03.04.26 NEWS ... The Estonian government has greenlit amendments that will make switching home loans between banks faster and easier, spurring competition and lowering costs for borrowers.

03.04.26 NEWS ... The latest wave of foreign journalists in Narva continues, amusing and exhausting locals as they chase claims of separatist "people's republic" on the border.

03.04.26 NEWS ... Viru Keemia Grupp (VKG) overtook Enefit Industry in 2025 to become Estonia's top oil shale miner, even as the country's total extraction declined for a third year.

03.04.26 NEWS ... Estonia plans to boost senior participation in volunteer work, which the Social Affairs Ministry says can help fight loneliness and support seniors citizens' mental health.

03.04.26 NEWS ... NGO Slava Ukraini filed a lawsuit in Ukraine seeking damages over misused donations and reputational harm tied to former chief Johanna-Maria Lehtme and its Ukrainian partners.

03.04.26 NEWS ... Opposition leaders say Estonia's spring economic forecast points to a deeper deficit and rising debt, warning the country's finances risk becoming difficult to stabilize.

03.04.26 NEWS ... The Ministry of Education says Narva Orthodox High School may have wrongly claimed over €500,000 in state funding for ineligible students. The school denies any wrongdoing.

03.04.26 NEWS ... "Lihtsad uudised," meaning easy or simple news, is for anyone who wants to improve their Estonian language skills. Listen and read a selection of this week's news stories below.

03.04.26 OPINION ... Researchers in Moscow and St. Petersburg tend to be Great Russian nationalists. Not all of them, but those who receive state research funding and whose data is used by various officials often are, writes Aimar Ventsel.

02.04.26 NEWS ... Estonia is adding ID photos to serious offenders' criminal records in its national database, Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta (Eesti 200) said Thursday.

02.04.26 OPINION ... In an opinion piece published on ERR, Minister of Energy and the Environment Andres Sutt described holding a different view from his own on the ETS as pointless "squabbling." Criticism of taxing something into extinction is not pointless rambling, writes Ahti Asmann.

02.04.26 NEWS ... U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he is seriously considering withdrawing from NATO. Members of the Riigikogu were divided on whether this was merely a statement or a serious signal to Europe.

02.04.26 NEWS ... A draft anti-money laundering law would grant the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) the authority to access bank secrecy data, including account statements, and banks would be prohibited from informing their clients about such inquiries.

02.04.26 NEWS ... Tallinn environmental activist Elliot Lään, a.k.a. Rohekodanik, is taking on a year of eco challenges, following one strict green rule each month to cut his carbon footprint.

02.04.26 NEWS ... According to the Estonian Ministry of Finance forecast published on Thursday, growth will be driven by stronger private consumption—supported by changes to the income tax system—along with improving external demand that will stimulate corporate investment, and increased government spending.

02.04.26 NEWS ... Returning to oil shale-based energy production in Estonia is neither practical nor sensible, said Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, a member of the European Court of Auditors, in an interview with ERR.

02.04.26 NEWS ... While President Donald Trump cannot unilaterally withdraw from NATO, the White House still has sufficient means to paralyze the alliance's activities and reduce the U.S. military presence in Europe if it chooses to do so, according to Marek Kohv, a researcher at the Estonian think tank ICDS (International Center for Defense and Security).

02.04.26 NEWS ... The government on Thursday agreed to privatize the state-owned shares of the joint-stock company Omniva through a public auction.

02.04.26 NEWS ... Urmas Reinsalu, head of the opposition Isamaa party, told ERR that Donald Trump's positions are becoming increasingly transactional, but it is in Estonia's interest that dialogue between the United States and Europe not break down. Reinsalu also described the sharing of information with the Kremlin by Péter Szijjártó as treacherous.

02.04.26 NEWS ... An exhibit at Tallinn's Solaris Center spotlights Nukufilm's 70-year stop-motion legacy, giving a close-up look at the figures behind some of Estonia's most iconic films.

02.04.26 NEWS ... The Transport Administration and the Estonian Defense Forces demolished the old Halinga railway viaduct in Pärnu County on Wednesday evening to make way for a future expansion of the road.

02.04.26 NEWS ... European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas explained on the "Esimene stuudio" talk show why Donald Trump's attacks on NATO are painful for allies and why Ukraine must not be pressured into unfair concessions. Kallas emphasized that diplomacy and unity are the only tools to prevent brute force from prevailing in the world.

02.04.26 NEWS ... The Transport Administration plans to shift to a more flexible, growth-based approach to roadside mowing, potentially helping both the environment and the authority's budget.

02.04.26 NEWS ... Starting Wednesday, ERs in Estonia can turn away triaged patients with minor issues, redirecting them to their doctor or a pharmacy instead of requiring an ER doctor's exam.

02.04.26 NEWS ... Estonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing to nominate Hannes Hanso as the country's next ambassador to the United States, according to multiple sources. Neither the ministry nor Hanso has formally confirmed the appointment.

02.04.26 NEWS ... Ride-hailing company Bolt pays its drivers different rates depending on the region. In several parts of Estonia, drivers have successfully protested against low pay, prompting Bolt to raise fares in areas such as Saaremaa and Ida-Viru County.

02.04.26 NEWS ... Estonia is planning to introduce a new network-based emergency alert system in the first half of next year, which is considered more effective than current app notifications and SMS messages.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Minister of Foreign Affairs Margus Tsahkna (Eesti 200) said NATO benefits both Europe and the U.S. after President Donald Trump's comments that he is considering pulling out of the transatlantic military alliance.

02.04.26 NEWS ... More than half of respondents in a new poll believe foreign labor negatively affects wages and that language requirements should be tightened, a new study by Norstat and the Ühiskonnauuringute Instituut shows.

01.04.26 NEWS ... The Financial Intelligence Unit should once again be placed under the authority of the Police and Border Guard Board, establishing civilian oversight of its activities, Minister of Justice and Digital Affairs Liisa Pakosta said.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Despite Ukrainian drone strikes halting 40 percent of Russia's Baltic Sea oil exports, surging oil prices have actually boosted the Kremlin's revenues, according to Alan Vaht, a management board member of the Estonian fuel retailer AS Terminal.

01.04.26 OPINION ... Because the grandma of a family I know lives in the woods near the sea, birds on their spring migration pass over her plot. Her eyesight not being what it used to, she sees a drone in every squadron of geese that passes overhead, writes Kaupo Meiel.

01.04.26 OPINION ... The attack on the ports of Ust-Luga and Primorsk is a carefully planned operation whose impact may extend well beyond logistical disruption. Meelis Kiili writes that there is reason to believe this could become one of the war's most consequential operations, provided the disruption stretches into weeks or months rather than mere days.

01.04.26 NEWS ... The Portuguese Air Force took control of NATO's rotating Baltic Air Policing Mission at Ämari Air Base on Monday during a handover ceremony with the Italian Air Force.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa Pakosta told ERR that the Prosecutor's Office may use as evidence only communications data that has been collected for business purposes.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Estonia needs to quickly form a clear position on how AI tools can be used in the public sector, as the Prosecutor's Office is grappling with extremely voluminous AI-generated criminal complaints, prosecutor Sirle Melk told ERR.

01.04.26 NEWS ... The company behind the planned €300 million large-caliber ammunition factory to be built in the Põhja-Kiviõli defense industry park is, according to ERR, a Swedish defense industry firm.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Residents who live close to where a Ukrainian drone was found in Tartu County on Tuesday said they had ignored or slept through the warnings. Others said they heard an explosion before the first alert was sent.

01.04.26 NEWS ... According to Statistics Estonia, inflation in Estonia stood at 3.3 percent in March, with the rise driven mainly by higher fuel prices. However, SEB analyst Mihkel Nestor says that the price increase has not yet broadly spread across the economy.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Rail Baltic Estonia hopes to kick off construction of the Pärnu–Kabli section of the Rail Baltica line, which now has an environmental impact assessment, this autumn.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Experts deny Sweden has carried out its threat to restrict electricity exports after morning and evening electricity price spikes surged to over €800 per megawatt-hour in recent days. However, no electricity has flowed through the Lithuania–Sweden cable during those hours.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Former Air Force commander Jaak Tarien said that although individual Ukrainian drones that have strayed off course may cause anxiety, there is no reason to fear a sudden Russian attack. If an adversary were planning a deliberate strike against Estonia, intelligence services would know long before any drones appeared on radar.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Chairman Lauri Läänemets said that the idea for a development bank that could help Estonian companies secure favorable loans could be added to SDE's 2027 elections program.

01.04.26 NEWS ... The final Nordica jet took off from Tallinn Airport Tuesday, ending the airline's operations after its bankruptcy and the sale of all leased planes.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Emergency notifications sent by the state should be taken seriously and if you should follow the instructions, crisis experts have said.

01.04.26 NEWS ... Russia is deliberately redirecting Ukrainian drones toward the Baltic States and Finland to stir tensions intellegence sources indicate, said Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha has said.

31.03.26 NEWS ... The City of Tallinn plans to let 20 schools continue teaching some 7th–9th grade classes in Russian next school year, citing a shortage of teachers proficient in Estonian.

31.03.26 NEWS ... Propastop co-founder Andres Lember tells ERR in an interview that foreign journalists' interest in the "Narva People's Republic" topic has become disproportionately large, but the Estonian press, not Propastop, is responsible for amplifying it.

31.03.26 NEWS ... Narva Mayor Katri Raik said a huge surge in foreign media attention has hit the border town after news of an alleged "Narva People's Republic" was published. She said the issue is far removed from locals' everyday lives.

31.03.26 NEWS ... Many heart diseases are caused by atherosclerosis or the thickening of artery walls. A doctoral thesis defended at the University of Tartu suggests that attention should be paid to vascular health already in childhood. The findings show that the condition of arteries in late teenagers in Estonia and Finland reflects their lifestyle choices starting from as early as age nine.