Vegetable production in Estonia is declining due to a shortage of farm workers, ERR reports. As a result, imports and consumer prices of vegetables are rising. In 2019, Estonian farmers grew vegetables on a total area of 2,035 hectares, whereas in 2023, the area is around 50% less. The farm labour shortage began during the…
The Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) has no intention to make any concessions and will continue to obstruct the current coalition government’s work in the parliament, the Riigikogu, in autumn 2023, EKRE chairman Martin Helme stated, ERR reports. Earlier, the coalition suggested that opposition parties withdraw questions and legislative proposals so as not to…
The European Commission will refer Estonia to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failure to transpose the European Competition Network (ECN+) Directive into national legislation, ERR reports. The ECN+ Directive enables national competition authorities to enforce EU antitrust rules more effectively by ensuring their independence, resources, and enforcement tools. EU member states were required…
Estonia’s state budget deficit is likely to be smaller than forecast in 2023, the Ministry of Finance announced, ERR reports. In the first five months of 2023, budget revenues increased more than expected due to the rapid growth of wages and rise in prices. Tax revenue was 10% higher than a year earlier. At the…
Senior officials from the Baltic states, Poland, and the European Commission met in Brussels and pledged to accelerate the synchronisation of the Baltic electricity grids with the continental European system, ERR reports. The current deadline for the synchronisation project is at the end of 2025. Timo Tatar, undersecretary of Estonia’s Ministry of Environment, said that…
Newspaper and magazine sales in Estonia fell in June 2023 compared to the same period of 2022, according to data from the Estonian Association of Media Enterprises (EML), ERR reports. Õhtuleht sold 32,000 (35,000) copies, followed by Maaleht with 31,700 (33,600), Eesti Ekspress with 19,000 (20,600), and Eesti Päevaleht with 8,600 (10,000) copies. Postimees stopped…
Estonia needs proactive legislation to restrict “harmful foreign media outlets,” in addition to sanctions imposed on Russia, Andres Jõesaar, media adviser at the Estonian Ministry of Culture, stated, ERR reports. He conceded that the recent controversial proposal by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) to monitor media bias was “badly worded.” However, Jõesaar…
Estonia’s Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas, suggested that local businessman Parvel Pruunsild, majority owner of Bigbank, made major donations to opposition parties in order to break up the first coalition government that Kallas headed, ERR reports. In response, Pruunsild’s lawyer sent a letter to Kallas, demanding that she retract her statement and issue an apology. Kallas…
The Estonian government has announced an emergency situation in the country’s agriculture sector due to adverse weather conditions in recent years, ERR reports. The declaration will ease regulatory and contractual obligations for farmers and other agricultural businesses, but will not entail financial support measures. Estonia has experienced exceptionally low rainfall and high temperatures in recent…