The “tax hump” in Estonia is a throwback, Incoming Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) says. Tsahkna says that while the phenomenon, also known as bracket-creep, arose during his time in office when he was leader of Isamaa (then known as IRL), it is now outdated, hence theContinue Reading
On Wednesday, the Riigikogu voted in favor of giving Prime Minister-designate Kaja Kallas (Reform) a mandate to form a new government. 59 members of the Riigikogu voted in favor and 38 against. Kallas had not received a mandate on Tuesday, as the day’s Riigikogu session ended before a vote couldContinue Reading
Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reform) used the opening session of the XV Riigikogu to announce the resignation of the outgoing Reform-Isamaa-SDE coalition. Kallas will stay on as prime minister, as will two of the three parties (her party and SDE) who made up the outgoing administration. The announcement is oneContinue Reading
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
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
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 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
According to Kusti Salm, secretary general at the Estonian Ministry of Defense and Estonian Defense Forces (EDF) division commander Major General Veiko-Vello Palm, one of the main lessons of the war in Ukraine is that Estonia’s ammunition stocks are in need of major replenishment. “‘Security’ is the keyword of recentContinue Reading
The 2023 Riigikogu election-winning Reform Party has decided to invite Eesti 200 and the Social Democratic Party (SDE) to initiate coalition talks, Prime Minister and Reform Party chair Kaja Kallas announced at a press conference on Tuesday morning. The Reform Party, which won 37 seats in the 101-seat Riigikogu, decidedContinue Reading
Estonia’s blue, black and white flag was raised at 7:33 a.m. at Pikk Hermann Tower at Toompea on Friday to mark the start of Estonia’s 105th Independence Day. Crowds gathered at the foot of the tower in the Governor’s Garden and in the street below to watch the ceremony andContinue Reading