This week, rescue workers, police officers, and teachers gathered at Stenbock House in Tallinn with posters demanding higher salaries.

However, according to the Political Advertising Transparency Regulation, which will enter into force on October 10, this would be considered a form of political advertising as it seeks to impact legislation.

"According to the regulation, it should be made clear to the public who is organizing it, why they are organizing it, what law they want to change, who organized it, who financed it, and who is behind it," said Minister of Justice Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200).

According to Pakosta, the aim of the regulation is entirely justified, as it seeks to prevent the manipulation of information and foreign interference in elections. At the same time, the wording raises more questions than it answers. As this is a directly applicable amendment, Estonia must act in accordance with it, but according to the minister, officials are encouraged to talk to offenders rather than immediately issue fines.

"We have also made an exception in the implementing legislation, stipulating that if the damage is not significant or the matter is not important, a verbal conversation will suffice," said Pakosta.

In Estonia, supervision will be carried out by the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA), and if officials have doubts or suspicions as to whether something is political advertising, an expert panel will be set up to advise them. The TTJA does not yet know how it will monitor compliance with the regulation.

"We have not been able to assess demonstrations on the spot – this will be done on a case-by-case basis. First and foremost, the organizer of the demonstration should assess this. They should be able to show in the information or advertising about the demonstration that it is political advertising, who the advertiser is, and which elections it is related to," said Merike Koppel, head of the TTJA's business department.

The agency does not plan to hire any additional staff to monitor political advertising.

"As is always the case with a supervisory authority with limited resources, we have to choose what we focus on. We always review what the risks are, what is important and what is not. We try to prioritize so that the important things get done first," said Koppel.

Elis Paemurd from the European Commission's representation in Estonia said that demonstrations are not specifically mentioned in the regulation and that the issue down to interpretation.

"The main purpose of the regulation is certainly not to regulate demonstrations, but to ensure transparency in political advertising. The implementation of the regulation is the responsibility of the member states," said Paemurd.

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