Estonia continues to push for an EU-wide ban on Russian tourists, ERR reports. Andres Siplane, chief sanctions expert at the Foreign Ministry, said that discussions on a wider ban on Russian tourism continued almost every day behind closed doors. He said that Estonia was talking to Georgia about the issue as well. However, it is…
Estonia’s Minister of Defence, Hanno Pevkur, has approved a defence plan for 2024-2027 to increase the country’s military capabilities and defence forces, ERR reports. Pevkur said that Estonia would acquire “significantly more and better weapons, ammunition, and equipment,” as well as invest in people and infrastructure. The defence plans include investments in the Ämari Air…
The decision of NATO’s Vilnius summit not to invite Ukraine to join the alliance reflects the view of the leaders of the bigger Western countries on how the war in Ukraine may end, Estonian MP Raimond Kaljulaid (SDE), head of the Estonian delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, says. Writing in an opinion piece for…
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…