Opposition politicians and the media have repeatedly called on the government to close the eastern border, which is currently open with time-limited restrictions.

The latest call was made by the newspaper Postimees about the queues of travelers at the Narva border.

"The situation near the Narva border fosters embarrassing, uncontrolled anarchy and black market activities," it wrote in an editorial. "Primarily for moral reasons, but also to re-establish state authority, the border with Russia should be closed."

However, Estonia does not currently consider such a step necessary. The border is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"We have said that we base the opening and closing of the border on the threat assessment – if there were an immediate threat to Estonia, the border would be closed immediately," Taro explained.

He stressed that although there is currently no such immediate threat, Estonia has set itself the goal of restricting Russia's capabilities as much as possible.

"At the same time, in limiting Russia's capabilities in every way, we have proceeded from the principle that sanctions should be as tough as possible. Thanks to their enforcement, we have reduced by 90 percent the traffic that existed there before the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine," Taro said.

Border capacity has fallen tenfold

"Nor can we say that the border is completely open," Taro noted, referring to full customs inspections and shortened opening hours, which have inevitably also created queues.

Freight traffic and other border crossings have decreased by as much as tenfold because spot checks were replaced by thorough checks on everyone crossing the border.

"Our primary task is not to ensure the easiest possible passage for Russian citizens, but first and foremost to guard the border," he stressed.

Even with reduced volumes, border controls cannot be relaxed.

Taro, who has observed the work at the Narva border crossing point, described his own visit: "As much as I have seen and experienced myself, people try to transport banned goods in both directions, both out of and into the country."

The minister added that people often deliberately try to hide sanctioned items on their bodies or in their pockets.

"These things can be anything, because the list of sanctioned items to be checked is quite extensive," he said, confirming that thorough inspections will continue and that no concessions can be made.

Despite stricter inspections, there are no plans to deploy additional personnel to the border or simplify procedures. Taro said reducing the operating hours of border crossing points to 12 hours was intended to reassign staff from border crossing services to guarding and protecting the state border.

Entry for Russian citizens is exceptional

Those crossing the border are mainly Russian citizens who have residence permits in Estonia or elsewhere in Europe, or are dual citizens. Russian citizens with tourist visas are not allowed to enter Estonia.

"We have made the decision that if someone has a very pressing need to cross the border for humanitarian or other humane reasons, it is still possible. But indeed, that is quite exceptional," Taro explained.

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