, to vote in local elections is not a good idea, according to Heiki Sibul, former chair of Estonia's Electoral Committee.
25.10.24 NEWS ... A person who does not respect the principles of democratic rule of law and seeks to replace lawful processes with thought-policing and ideological control is unfit to be a member of the government, says Lavly Perling, leader of the Parempoolsed party.
25.10.24 NEWS ... Helir-Valdor Seeder, chair of the Isamaa party's parliamentary group, is calling on Riigikogu President Lauri Hussar to convene the Elder's Council to discuss the next steps regarding the voting rights of citizens from aggressor states and stateless persons. According to Isamaa party leader Urmas Reinsalu, voting rights should be stripped from all Russian citizens, adding that the idea of loyalty checks is reasonable.
25.10.24 NEWS ... The Social Democrats (SDE) have made a proposal to the coalition which they are a part of that only those foreign nationals registered long-term residents in Estonia who condemn Russia's war on Ukraine would be permitted to vote in local elections.
25.10.24 NEWS ... While the Social Democratic Party (SDE) is set to propose only revoking the local elections voting right of Russian and Belarusian citizens in Estonia who refuse to condemn the Ukraine war, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) prefers stripping all aggressor state citizens of the power.
24.10.24 NEWS ... With the U.S. presidential election is just over a week away, more than 18 million Americans have already cast their votes. Never before have Americans been so actively involved in early voting.
23.10.24 NEWS ... To avoid conflicts of interest and reduce corruption risks, Minister of Regional Affairs Piret Hartman (SDE) is sending a proposal to the government that would prohibit city or municipal council members from also serving as directors of subordinate institutions, e.g. as a kindergarten or school principal.
23.10.24 NEWS ... A Center Party MP has submitted a promised motion of no-confidence in Jürgen Ligi (Reform) as Minister of Finance.
23.10.24 NEWS ... Despite the government's goal of making the state more efficient and reducing bureaucracy, a corresponding legislative amendment initiated by the Ministry of Finance changes nothing, is considered pointless even by its drafters and wastes everyone's resources, Auditor General Janar Holm finds.
23.10.24 NEWS ... While no significant changes in party ratings have been seen in the past week, the coalition Social Democrats (SDE) have seen a gradual improvement, according to a recent survey.
23.10.24 NEWS ... Riigikogu support is insufficient at this point in time to be able to strip the voting rights of Russian and Belarusian citizens resident in Estonia, at least in time for the 2025 municipal elections, "Aktuaalne kaamera" reported.
22.10.24 NEWS ... Lauri Laats, chair of the Center Party's Riigikogu group, said that a motion of no confidence in Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi (Reform) has already been signed by 28 opposition MPs.
22.10.24 NEWS ... Eesti 200 and Minister of Research and Education Kristina Kallas has floated MP Hendrik Terras as the party's possible top candidate and its mayoral candidate in Tallinn in next year's local government elections.
21.10.24 NEWS ... President Alar Karis and Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) are not to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, and Estonia will be represented by Climate Minister Yoko Alender (Reform) instead.