04.08.26 OPINION ... I regret that a new symbol has emerged as a result of a single advertisement for grilling meat and the debate that followed. Fried onions are no longer simply a tasty food — they have become a battle cry, Mari-Liis Jakobson writes.

04.08.26 OPINION ... The fact that Russia, North Korea, Iran and China have not defined their relations as an "axis" does not reduce their dangerousness. These countries have mutual military agreements that can be activated quickly, writes Peeter Kaldre.

03.08.26 OPINION ... Before we spend a quarter‑billion euros on helicopters, we must know what problem we are trying to solve, writes Ivar Värk.

03.08.26 OPINION ... The debate over Tallinn's Alexander Nevsky Cathedral echoes a century-old struggle over the fate of Estonia's religious and cultural heritage, with past attempts to demolish the landmark ultimately thwarted by broad public opposition across religious and national lines, writes Marina Kasparovitch.

03.08.26 OPINION ... Can Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise run for president without resigning — when her candidacy would mean seeking a decision from the very institution she oversees?

01.08.26 OPINION ... In Estonia there is a clear distance toward Russia; for many Georgians, Kazakhs and Moldovans, by contrast, Russia occupies the same space and world, writes Aimar Ventsel.

31.07.26 OPINION ... We need an ambitious climate law that enables Estonia to meet its international obligations. The current draft of the Climate‑Resilient Economy Act does not consider the rights of future generations and offers no certainty for young people, write Linda Lees and Robert Pappel.

29.07.26 OPINION ... Mykhailo Fedorov's and Oleksandr Syrskyi's clash was a clash between two strategies. The first called for the systematic destruction of the enemy's infrastructure; the second was based on the simple fact that the front line must be held, and without soldiers no weapon — drone or missile — can fire, notes journalist Anton Aleksejev.

29.07.26 OPINION ... In infrastructure debates, the focus tends to return again and again to how much a particular road or rail section costs. For some reason, the question of how much more expensive it becomes not to invest in them is not treated with sufficient seriousness, writes Remo Kirss.

29.07.26 OPINION ... Tallinn's Old Town can be revived as a city center, but only by prioritizing local residents, services and businesses over unchecked tourism, writes PhD student Triin Talk.

27.07.26 OPINION ... When a person's income is already unstable, adding extra financial pressure is unfair. Health insurance is not a tool for the state to make money off its people, Riina Solman writes.

27.07.26 OPINION ... Estonia should take advantage of the European Commission's recent decision to ease the emissions trading system and demand that the current version be sent to the ash heap of history, Jaak Madison writes.

25.07.26 OPINION ... It seems that no one has enough political will to fight for making Estonia's presidential election system more open, transparent and democratic simply because it is the right thing to do, notes Martin Mölder.

24.07.26 OPINION ... The labor market wants increasingly mature people, and education prepares increasingly childish ones. What are the solutions? The honest answer is that we do not yet know, writes Raul Eamets.

24.07.26 OPINION ... Journalist Rein Sikk says he has created an inverted award, with its first laureates being those who frightened small entrepreneurs who had placed signs along the roadside.

23.07.26 OPINION ... The company acquiring Luminor, one of Estonia's largest banks, promises to grant private clients in Russia loans of three million rubles in three minutes, writes Argo Ideon. A wide range of services is available for Russian enterprises.

22.07.26 OPINION ... In Estonia, about 7.2 percent of the population has no health insurance. With this indicator, we have fallen to second‑to‑last place in Europe, just ahead of Romania, and are approaching the United States. The situation would be resolved by mandatory health insurance for all residents, write health economists Triin Habicht, Andres Võrk and Kaija Kasekamp.

21.07.26 OPINION ... Discussions held with roughly a thousand Estonian high school students revealed one important conclusion: the need for clearer agreements on the use of artificial intelligence in learning. Uncertainty is students' biggest concern, writes Mihkel Mariusz Jezierski.

20.07.26 OPINION ... Summer is probably the only season everyone wants to emerge from as a winner, notes Kaupo Meiel.

17.07.26 OPINION ... Estonia's leaders must understand that money does not ultimately come to the state from spreadsheets but from enterprise — and therefore the state's finances cannot be repaired without the economy, writes Mihhail Kõlvart.

17.07.26 OPINION ... The first target for cuts should be the Ministry of Climate, which engages in outright foolishness such as turning healthy forests into wetlands, fighting packaging or imposing new bureaucratic rules, Aivar Kokk writes.

16.07.26 OPINION ... A recent weight‑loss campaign drew public attention to the question of where a permitted health campaign ends and prohibited prescription drug advertising begins. The rules should be clearly worded, not vague, writes Kristina Schotter.

16.07.26 OPINION ... Most people would agree that a green‑fingered neighbour selling surplus potatoes and pumpkins from the backyard, or a schoolkid offering homemade lemonade, should not get caught in the gears of bureaucracy. But there must always be a limit somewhere, writes Hans Väre.

15.07.26 OPINION ... Personal difficulties and general satisfaction can exist simultaneously in any country. Eurobarometer results suggest that this is exactly the case in Estonia today, writes Ardo Hansson.

11.07.26 OPINION ... Back to the roots. Real life. The old new. Call it whatever you want. It does not matter. But something is happening. Quietly in the background, yet increasingly noticeable. What is underway is the normalization of normalcy, Mirjam Mõttus writes.

11.07.26 OPINION ... Reflecting on events 35 years after Estonia's re-independence, Kertu Saks argues that Estonia's greatest source of resilience was the quiet resolve to make calm, decisive choices together in the face of uncertainty.

10.07.26 OPINION ... While a child has the right to both parents and both parents have the right and responsibility to participate in raising their child, problems appear when a sound principle becomes an end in itself, Viktor Turkin writes.

10.07.26 OPINION ... The NATO summit in Ankara may go down in history for the decision that Europe will ultimately take over the alliance's future leadership role from the United States, Peeter Kaldre writes.

10.07.26 OPINION ... The goal of the tax debate should not be to raise taxes until Estonia reaches the European average tax burden, but to ensure a tax system that is as competitive as possible in financing public services, Raul Aron writes. This brings more money into the country and increases tax revenue.

09.07.26 OPINION ... Let's stop experimenting with half-finished solutions and instead develop a long-term, cross-party plan to reorganize Tallinn's hospital network, writes Irja Lutsar.

09.07.26 OPINION ... After Max Kaur's removal as mayor, Kohtla-Järve's new governing alliance brings together the Koos party, politicians from Estonia's major parties and figures linked to the late local oligarch Nikolai Ossipenko, Erik Gamzejev finds.

07.07.26 OPINION ... Efforts to influence drivers' behavior should not rely on covert surveillance or the fear of fines. Rather than penalizing drivers for minor mistakes, authorities should focus more on those who drive with willful disregard for safety and repeat offenders, Imre Kaas writes.

07.07.26 OPINION ... Following political debate in Russia is a hobby of rather questionable value, because at times you have to check that you yourself aren't starting to lose your mind, writes Argo Ideon.

06.07.26 OPINION ... Covering or removing a Soviet-era decoration is not destruction. Placing it in a museum is not destruction either, writes Maarja Vaino.

06.07.26 OPINION ... Estonia should establish a legal framework allowing AI agents, or kratts, to act on behalf of individuals and businesses while ensuring clear accountability, security and data protection, writes Liisa Pakosta.

03.07.26 OPINION ... Estonia's technical education is improving and young people's interest is rising quickly, but this must be matched by employers' effort — companies must take responsibility for ensuring that motivated, trained young people find their place in industry. Otherwise Estonia will remain stuck at Europe's middle‑income level, writes Andri Haran.

03.07.26 OPINION ... In his background‑talk series, Harri Tiido this time examines the ways people look toward the future.

01.07.26 OPINION ... Over the past two weeks, we have seen that it is not the politicians of parliamentary parties — whose job it is — who are worried about a looming collapse in state finances, but rather civil servants from Eesti Pank and the Ministry of Finance, who are debating the sustainability of Estonia's public finances in the media. Something is very wrong with this picture, says Andrus Kaarelson.

30.06.26 OPINION ... Nest drones could provide the next major leap forward for the Police and Border Guard Board and the Rescue Board by enabling faster and smarter emergency response, writes Veiko Randlaine.

30.06.26 OPINION ... Georgia is a good example of how tourists and tourism live in one world while the daily life of locals exists in another, writes Aimar Ventsel.

29.06.26 OPINION ... National Opera Estonia council chair Ivari Ilja says the problems facing the opera house have developed over an extended period, and their main cause is the theater's consistently lagging funding.

29.06.26 OPINION ... The problem with AI agents was never their identity. It is authorization and attribution — what the thing may do and who answers when it does it, writes Peeter P. Mõtsküla.

27.06.26 OPINION ... Estonia's culture funding debate misses a fundamental issue. If the current system leaves orchestras, museums, magazines and artists perpetually underfunded, perhaps the problem is not simply a lack of resources, but the way those resources are allocated, writes Scott Diel, originally in Edasi.

26.06.26 OPINION ... Estonia does not need a president who can be everything at once, but an institution that helps keep our constitutional order in balance when the world around us is not, Mari-Liis Jakobson writes.

26.06.26 OPINION ... The era of the U.S.-established Pax Americana, which lasted 80 years, is over. If Europe, now lagging behind the U.S. and China in technology, wants to remain competitive, it needs a whole series of economic reforms, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said.

25.06.26 OPINION ... Seventy days remain until the presidential election in the Riigikogu after the Midsummer holidays, and by law there are 61 days left until deadline to submit candidates. This is an extremely short period and it is hard to see anything good in it, writes Argo Ideon.

25.06.26 OPINION ... Commander of the Estonian Defense League Ilmar Tamm said in his Victory Day speech that young people must be shown they have an important role to play in shaping Estonia's future, including in AI-based defense systems.

24.06.26 OPINION ... President Alar Karis said in his Victory Day parade speech in Rapla that Estonia's national defense has become dramatically stronger over the past five years.

22.06.26 OPINION ... The Reform Party's values are shifting. From a once liberal and at least rhetorically progressive party, it is becoming one that increasingly imitates rightwing populism, MP Züleyxa Izmailova writes.

20.06.26 OPINION ... Nine months before the next parliamentary elections, it appears that Estonian voters are more willing to accept reduced social security and growing inequality than higher taxes or a substantial overhaul of the current tax system, Tõnis Saarts says.