Estonia’s GDP totalled EUR 39.848bn in 2024, which was up 3.9% from EUR 38.353bn in 2023, according to fresh data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. GDP per capita amounted to EUR 29,036, which was up EUR 1,047 from 2023. The service sector accounted for a record high of 75% of total value added in the…
The European Commission (EC) warned that the current funding model for Estonia’s public broadcaster, Eesti Rahvusringhääling (ERR), may violate the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA), ERR reports. Giuseppe Abbamonte, deputy director-general of the EC’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content, and Technology in charge of media policy, stated that Estonia’s protection of the independence of public…
The Estonian opposition party, Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond), has reelected Mihhail Kõlvart as the party’s chairman, ERR reports. He ran unopposed at the party congress in Paide. Also, the congress elected a 14-member board. In his opening speech, Kõlvart noted that the Centre Party had proven wrong those who had said that it was finished,…
Estonia’s Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta demanded that the European Commission add the Telegram messaging service to the EU’s list of very large online platforms (VLOP), ERR reports. She said that an independent count showed that the platform clearly had more users than the threshold to be deemed a VLOP. The listing would force Telegram to…
Estonia’s national-conservative opposition party, Fatherland (Isamaa), continued as the country’s most popular political party in December 2025, according to Kantar Emor’s latest poll, ERR reports. Support for Fatherland stood at 24%, which was down from 26% in January 2025. Left-of-centre opposition Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond) came second with 21% (13%), followed by opposition Social Democratic…
Estonia’s and Latvia’s state-owned passenger train operators, Elron and Pasazieru Vilciens (Vivi), will open a regular train service from Tallinn via Tartu to the Latvian capital, Riga, on 12 January 2026, ERR reports. Elron received permission from the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) to use three new Stadler FLIRT diesel trains on Latvian railway…
The Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has rejected the opposition Estonian Centre Party’s (Keskerakond) proposal to lower the VAT on basic food products to 9%, ERR reports. No MPs voted against the proposal, but 42 MPs, mostly from the ruling coalition, abstained. Under the proposal, the VAT on specific categories of food, including vegetables and dairy,…
Estonia has only one foreign policy, Prime Minister Kristen Michal and Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna assured, ERR reports. Earlier, questions arose after President Alar Karis softened his remarks on the war in Ukraine during his state visit to Kazakhstan. Tsahkna stressed that Estonia’s foreign policy was centered on “standing against Russian aggression, supporting Ukraine, and…
Estonia’s Harjumaa County Court has found a group of pro-Russian local politicians guilty of treason and activities against Estonia, sentencing them to several years in prison, ERR reports. The court found that Andrei Andronov, Aivo Peterson, and Dmitri Rootsi had undermined Estonia’s constitutional order and independence by taking part in Russia’s influence campaign targeted against…
