Новости за 09.05.2024

Prime Minister Kaja Kallas (Reforms) and members of the government participated in a flag hoisting ceremony in the Freedom Square to celebrate Europe Day and the 20th anniversary of Estonia's accession to the European Union and NATO.

This May, Tallinn hosts its spring collection rounds for hazardous waste and reusable items during two weekends – May 11-12 and May 18-19.

A big concert is held in Narva to celebrate Europe Day at Town Hall Square.

The City of Tallinn is planning to introduce a new cycle path between Poska tänav and Reidi tee. The aim is to enhance mobility for pedestrians and cyclists as well as develop the city's cycle-path network.

The coalition is now debating Finance Minister Mart Võrklaev's proposed cuts, which would impact local authorities, state foundations, and companies. Those ministries that received more extra funding this year will have to make additional cuts.

Kusti Salm has been named as Estonia's 2024 European of the Year. Salm, who is permanent secretary at the Estonian Ministry of Defense, has been instrumental in shaping European defense policy and standing up for Estonia's interests in the European Union.

The Estonian government has approved amendments to the Earth's Crust Act, suspending the procedures for new oil shale mining permits until the end of 2025, when the Climate Act will be drafted. The draft bill will now be sent forward to the Riigikogu for discussion.

The Estonian Tax and Customs Board (MTA) is reviewing data submitted by Wolt, Bolt, Airbnb and other such platforms regarding income earned by their users last year and will be comparing it with the data people reported on their income tax returns.

Our readers can now use the EU&I European Parliament Election Voters' Compass on the Estonian Broadcasting Portal to find political parties that share their values by answering 30 questions. From high server traffic, the compass page may open slowly.

Before the euro was introduced to Estonia, the state budget was cut by an amount roughly equivalent to the current percentage of the country's budget deficit. In 2009, as much as nine percent of GDP, was cut, said Estonia's Minister of Finance at that time Jürgen Ligi (Reform). Currently, cuts of only 0.4 percent are recommended, however, even that is difficult to achieve, Ligi said, as the governing coalition is not sufficiently active.

An Estonian resident who was on board the MSC Aries, a container ship seized in the Strait of Hormuz on April 13, was released on Thursday and is on his way to Estonia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.

The authorities in Ivangorod set up a big screen on the banks of the Narva River to show the events of the Russian Victory Day celebrations on May 9, but there are few people in Narva to watch.

The Estonian men's handball team faced a tough loss on the road Wednesday, going down 50:25 Iceland in its IHF World Championship qualifiers first leg game in Reykjavík.

More than 733,000 foreign tourists visited Estonia this March, spending a combined €243 million while in the country, according to the statistical release published by the Bank of Estonia on Thursday.

Repairs to the Estonian-Finnish undersea power connection Estlink2 on the Estonian coast near Aseri will begin on a larger scale in the second half of May. According to Estonian transmission system operator (TSO) Elering, the aim is still to get Estlink 2 back online by the end of August.

A "Ghetto Games" event taking place in Tallinn will feature mixed martial arts (MMA), dance, basketball and other competitions.

President Alar Karis writes that the European Union must neither become stagnant water, nor become a fertile ground for bureaucratic red tape.

Like last year, a large poster of Vladimir Putin with a bloody face and the inscription "Putin - war criminal" hangs on the Russian side of the Narva fortress wall.

Market gardeners in Estonia are alarmed about the ongoing sub-zero nighttime temperatures, as nightfrost can damage many plants.

Estonian cyclist Madis Mihkels finished in the top 10 for the second stage in a row at the prestigious Giro d'Italia Wednesday.

The board of an Estonian-Dutch charity has called for an audit into the activities of Eesti Toidupank, a food bank which operates nationwide, over complaints on funding from some of the bank's regional outlets, Delfi reports.

While Eesti 200 has not ruled in or out senior coalition party Reform's initiative to eradicate the so-called "tax hump" in Estonia, the third party, the Social Democrats (SDE), have called for the policy to be deferred.

Estonia could sell bonds to its own citizens in order to fund a large-scale one-off defense investment, says Bigbank chief economist Raul Eamets. To a more limited extent, the Ministry of Finance is already planning on selling bonds to Estonian retail investors this year.

Tourism in Estonia rose by 5 percent on year to March 2024, while in the case of foreign tourism alone, the increase stood at 14 percent, state agency Statistics Estonia reports.

Heaps of red carnations had already been laid at the site of a controversial statue in central Tallinn early on this morning, as Russian-speaking residents of Estonia mark "victory day."