Minister of Economic Affairs and Industry Erkki Keldo (Reform) had said this week that the directive, which would among other things narrow the gender pay gap, should be postponed in its implementation in Estonia. Kallas said it was this aspect of the directive which should be in place in Estonia.

"Estonia's gender pay gap is among the largest in the European Union, and it has not changed significantly in recent years," Kallas said.

"The gender pay gap is an indicator of the weakness of our economy, not its strength. The Pay Transparency Directive offers several measures that would be important in eliminating unjustified pay differences. For instance, a ban on asking job applicants about their previous wage, or an obligation to publish the salary being offered already in the job advertisement," Kallas went on.

"Today, much has been said about the measures proposed in the directive which could increase the administrative burden on our companies. In reality, a large part of this data can already be provided with little effort from our information systems, and companies will not incur additional obligations. Estonia already has sufficient data on the pay gap. Estonia has also already fulfilled several other guidelines arising from the document, including those concerning monitoring bodies and complaint resolution," the minister continued.

"Estonia's position on the pay transparency directive is aimed at solving the problem of the pay gap, while negotiating with the Commission over the aspects related to increased administrative burden, and I believe this is also acceptable to the European Commission," she added.

Kallas is Eesti 200 leader, but her partymate, Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, said Thursday day his party supports rejecting the equal pay directive on the grounds of it being an "ideological" directive of orders and prohibitions.

Speaking at Thursday's regular government press conference, Tsahkna said that he commends Keldo and the entire government for so clearly expressing opposition to the directive, which he characterized as Brussels overreach.

"This is truly one of those very concrete cases where we have to say that what comes from Brussels does not suit us. It is very clearly an ideological and overregulating directive with rigid rules and bans which, I am sure, may not at all lead to the result that is being talked about, but may instead stifle entrepreneurship," Tsahkna said.

Keldo said earlier this week Estonia may delay implementing the EU pay transparency directive by up to two years if necessary — even if doing so would incur a fine — to avoid what he called extra burdens on businesses.

The EU directive requires salary ranges within job ads, forbids asking candidates about their current pay rate, and mandates action if unjustified gender pay gaps exceed 5 percent.

Estonia has a reported gender pay gap of up to nearly 20 percent in favor of men, exceeding that in some sectors. This is one of the highest in the bloc.

Keldo argued wages should be set by the free market and negotiations, not strict state regulation, favoring what he called awareness efforts over legal obligations.

Critics such as MP Karin Paulus (SDE) claim the government is prioritizing employer interests over employees' and undermining gender equality.

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