03.02.26 NEWS ... Unlike several other European countries, Estonia has long understood that the United States expects greater defense spending from its European allies, Estonian Ambassador to the U.S. Kristjan Prikk said in an interview with ERR. Prikk is set to become Estonia's ambassador to NATO in the second half of the summer.

02.02.26 NEWS ... Chef Orm Oja doesn't consider the concerns of the restaurant sector to be a national priority as there are far more pressing issues in society. However, he acknowledged that throughout his professional career, it's always been something — be it the financial crisis, COVID, tax hikes or wars — and he honestly doesn't know what "good times" in the restaurant business are supposed to look like.

29.01.26 NEWS ... Chairman of the management board of Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) Erik Roose speaks candidly about the organization's severe financial strain and what it means for ERR and Estonian culture more broadly. Roose notes that ERR's services cost each Estonian just eight cents per day, yet the organization's inflation-adjusted budget has shrunk by one-third over the past 18 years.

28.01.26 NEWS ... In an interview with ERR, photographer Anton Corbijn said he always tried to photograph musicians in the sphere of music they create, while other photographers were more interested in their clothes and style.

28.01.26 NEWS ... Kersti Kaljulaid told ERR in an interview she has not considered running again for president of Estonia. However, she noted that some politicians have previously told her she is seen as a highly competent leader in foreign affairs — but a nuisance domestically.

27.01.26 NEWS ... Kristi Raik, director of the International Center for Defense and Security, told ERR that the U.S. fails to grasp how vital its alliances are. She added that President Donald Trump's desire for power and fame drives irrational actions, such as his wish to acquire Greenland.

26.01.26 NEWS ... In an interview with ERR, Estonian volunteer aid worker Triinu Perve, who is now in Kyiv, said the situation in the Ukrainian capital is very difficult. The lack of electricity means temperatures inside residential buildings have fallen extremely low.

26.01.26 NEWS ... Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna told ERR that U.S. President Donald Trump is not erratic in his actions, but rather uses rhetoric that can be unsettling. Tsahkna advised against panicking or overreacting.

23.01.26 NEWS ... In a small fermentation lab in Tallinn, two chefs with roots stretching across continents have quietly launched something Estonia has never seen before: Its first locally produced and sold shoyu.

22.01.26 NEWS ... Even if Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had an unlimited budget, it still couldn't read Donald Trump's mind, Raimond Kaljulaid (SDE) tells ERR in an interview. While Kaljulaid considers Estonian politicians' positions on the Greenland issue generally reasonable, he criticizes the lack of coordination and consistency in messaging.

20.01.26 NEWS ... According to entrepreneur Jüri Käo, a government can talk the economy down or talk it up, but when leaders claim everything is going well while people feel every day that it's not, then what the government says becomes empty talk.

18.01.26 NEWS ... Estonia's MEP Urmas Paet told ERR that Europe's biggest security issue is its ongoing dependence on the U.S., urging stronger EU defense cooperation.

18.01.26 NEWS ... Jaap Ora, the former Estonian ambassador to Kazakhstan who left his post amid a diplomatic scandal, said he never intended to end his diplomatic career this way. According to Ora, his goal during the Estonian president's state visit to Kazakhstan was to ensure a trusting and friendly working atmosphere.

18.01.26 NEWS ... In an interview with ERR, former President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said European leaders have yet to grasp the fundamental shift in relations with the United States and the emergence of a confrontation. According to Ilves, the European Union needs a restructuring in order to finally build an independent defense capability that does not rely on the U.S.

13.01.26 NEWS ... MEP and Center Party deputy chair Jaak Madison said he would leave Brussels if the Center Party joins Estonia's next governing coalition. Madison also spoke about the party's worldview and recent shifts within the European Parliament.

11.01.26 NEWS ... Former Tallinn mayor and longtime political figure Jevgeni Ossinovski (SDE) doubts that the next president will be successfully elected by the Riigikogu. However, he believes the Social Democrats have every opportunity to win over many voters who have grown disillusioned with the Reform Party and currently favor Isamaa.

09.01.26 NEWS ... Astrid Lindgren's great grandson Johan Palmberg said his great grandmother had an exceptionally unusual understanding of children and was interested in the same things as them. According to Palmberg, there are no other famous writers in his family, as all the talent family went to Astrid.

09.01.26 NEWS ... Social Democratic Party chair Lauri Läänemets told ERR in an interview that if the governing coalition were to lose its parliamentary majority, the Social Democrats would immediately support a vote of no confidence against Prime Minister Kristen Michal (Reform). Nevertheless, he believes it is still possible to find common ground to elect the next president in the Riigikogu.

07.01.26 NEWS ... Prime Minister and Reform Party chair Kristen Michal outlined three key priorities in a wide-ranging interview on ETV's "Esimene stuudio" talk show: defense spending, economic growth and values-based policymaking.

31.12.25 NEWS ... In his year-end interview with ETV, President Alar Karis said that Estonia's hardline foreign policy sometimes needs a counterbalance. According to Karis, every country is different and getting a message across effectively requires careful consideration of what to say, where and when.

30.12.25 INTERVIEWS ... A world order where the United States sees itself as responsible for maintaining it no longer exists, while Europe must take far greater responsibility for its own security, International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS) director Kristi Raik said.

30.12.25 NEWS ... Europe and Estonia have spent the past few decades largely living in a world of wishful thinking, says journalist, historian and author Andrei Hvostov. In Donald Trump's world, many long-held assumptions have come under question, the war in Ukraine has not faded and there is little reason to expect the return of the "good old days."

29.12.25 NEWS ... Public criticism of the government, driven by tax confusion during the coalition with the Social Democrats, was behind the Reform Party's weaker local election results, Prime Minister Kristen Michal said on Vikerraadio. While some tax decisions were later reversed, the positive message never reached the public, he added.

29.12.25 NEWS ... There is currently no indication that Russia intends to attack any of the Baltic states or NATO more broadly and it is Estonia's task to ensure the situation remains that way, Foreign Intelligence Service Director General Kaupo Rosin tells ERR in an interview.

24.12.25 NEWS ... Prime Minister Kristen Michal, reflecting on the past year, said that U.S. President Donald Trump's impact on European security has been positive in prompting increased defense spending but negative in enabling Vladimir Putin's return to the negotiating table. According to the prime minister, NATO's response to the region's hybrid attacks confirms that Estonia remains well protected.

18.12.25 NEWS ... Estonia lacks a comprehensive system for addressing domestic violence, including specialists to work with Russian-speaking abusers, PPA chief Egert Belitšev said.

17.12.25 NEWS ... Media researcher Indrek Ibrus says in the interview series "ID" that, from the perspective of a cultural semiotician, he doesn't believe artificial intelligence will ever reach the same level as humans — therefore, it can only ever remain a tool in human hands. What we need to do is simply learn how to use these tools effectively.

15.12.25 NEWS ... Entrepreneur Taavi Kotka believes Estonia is doing surprisingly well, but says it's still up to Estonians themselves to roll up their sleeves and improve life at home. For example, the country spends more than €100 million a year maintaining an inefficient school network and while it's clear that schools with only three students shouldn't remain open, politicians lack the courage to carry out difficult reforms.

08.12.25 NEWS ... Tõnis Lukas, a member of Isamaa's executive board, a Riigikogu MP and the newly elected chair of the Tartu City Council, told ERR in an interview that despite his dispute with Kris Kärner, he has not considered leaving the party. However, he expressed hope that Isamaa will not become a bitter or divisive political force.

06.12.25 NEWS ... In an interview with ERR, British historian Bettany Hughes said her job as a historian is to read between the lines and find the truth about what really happened in the past.

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.

01.12.25 NEWS ... This week, Svante Pääbo, Nobel Prize winner for sequencing the Neanderthal genome, is visiting Estonia. In an interview with Novaator, Pääbo notes that genetics is often burdened with unrealistic expectations and says fears of humanity's imminent extinction are unfounded.

25.11.25 NEWS ... In an interview with ERR, EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said lasting peace requires binding obligations on Russia to prevent future aggression.

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.

21.11.25 NEWS ... Ukraine's ability to repel Russian forces is hampered by internal disorganization and inferior weaponry, military expert and Come Back Alive foundation director Taras Chmut told ERR's Russian-language news portal. He also warned that if Russia wins in Ukraine, NATO, given its current state of readiness, would struggle to counter Russian troops.

11.11.25 NEWS ... Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said Sweden has not set a limit on the amount of help it will give Ukraine and the country has already donated €10 billion worth of military equipment.

07.11.25 NEWS ... Newly elected Reform Party secretary general Kristo Enn Vaga said the party will meet the next general election with its current chairman and must offer a credible vision.

07.11.25 NEWS ... MP Meelis Kiili says a recently leaked and already controversial Riigikogu national defense report criticizes the field for misguided development and lacking in-depth analyses, and that he hopes it will at least spark debate in society.

05.11.25 NEWS ... Isamaa leader Urmas Reinsalu declined to clearly explain why his party gets the mayor's seat but also why he won't take up the post despite the Center Party's clear win in Tallinn's local elections.

30.10.25 NEWS ... Reform Party honorary chair Siim Kallas says internal debate over values and strategy is ongoing, and by early next year, the party's direction should be clear.

28.10.25 NEWS ... Fear and other emotions have become a central axis of modern media and politics — not just reflected, but actively created and amplified, say semioticians from the University of Tartu and Tallinn University.

16.10.25 NEWS ... Former Tallinn Mayor Jüri Mõis spoke to ERR about the local elections in Tallinn, the cost of living crisis and how things used to work in Estonian municipal politics.

14.10.25 NEWS ... Middle East expert Peeter Raudsik told ERR that Israel and Hamas are unlikely to accept all peace deal terms and tensions in Gaza remain high — mostly internally.

13.10.25 NEWS ... Sitting in the political spectator's seat, ex-EU commissioner Kadri Simson says what frustrates her most is sheer stupidity — still far too common in politics.

01.10.25 NEWS ... Last week, a Russian court sentenced Narva Museum Director Maria Smorževskihh-Smirnova to 10 years in prison in absentia. In an interview with ERR, Smorževskihh-Smirnova said that culture cannot remain silent in wartime.

01.10.25 NEWS ... New Estonian coding school kood/Zhytomyr launched its first course on September 29, welcoming over 80 students in Ukraine. ERR News spoke to Project Manager Mari-Liis Kitter about the organization's role in Ukraine's recovery and future plans.

29.09.25 NEWS ... Music producer Boipepperoni, aka Frederik Mustonen, talks in "ID" about Triibupasta's rise, his future plans and why Estonian pop should take more risks.

25.09.25 NEWS ... Reform MP Aivar Sõerd sharply criticized next year's state budget format in an ERR interview, calling it "activity-based absurdity" and a waste of money.

17.09.25 NEWS ... Estonians' economic confidence has fallen sharply. Kantar Emor's Aivar Voog tells ERR the reasons lie in politics and taxes, not survey methods.