Kallas' regulation will enter into force from April 1 in connection with which, in Mustvee, Mustvee Municipality, Jõgeva County, the current address location of Benito Agirre tänav will be changed to the new street name, Silla tänav. Since the street name is changing by ministerial regulation, the state will cover all costs associated with the name change.

Mustvee Mayor Indrek Kullam previously told the local newspaper Vooremaa that the state covering the costs is a bonus for the municipality. Also, Mustvee municipal authorities have previously said that there is no interest in changing the name among locals, as they have gotten used to the name, and it has become somewhat of a tourist attraction. Therefore, the municipal council decided unanimously in the fall that there would be no name change.

The saga leading up to the Agirre tänav name change is a long one. Previous suggestions for changing the street name were more concretely addressed last year by Minister of Public Administration Riina Solman (Isamaa) who sent a name change proposal to Mustvee Municipality.

Solman, citing the Place Names Act, wrote at the time that Benito Agirre tänav in Mustvee Municipality is a place name that needs changing because it is associated with individuals, symbols or events opposing the creation of the Republic of Estonia, the persistence of the constitutional order, or the restoration of Estonia's independence, and such a personal name should not be used as a commemorative name.

The expert opinion accompanying the minister's proposal was prepared by senior specialists-researchers from the National Archives Tiit Noormets and Valdur Ohman. The historians explained that Benito Agirre (real name Inazio Agirregoikoa or Ignacio Agirregoicoa Benito) was a Basque pilot who participated in World War II on the Soviet side and fell in a shootout on Estonian soil. On March 9, 1944, Agirre, who had taken off from the Gdov (Oudova) air base, was forced to land his damaged aircraft on Lake Peipus near Mustvee due to German anti-aircraft fire. After landing, he engaged in a shootout with members of the Home Guard and, to avoid capture, Agirre killed himself.

The minister emphasized in her letter to Mustvee Municipality the historians' viewpoint that in 1940, the Red Army occupied and the USSR annexed Estonia. Accordingly, and as subsequent history showed, the military action between the Soviet Union and Germany in 1944 did not result in the liberation of Estonia, but rather the (re)conquest and occupation of the territory of the Republic of Estonia by the Soviet Union. The letter also mentioned the thought expressed by Lauri Mälksoo, professor of international law at the University of Tartu, that after achieving military victory over the other occupant, the Red Army should have withdrawn from the foreign territory it had cleared.

The Place Names Council discussed issues related to inappropriate place names at a meeting held on February 28, 2023, and found that their preference is to replace the street named after Benito Agirre with Jõesilla tänav, but alternatives such as Kalevipoja tänav or Mustjõe tänav could also be considered.

Since the municipal authorities did not change the name of Benito Agirre tänav by the designated deadline, the regional minister took the corresponding action.

There have also been issues with changing street names due to local government opposition elsewhere in Estonia, and street names have been changed by the regulation of the regional minister. For example, as of September 1, 2023, five streets in Narva have new names by Madis Kallas' regulation, which are not in conflict with Estonian history and cultural heritage. In August 2023, the Narva City Council voted against changing the names of streets named after Red Army soldiers, but despite this, the city government began replacing the signs.

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