The Political Party Funding Supervision Committee (ERJK) said Eesti 200's Atso Matsalu, then chair of Viimsi Municipal Council, commissioned coverage of Viimsi on TV3's summer show "Suveseiklus" while the party held power locally. The episode aired in August and remains available online.

Matsalu appeared in the segment himself, promoting activities and campaign pledges aligned with the party's platform.

The show also featured Stig Rästa, who served on Viimsi Municipal Council at the time and later ran on the Eesti 200 ticket in the local elections this fall.

Viimsi Municipality paid €4,340 for the video.

In October's local elections, Eesti 200 won 455 votes in Viimsi, or 4.1 percent, missing the 5 percent threshold and winning no municipal council seats.

After the change in local leadership, Viimsi municipal officials filed a complaint with the ERJK over a possible prohibited donation.

Eesti 200 denied that the TV3 segment constituted political advertising. The party told the ERJK the program focused on local sights and tourist destinations on the island of Naissaar, and featured other business-owners and well-known figures alongside party members.

The party said segment guests were chosen for their public profile or relevance to the community, not political considerations.

It also argued the party was not a beneficiary, saying the programming included no political advertising, and that the payment for the content came from a routine municipal budget line.

ERJK: This was political content marketing

The ERJK rejected those arguments, concluding the episode constituted content marketing programming in which the municipality, as the client, shaped the content of the broadcast.

"This is a promotional program for the Eesti 200 party, produced with the involvement of its members," the party finance watchdog said, adding that the show included promotion of the party's agenda and campaign advertising, among other things.

Because the impact could not be separated from the content, the ERJK said the entire episode must be treated as political advertising. Since the municipality paid for it, the watchdog added, that payment constitutes a prohibited donation from a legal entity.

ERJK chair Liisa Oviir said the committee will now send Eesti 200 a formal notice regarding the matter. The party must decide whether to repay the €4,340 to Viimsi Municipality or maintain that no prohibited donation occurred.

If the party does not repay the money, the ERJK will revisit the case and issue a formal decision, which can be challenged in court.

Eesti 200 executive director Anneli Kannus said the party will decide its next steps after receiving the ERJK's official letter.

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