05.12.25 NEWS ... Members of the Riigikogu have decided to end a long-running Christmas tradition which sees Santa Claus visit the parliament to hand out gifts, saying it has become "outdated," Delfi reports.

05.12.25 NEWS ... Estonia's politicians are divided over a possible European Union-wide ban on the sale of energy drinks to minors, which is currently under discussion in Brussels.

04.12.25 NEWS ... On Thursday, Isamaa confirmed the 15 members of its faction in Tartu. However, Tartu City Council Chair Tõnis Lukas was left off the list after refusing to be in the same coalition as Kris Kärner.

04.12.25 NEWS ... MP Madis Timpson (Reform), chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, said he'll return the president-vetoed Employment Contracts Act to the Riigikogu floor unchanged for a vote.

04.12.25 NEWS ... Leaders of the coalition parties Reform and Eesti 200 denied a claim that the coalition would have fractured if a bill to lower the gambling tax had not been supported in the Riigikogu.

04.12.25 NEWS ... The government has agreed to extend restraining orders in domestic violence cases from 12 to 72 hours to reduce the risk of repeated violence and protect victims.

04.12.25 NEWS ... Reform MP Mart Võrklaev, who voted to cut the gambling tax after criticizing it, told ERR it was a political compromise and still considers the law a bad one.

04.12.25 NEWS ... Estonia's most popular Isamaa party is being investigated after receiving allegedly illegal donations worth €330,000 from a major businessman. ERR News recaps the claims.

04.12.25 NEWS ... The Riigikogu approved a phased cut to the online gambling tax Wednesday, backing an Eesti 200 plan despite warnings it could hit culture funding and heighten oversight risks.

04.12.25 NEWS ... A "populist," "ideological" approach to cars versus bikes and other road users and pedestrians in Tallinn has to go, according to incoming mayor Peeter Raudsepp.

03.12.25 NEWS ... President Alar Karis has decided not to promulgate a law amending the Employment Contracts Act, citing constitutional violations during its passage in the Riigikogu.

03.12.25 NEWS ... The Central Criminal Police have filed a criminal suspicion against Riigikogu member Mart Maastik in connection with a donation made to the Isamaa political party.

03.12.25 NEWS ... The Center Party has unveiled its nominees for the four Tallinn deputy mayoral posts it will hold in the new coalition with Isamaa.

03.12.25 NEWS ... Former government ministers Riina Solman and Kristjan Järvan have been nominated as Isamaa's candidates for its two Tallinn deputy mayor posts in the incoming coalition with the Center Party.

03.12.25 NEWS ... The state budget bill 2026 will face its third and final Riigikogu vote on Wednesday, December 10.

03.12.25 NEWS ... Support for the three most popular parties remained largely unchanged, while the Social Democratic Party gained 1.1 percentage points over the past week.

02.12.25 NEWS ... On Tuesday, the Narva City Council elected Mihhail Stalnuhhin as its chair, with Jana Kondrašova chosen as deputy chair.

02.12.25 NEWS ... The ruling Reform Party on Monday opposed a Riigikogu bill that would have made kindergarten nationwide, despite supporting a similar measure in Tallinn earlier this year.

02.12.25 NEWS ... Tõnis Lukas of the Isamaa party was elected chair of Tartu's XI City Council Tuesday, with Reform's Raimond Tamm named deputy chair.

02.12.25 NEWS ... At its first session, the newly convened Tallinn City Council elected Mihhail Kõlvart, chair of the Center Party, as its speaker.

02.12.25 NEWS ... A vote to remove MP Kalle Grünthal's parliamentary immunity passed at the Riigikogu with 58 votes in favor.

02.12.25 NEWS ... The Center Party–Isamaa coalition agreement signed this week includes an entry which constitutes a conflict of interest regarding leading Isamaa member Riina Solman, an outgoing deputy mayor said.

02.12.25 NEWS ... Outgoing Mayor of Tallinn Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) has called the incoming city administration an "idle-gear government," adding the coalition agreement signed Monday lacks vision in leadership.

01.12.25 NEWS ... The Riigikogu Foreign Affairs Committee's four-member delegation visit to New Zealand and Australia at the end of October cost €50,079.

01.12.25 NEWS ... Center Party Chairman Mihhail Kõlvart criticized the government's decision to exclude non-Estonian speakers from mandatory conscript service starting in 2026, saying it hinders integration efforts.

01.12.25 NEWS ... Raimond Kaljulaid says Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi should resign over a post mocking the U.S. administration; Foreign Minister Tsahkna also voiced criticism.

01.12.25 NEWS ... Tallinn's new government plans to boost support for families, the transition to Estonian-language education, and ensure the city contributes to the country's economic development.

30.11.25 NEWS ... Isamaa picking a relatively obscure candidate, who had not run in last month's local elections, as its mayoral candidate was a smart move by the party, according to some experts.

29.11.25 NEWS ... After failing to win seats in the local elections, the Estonian Nationalists and Conservatives (ERK) will hold an internal vote over their future, including a possible merger.

28.11.25 OPINION ... Both the government's and the Riigikogu's credibility are currently abysmally low, especially in the context of Estonian political culture. Media criticism and attacks from the opposition certainly contribute to this, but it's also clear that the ruling coalition parties have not done enough to explain their policy directions or ease the public's sense of uncertainty, Mari-Liis Jakobson argues in her Vikerraadio daily commentary.

28.11.25 NEWS ... Isamaa and Center have agreed to share the role of mayor of Tallinn, with each party taking a two-year stint, and candidates for the roles were introduced on Friday.

28.11.25 NEWS ... Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel clarified comments made earlier this year about Poland and the Baltic states, saying she does not blame them for Russia's war in Ukraine, describing the view as "fake news."

28.11.25 NEWS ... Kristen Michal tops Delfi and Ekspress Group's annual list of Estonia's most influential people, now revamped to include several previously unranked figures.

27.11.25 NEWS ... Isamaa's leading politician in Tartu has said there may not be room for him and a controversial influencer to both sit on the city's council.

27.11.25 NEWS ... Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said neither Russia nor Vladimir Putin's actions show any signs of peace arriving soon in Ukraine and an agreement to end the war does not appear to be in sight.

27.11.25 NEWS ... Parties represented in the Riigikogu agree the Political Parties Act needs clearer rules on donations and the role of affiliated organizations.

26.11.25 NEWS ... A man on probation who last month stabbed his partner then intentionally crashed his car into a driver of another vehicle, killing that person and himself, should have been in prison, Riigikogu legal affairs committee chair Madis Timpson (Reform) said.

26.11.25 NEWS ... Matti Maasikas, the current managing director at the European External Action Service (EEAS), has been temporarily promoted to deputy director-general of the organization.

26.11.25 NEWS ... The new U.S. ambassador to Estonia has arrived in Tallinn and met with President Alar Karis and Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) on Wednesday.

26.11.25 NEWS ... Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pern called Parvel Pruunsild's claims — linking Lavly Perling to the Isamaa funding scandal — complete nonsense.

26.11.25 NEWS ... There's a lot of gray area around party financing, making violations hard to detect and prove, experts say. They believe the law needs clearer rules.

26.11.25 NEWS ... The latest weekly poll shows no major changes in party support, according to the Institute for Societal Studies and survey company Norstat Eesti AS.

25.11.25 NEWS ... The political party Isamaa is suspected to have received two prohibited donations totaling approximately €330,000, Chief State Prosecutor Taavi Pern said on Tuesday.

25.11.25 NEWS ... A controversial social media influencer is to sit with the Tartu city council's Isamaa faction.

25.11.25 NEWS ... Isamaa members and businessmen Tõnis Palts and Parvel Pruunsild were handed suspicions Tuesday of making a prohibited donation to the party, their lawyers confirmed.

25.11.25 NEWS ... There are no longer any obstacles to announcing the local election results after the Supreme Court dismissed an election complaint filed by the NGO Fair Elections on Monday.

25.11.25 NEWS ... Parempoolsed leader Lavly Perling called Parvel Pruunsild's claims of a revenge motive behind a funding probe sad and dangerous on "Terevisioon."

25.11.25 NEWS ... Following a summons for the Isamaa party to appear in front of the Central Criminal Police, major party sponsor Parvel Pruunsild claims in an interview to ERR that the ISS and Prosecutor's Office are desperate to find compromising material on him and may launch further criminal cases if needed.

24.11.25 NEWS ... The Tallinn coalition agreement between the Center Party and Isamaa is essentially ready but will not be presented until the end of the week. The convening of the City Council will thus be postponed until the beginning of December, meaning 2026's city budget is not likely to be adopted this year.

24.11.25 NEWS ... Ministers are debating whether to extend restraining orders against domestic abusers from 12 hours to a maximum of 48 or 72 hours. Justice Minister Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) believes 72 hours is too long and gives police officers too much power.