Estonia’s Ministry of Interior expects the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MPEÕK) to leave the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church before summer 2025, ERR reports. Earlier, the ministry submitted a draft legislative amendment to the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, which would ban religious associations directed by countries that threaten Estonia’s public order,…
The combined revenues of Estonia’s three largest telecommunications service providers dropped to around EUR 671mn in 2024, ERR reports. Estonia’s leading telecommunications company, Swedish-owned Telia, reported an annual turnover of EUR 359.7mn, which was down 0.4% from 2023. Finnish-owned Elisa’s turnover fell by 1.2% to EUR 223mn in 2024. Swedish-owned TELE2’s turnover amounted to an…
Estonia’s GDP declined by 0.1% on year in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to preliminary data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP remained unchanged compared to the third quarter of 2024. The Estonian economy has been in recession since the end of 2022. However, the pace of decline has…
The total turnover of retail trade enterprises in Estonia amounted to EUR 10.4bn in 2024, which was down 3% from 2023, according to preliminary data from Statistics Estonia, Baltic News Network reports. Retail sales in grocery stores fell by 3% and in stores selling manufactured goods by 4% over a year. Retail sales of automotive…
Estonia’s consumer price index rose by 3.5% in 2024 compared with 2023, according to revised data from Statistics Estonia. Changes in food and non-alcoholic beverage prices had the biggest impact on the index in 2024, accounting for 23.7% of the total rise. Prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 3.2%, alcoholic beverages and tobacco…
Estonia’s state-owned passenger train operator, Eesti Liinirongid (Elron), plans to open a direct train connection between Tartu in southern Estonia and the Latvian capital, Riga, in summer 2025, BNS reports. Elron will soon begin test runs between Valga and Riga. CEO Lauri Betlem said that the authorisation of trains in Latvia had taken much longer…
The cargo turnover of Estonia’s Port of Tallinn totalled over 13mn tonnes in 2024, which was up 4.4% from 2023, ERR reports. The port operator served over 8mn passengers in 2024, which was 3.6% more than a year earlier. The number of passengers on Estonia’s island ferries rose by 2.1% over a year. Port of…
Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal will host a summit of Baltic rim NATO countries in Helsinki on 14 January 2025 to discuss the security of critical undersea infrastructure and Russia’s shadow fleet, ERR reports. Political leaders from all Baltic rim NATO countries, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, and European Commission…
Nordic and Baltic foreign ministers have agreed to help step up international support for Moldova after Russia’s state-owned energy corporation, Gazprom, stopped gas supplies to the country, ERR reports. In a joint statement, the eight ministers said that they would work with the European Commission and other key partners to help Moldova. The ministers said…