Estonia
Fri, 15 Jan 2021 10:48:48 +0200Restrictions in Ida-Viru, Harju counties to continue until February
Members of the Estonian government on Thursday approved in principle the continuation of restrictions in Ida-Viru and Harju counties until February 1.
Fri, 15 Jan 2021 10:46:16 +0200Reform and Center to hammer out coalition agreement over week and a half
Estonia’s candidate for prime minister Kaja Kallas (Reform Party) said at a press conference on Thursday that Reform and Center will try to move quickly as the country find itself in the middle of COVID-19 and economic crises. It has been suggested...
Thu, 14 Jan 2021 10:50:37 +0200Kaja Kallas’ second shot at becoming prime minister
Even though Prime Minister Jüri Ratas’ resignation was initially followed by rumors of the recent coalition moving forward together, it became clear by noon on Wednesday that the Center Party does not wish to stay in the same coalition with the ...
Wed, 13 Jan 2021 11:58:47 +0200Prime Minister Jüri Ratas resigns amid property project financing scandal
After a meeting of the board of the Center Party that lasted many hours, Jüri Ratas announced his resignation as the prime minister of Estonia in the early hours of Wednesday, public broadcaster ERR and Postimees reported.
Wed, 13 Jan 2021 09:57:22 +0200Teder promised close to a million in return for favor
Suspicions brought by the Office of the Prosecutor General suggest businessman Hillar Teder has tried to secure favorable decisions for his Porto Franco real estate development in both Tallinn and on the state level. Five individuals and the Center P...
Tue, 12 Jan 2021 10:51:24 +0200Kaljulaid proposes extraordinary elections in case of referendum ‘no’ answer
President Kersti Kaljulaid turned to Riigikogu parties on Monday and proposed tying the planned marriage referendum to a vote of confidence in the Riigikogu. This would mean holding extraordinary parliamentary elections should the people say “no”...
Mon, 11 Jan 2021 10:15:35 +0200Obstruction to end in cluster vote
The Riigikogu Constitutional Committee on Sunday decided to send the marriage referendum bill to its second reading with four individual motions to amend pertaining to marriage and a so-called obstruction cluster made up of the opposition’s remaini...
Fri, 08 Jan 2021 12:07:15 +0200The authorities still covered up what happened to Enn Valli at his funeral
A grand funeral was held in Põlva in January of 1981. Despite extraordinarily cold weather, the cemetery was full of people. Many looked on from afar. The funeral was for Jr. Sgt. Enn Valli who was not yet 22 when he died as the first Estonian Sovie...
Thu, 07 Jan 2021 11:59:58 +0200Minister of Defense: Year to be dominated by the rise of China
Minister of Defense Jüri Luik (Isamaa) says that isolating defense from political currents is one of the trump cards of national security in Estonia. The minister also says that the threat of NATO disbanding has disappeared and that the new year wil...
Wed, 06 Jan 2021 11:19:36 +0200Popov: A pandemic was considered unlikely
Postimees’ Person of the Year 2020 Dr. Arkadi Popov said on the “Otse Postimehest” webcast on Tuesday that the Health Board’s crisis center had an activity plan in place for the second wave of COVID-19. “There need to be plans on every leve...
Tue, 05 Jan 2021 13:40:04 +0200Health Board chief: We are too small to buy vaccines independently
Director of the Health Board Üllar Lanno would like to realign the agency to be able to handle any situation, also during crisis time. Secondly, he deems it important to renew the board’s databases and get an overview of the situation of ambulance...
Mon, 04 Jan 2021 10:21:24 +0200Helmes’ statements draw flak from EKRE member
The new year’s first episode of the “Räägime asjast” talk show on Tre Raadio did not differ much from the one that cost Mart Helme the post of interior minister in November. This time parliamentary elections in Lithuania were at the heart of ...
Thu, 31 Dec 2020 10:21:52 +0200Opposition’s cannon loaded
The Riigikogu opposition has loaded its attempt to kill the coalition’s marriage referendum draft resolution with 9,480 motions to amend that were handed over to the Riigikogu Constitutional Committee on Wednesday. Voting on individual motions to a...
Wed, 30 Dec 2020 18:42:38 +0200Partial remote learning to continue in Harju and Ida-Viru counties
Minister of Education and Research Jaak Aab (Center) has made a proposal to the COVID-19 scientific council and the government to return to contact study in most Estonian schools after the Christmas break. Exceptions will be left in place for Harju a...
Tue, 29 Dec 2020 13:40:41 +0200Greater quantities needed to hit vaccination target
Estonia’s COVID-19 immunization target of making vaccination freely available by June is unrealistic considering current vaccine quantities.
Mon, 28 Dec 2020 10:10:59 +0200«The adrenaline rush meant I did not even feel the needle»
The first person vaccinated against COVID-19 in Estonia is resident doctor at the Ida-Viru Central Hospital Jelena Rozinko (24) who has been treating coronavirus patients since September and finds that her specialization as an infectious diseases spe...
Thu, 24 Dec 2020 12:33:06 +0200The Presidents of seven countries expressed their support to the new President of Moldova
The heads of state of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Czechia, Poland, Romania and Slovenia made a joint statement today expressing their support to Maia Sandu, the new President of the Republic of Moldova and her extensive plan to restructure the countr...
Wed, 23 Dec 2020 11:00:25 +0200Restrictions similar to Ida-Viru County to come into force in Harju County
The Estonian government will impose extensive COVID-19 restrictions in Harju County and extend the measures already in place to prevent the spread of the coronavirus in Ida-Viru County.
Tue, 22 Dec 2020 08:00:07 +0200Health Board PR chief to lose job after criticizing immunization plan
Head of Communications for the Health Board Simmo Saar will be forced to resign after he was identified to be behind anonymous criticism of Estonia’s inoculation plan.
Mon, 21 Dec 2020 13:16:58 +0200Jüri Ratas: I’m the prime minister and I dance to the republic’s tune
I met with Prime Minister Jüri Ratas in Stenbock House on Friday, or the day after the government’s final press conference of 2020, to sum up the outgoing year. Even though the interview had been in the pipeline for some time, the PM’s busy sche...
Thu, 17 Dec 2020 12:10:55 +0200Narcotics plan baffles deputy mayor
Tallinn’s Social Democrats are making preparations for local elections in 2021 and working on a nightlife strategy for the capital that should help entertainment and culture establishments find their feet again quickly once Covid measures end.
Wed, 16 Dec 2020 11:51:24 +0200First vaccine delivery could be smaller than anticipated
The government unveiled Estonia’s vaccination plan on Tuesday. Even though exact quantities and dates were not provided, the first doses of vaccine should reach Estonia in early January, while inoculation of risk groups might not commence before sp...
Tue, 15 Dec 2020 10:20:54 +0200Referendum on its way to be shelved
Following several hours of questions and answers, the Riigikogu on Monday decided to send the marriage referendum draft resolution to its second reading where it might nevertheless stay for good.
Mon, 14 Dec 2020 10:21:10 +0200Wolt looking to expand to smaller cities
CEO of Wolt Baltic Liis Ristal says that the company will try to expand as far as profitability will allow in Estonia. The food delivery service has done brilliantly in Tallinn and Tartu and will be setting its sights on smaller cities now.
Fri, 11 Dec 2020 12:17:42 +0200CEO: SYNLAB can double number of COVID-19 tests next year
It has been a busy year for SYNLAB laboratories. CEO Rainar Aamisepp says that the company has been working 24/7 in three shifts for the past nine months. SYNLAB laboratories have analyzed over eight million tests around 10 percent of which tied to t...