There remains no consensus within the incoming Reform-Eesti 200-SDE coalition as to what to do with the rights of Russian and Belarusian citizens ordinarily resident in Estonia to vote in local elections, with only an agreement existing not to amend the Constitution on this issue. All foreign citizens permanently residentContinue Reading
The Blue-and-Black Movement got 0.1 percent of the vote, with 2,307 people choosing the party in the parliamentary elections last Sunday. The leader of the openly racist and fascist Blue-and-Black Movement, Tuukka Kuru, has been charged over an anti-semitic tweet. The charges were filed at Satakunta District Court in southwestContinue Reading
President Alar Karis issued somewhat of a cautionary salvo to the incoming Reform-Eesti 200-SDE coalition, likely to enter office next week, calling them to act responsibly and not simply surf a wave of post-election victory popularly. The head of state particularly picked out what he called the “unseemly” treatment ofContinue Reading
Some 10,000 troops from around the world serve in UNIFIL. No Finnish UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) peacekeepers have been harmed following Israeli strikes on Lebanon early on Friday, the Finnish Army Command told news agency STT. The Israeli military carried out air strikes on Lebanon and GazaContinue Reading
Finland’s outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin (SDP) formally submitted a resignation letter on behalf of her administration to President Sauli Niinistö on Thursday morning. “Dear President of the Republic, I am asking you to release me and the rest of the government from our duties,” Marin said at Mäntyniemi, theContinue Reading
Late last year, cultural workers employed by the City of Tartu gathered in Town Hall Square (Raekoja Plats). Placards in hand, they voiced their dissatisfaction with their level of pay and presented a “Christmas tree of shame” to the local government. Now, negotiations are underway between the cultural workers andContinue Reading
The two companies that produce many million tons of oil at Arctic fields might soon start to send shiploads to Asian buyers across the Northern Sea Route. According to Rosatom, the nuclear power company that manages Russia’s fleet of nuclear icebreakers, there is a significant potential in oil shipments onContinue Reading
The final Yle poll before election day on Sunday suggests the Finns Party may have seen an increase in support, while the Social Democrats (SDP) and National Coalition (NCP) saw their numbers reduced. The results suggest that the fight to become the largest party in the next parliament — andContinue Reading
The Finnish Armed Forces pre-announced the U.S. flight and made a statement saying “There have been no changes in Finland’s military security situation or environment in the recent past. Flight operations with international partners are art of normal bilateral and multilateral cooperation.” However, Thursday’s flight was all but normal. ThisContinue Reading
The three parties which will make up the XV Riigikogu, once it is sworn in, the Center Party, the Conservative People’s Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa, are unlikely to recreate a coalition-in-opposition, and will instead ply their own party lines, leading members say. At the same time, while EKREContinue Reading