20.02.26 NEWS ... Narva City Council approved a €134 million budget for 2026, drawing criticism from the opposition despite nearly a quarter of it being earmarked for investments.

20.02.26 NEWS ... Kantar Emor's head of surveys Aivar Voog told ERR that there were no major rating shifts in February and that a cold winter offset the Reform Party's hoped-for gains from tax cuts.

20.02.26 NEWS ... Tallinn University political scientist Ott Lumi told ERR Estonia's governance is overly technocratic, prompting the launch of the Chamber of Principle, an open platform offering ideas to all political parties.

20.02.26 NEWS ... The Estonian Nationalists and Conservatives (ERK) has decided to merge with the Estonian Freedom Party – Farmers Assembly (EVP-PL).

20.02.26 NEWS ... In February, Isamaa continues to lead the party ratings table ahead of the Center Party. SDE in third slightly increased its support and widened its lead over EKRE and the Reform Party.

19.02.26 NEWS ... Education Minister Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200) said Estonia does not support monitoring chat messengers of private internet conversations currently under discussion by the EU.

18.02.26 NEWS ... Estonia's coalition parties are seeking a compromise on the draft Civil Crisis and National Defense Act. Controversy surrounds amendments added to the draft by MPs with a background in the defense forces.

18.02.26 NEWS ... Claims are circulating in the Riigikogu that President Alar Karis recommended replacing Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna during a meeting last Wednesday with PM Kristen Michal.

18.02.26 NEWS ... Estonian Public Broadcasting will not show events at the Milano Cortina Paralympic Games that include Russian and Belarusian athletes competing under their own flag.

18.02.26 NEWS ... Four MPs with military backgrounds have introduced fundamental changes to a crisis and national defense bill years in the works, which the coalition finds unacceptable.

18.02.26 NEWS ... Over the past week, party support percentages have not changed significantly, according to the latest survey by the NGO Ühiskonnauuringute Instituut and the polling firm Norstat.

17.02.26 NEWS ... Estonia wholeheartedly supports Ukraine as its security and the integrity of our borders depend on it, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) in his annual foreign policy speech to the Riigikogu. Opposition politicians considered Tsahkna's speech too 'sloganistic' and criticized his attitude toward the president.

17.02.26 NEWS ... Social Democratic Party leader Lauri Läänemets said he sees no chance of rejoining a Reform Party-led government, adding no post would make him reconsider.

17.02.26 NEWS ... Three bids were submitted by the deadline in the tender launched by the e-Governance Academy to find a supplier of equipment needed for the digitalization of communist Cuba.

16.02.26 NEWS ... Isamaa's Tartu city council faction announced it has expelled a council deputy who said if he had a child, that child would have "unfortunately missed out on the Holocaust."

16.02.26 NEWS ... Former President Kersti Kaljulaid believes a more flexible childcare system may alleviate some families' concerns and encourage them to have children.

14.02.26 NEWS ... Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, who was disqualified from the Winter Olympics for wearing a helmet honoring athletes killed in the war, spoke at a dinner in Munich on Friday hosted by Estonian Olympic Committee President Kersti Kaljulaid.

13.02.26 NEWS ... Estonian politicians believe the solutions for improving Europe's competitiveness lie in reducing bureaucracy, investing more heavily in the development of AI and bringing energy prices under control.

13.02.26 NEWS ... Opposition party Isamaa has regained its position as most-supported party in Estonia, according to a recent poll.

13.02.26 NEWS ... The 2026 edition of the EU Enlargement Conference in Tallinn will take place on Friday, hosted by the International Center for Defense and Security. You can watch the discussions live on ERR News.

11.02.26 NEWS ... The Social Democratic Party (SDE) have ruled out signing the motion of no confidence against Minister of Education Kristina Kallas (Eesti 200). They believe monthly votes of no confidence against ministers devalue the concept and the opposition should instead focus on replacing the entire government.

11.02.26 NEWS ... Estonian foreign policy is and must always be unified and on message, Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Jonatan Vseviov said.

11.02.26 NEWS ... A Riigikogu committee formed to investigate Russian influence operations, their funding and related risks elected Eerik-Niiles Kross (Reform) as chair on Wednesday and Anti Poolamets (EKRE) as deputy chair.

11.02.26 NEWS ... The Reform Party's rating, which had been rising since the start of the year, has now stalled, the latest survey from pollster Norstat shows.

11.02.26 NEWS ... The Ministry of Finance is waiting for remote gambling companies to make voluntary donations after an error exempted the franchises from paying tax. The mistake is expected to cost the state €4 million.

10.02.26 NEWS ... The Riigikogu rounds of the presidential election will take place on September 2-3 and the MPs are trying to find a candidate they can all agree to vote for, Riigikogu members said on Tuesday.

09.02.26 NEWS ... Harju District Court on Monday found former minister and MP Kalle Laanet (Reform) guilty of fraud, sentencing him to a suspended one year and four months in prison.

09.02.26 NEWS ... Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told ERR that if President Alar Karis has proposals to change Estonia's foreign policy, they should not be made through the media, especially not on the international stage, but rather discussed at the table. So far, the president has not done so.

08.02.26 NEWS ... Minister of Regional Affairs and Agriculture Hendrik Johannes Terras (Eesti 200) has called an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss the severe weather conditions and technical disruptions affecting transport links to Estonia's islands.

07.02.26 NEWS ... Riigikogu opposition parties believe the ruling coalition is criticizing President Alar Karis' statements on Ukraine primarily because they do not want him to continue as president. The Reform Party refuted that claim.

06.02.26 NEWS ... By publicly seeking a conflict with President Alar Karis, the government is preparing not to endorse the head of state for a second term, political observers find.

06.02.26 NEWS ... Speaking in Milan, Italy, President Alar Karis told Estonian journalists that Estonia's foreign policy remains unified despite recent public debate over his comments on Ukraine. Karis advised the foreign minister and prime minister to call him directly in case of disagreements, rather than airing them through the media.

05.02.26 NEWS ... Estonia will temporarily close two crossing points on the border with Russia following a series of incidents in which Russian border guards have behaved irrationally, Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said on Thursday.

05.02.26 NEWS ... Social Democrat MP and Riigikogu National Defense Committee member Raimond Kaljulaid said that failure to align and coordinate foreign policy with President Alar Karis marks a failure by the foreign and prime ministers.

05.02.26 NEWS ... Prime Minister Kristen Michal said Tuesday that President Alar Karis' idea of Ukraine ceding territory to Russia clashes with Estonia's core values and longstanding support.

05.02.26 NEWS ... A stalled bill along with restricted access to data granted to authorities is hampering the fight against money laundering, the Ministry of Finance says.

04.02.26 NEWS ... Doris Raudsepp, who was elected to the Tallinn City Council on the Reform Party ticket, has left the party and is joining Isamaa, which is currently in power in the capital.

04.02.26 NEWS ... Belgium is reportedly considering renting space in Estonia's prisons to relieve overcrowding in its own jails, Belgian media reports.

04.02.26 NEWS ... The Reform Party continued to climb in the party rankings in January, being the only one to gain support and holding steady in third place, a new poll shows.

04.02.26 NEWS ... Drivers are being asked to carefully consider the risks of driving on unofficial ice roads in western Estonia between the mainland and islands as the areas are not properly monitored.

03.02.26 NEWS ... Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform) said on Tuesday that Estonia is pushing for Latvia to complete its part of Rail Baltica within the agreed timeframe.

03.02.26 NEWS ... ERJK chief Liisa Oviir has sent an inquiry to the Reform Party over an unpaid invoice to software firm ADM Interactive, warning it could count as a prohibited donation.

02.02.26 NEWS ... Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise submitted a request to the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional parts of the Traffic Act that do not allow for partial refunds for the motor vehicle registration fee in cases where the vehicle is stolen, destroyed, or otherwise deemed unusable.

29.01.26 NEWS ... Estonia will withdraw from the secretariat of the Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS) intergovernmental organisation, saying it does not want to cooperate with Russia in any format. Russia's membership was suspended in 2022.

01.02.26 NEWS ... Members of parliament voted in favor of a statement supporting the people of Iran and condemning the systematic and extensive human rights violations of the Iranian authorities.

31.01.26 NEWS ... A Kohtla-Järve politician who is a self-described fascist and who has called for a Russian invasion of Estonia may face a fine or even detention for hate speech over social media, Delfi reported.

30.01.26 NEWS ... Several MEPs have declared additional income but failed to disclose the exact amount. According to Politico, Estonian MEP Riho Terras is among them. Terras rejected the claims and sent confirmation of his declaration to ERR.

30.01.26 NEWS ... An MP brought a Bolt Food bag into the Riigikogu this week, sparking a brief standoff, though a bill on foreign labor being processed still passed, Postimees reported.

29.01.26 NEWS ... Henrik Hololei was released from office over a probe into gifts received from Qatar, Politico writes.

30.01.26 NEWS ... The Estonian state is to analyze how viable it would be to reduce dependence on U.S. tech giants such as Microsoft, Google or Amazon for its software.