Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has pledged not to comment on domestic politics if she is appointed as the EU’s foreign policy chief, ERR reports. She will be stepping down after over three years in office. Despite challenges and tensions within the ruling coalition during her tenure, Kallas acknowledged the honour of serving and expressed…
Defence spending as a percentage of GDP in the Baltic States is among the highest in NATO, according to the Tallinn-based International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS), LSM reports. The study shows that Estonia’s overall defence expenditure amounts to 3.43% of GDP, which is third-highest in NATO after Poland (4.12%) and the US (3.72%)….
The Estonian Reform Party has proposed reducing the tax-free income threshold to boost government budget revenue, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas revealed, ERR reports. However, she said that Reform’s coalition partners, Estonia 200 and the Social Democratic Party (SDE), opposed the idea due to its potential adverse impact on low-income earners. Interior Minister Lauri Läänemets of…
Over 60% of Estonia’s population is prepared to defend the country, according to a poll conducted by Eesti Uuringukeskus for the Ministry of Defence, ERR reports. The survey shows that 81% support armed resistance in case of an attack. Support for military service is very high at 87%, for reserve forces at 86%, for NATO…
Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence will procure various types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for EUR 36mn, BNS reports. The Defence Materiel Agency (GRA) has signed contracts to buy reconnaissance drones from Estonia’s Threod Systems and Latvia’s Edge Autonomy as well as quadcopter drones from Lithuania’s Deftools. Most of the drones will be delivered in autumn 2024…
Estonia’s transmission system operator, Elering, plans to replace the damaged EstLink 2 undersea power cable by the end of August 2024, ERR reports. Preparatory work is ongoing, with the reserve cable sourced from Sweden. The power cable, which links Estonia and Finland, failed unexpectedly in January 2024. The fault was located at a complex point…
Estonia’s ruling coalition parties have agreed to introduce a new tax to fund national defence, ERR reports. Incoming prime minister Kristen Michal of the Estonian Reform Party stated that the tax would likely combine increases in VAT, income tax, and excise duties. The aim was to distribute the financial burden evenly across different societal groups,…
Estonian MEP Jaak Madison has joined the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) in the European Parliament, ERR reports. Earlier, Madison left the far-right opposition party, Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE), which is part of the Identity and Democracy (ID) group in the EU parliament. Madison said that French far-right leader Marine Le Pen and…
Estonian shipping group Tallink Grupp transported 1,451,768 passengers in the second quarter of 2024, which was down 5.8% from 1,541,081 in the same period of 2023, ERR reports. Tallink transported 209,760 passenger vehicles in three months, which was down 11.4% from 236,756 vehicles a year earlier. Meanwhile, the company’s ships carried 86,813 cargo units in…