Estonia’s Ministry of Education and Research is seeking to amend legislation to better regulate the administrative language of municipalities and universities, ensuring that dealing with the entities does not require the use of a foreign language, ERR reports. The amendment would enforce existing requirements for municipalities to conduct administrative affairs in Estonian, addressing instances where…
Estonia’s newly-formed opposition party, Estonian Nationalists and Conservatives (ERK), still needs 20 more members to be registered officially, ERR reports. A political party needs 500 members to be registered. ERK deputy chairman Silver Kuusik assured that the party would be registered in July 2024. ERK held its founding meeting on 29 June 2024, electing MP…
The planned synchronisation of the Baltic electricity grids with Western Europe in February 2025 will slightly increase electricity prices for consumers, according to Lithuanian Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys, BNS reports. The impact on prices will be minimal, around a few percent, he said. Lithuanian power grid operator Litgrid estimates that the synchronisation will cost consumers…
Electrifying the public transport system in Estonia’s Harjumaa county would require EUR 2bn in grid investments, Tallinn deputy mayor Kristjan Järvan stated, ERR reports. He said that the project would include major upgrades to both the distribution and transmission networks to support the increased use of electric vehicles. Electrifying Tallinn’s bus fleet alone would cost…
The commander of the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF), General Martin Herem, has calculated that funding needed for additional ammunition amounts to around EUR 3.2bn, Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur revealed, ERR reports. He said that the critical amount of funds needed was EUR 1.6bn. The calculation was based on the targets to be destroyed in a…
Unemployment in the Baltic States was highest in Lithuania in May 2024, according to Eurostat data, LETA reports. The unemployment rate stood at 7.7% in Lithuania, 7.4% in Estonia, and 6.7% in Latvia. The EU average was 6%.
Estonia’s consumer price index rose by 2.8% on year in June 2024, according to preliminary data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. Compared to May 2024, consumer prices rose by 0.5%. In May 2024, the annual inflation rate stood at 2.9%. In 2023, annual inflation was 9.%.
The Estonian Defence Ministry has proposed allowing foreign citizens to take part in Estonia’s national defence, military training, and activities of the Estonian Defence League (Kaitseliit) volunteer corps, BNS reports. The proposed changes would allow foreign nationals to enter into contracts with Estonian defence forces for both peacetime and wartime roles. Currently, foreign nationals can…
Estonia’s raw milk production per dairy cow rose by 5% in 2023 from the year before, which was the highest increase in 31 years, according to a report from the European Commission, ERR reports. In terms of milk production per cow, Estonian farms are second only to Denmark in the EU, Tanel-Taavi Bulitko, CEO of…