Estonia

Estonia's PM Kaja Kallas steps down, to become EU's foreign policy chief

Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has stepped down as the leader of the Baltic country to become the foreign policy chief of the European Union later this year. Kallas, Estonia's first female prime minister, handed in her formal resignation to President Alar Karis during a brief meeting at the Presidential Palace in the capital, Tallinn, on Monday. Estonia under Kallas has been one of Europe's most vocal backers of Ukraine following the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Summing up Kallas' 3 1/2 years at the helm of the nation of 1.3 million, Karis was quoted as saying by the Baltic News Service that it has been a time full of crises, the milestones (such as) the coronavirus, the economic recession and the war in Europe, when Russia destroyed our previous security picture with its aggression in Ukraine. The prime minister's move automatically triggered the resignation of Kallas' three-party Cabinet, made up of her center-right Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party

Russia waging shadow war on West that needs collective response: Estonia PM

Perched on the open ramp at the rear of a British Chinook helicopter, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas flew home from the annual Spring Storm military exercises, pleased to see NATO allies cooperating. But she later said that other types of warfare were on her mind. Her nation, which borders Russia, has seen a rise in sabotage, electronic warfare and spying all blamed on Moscow. As the war in Ukraine turns in Russia's favor, defenses are being bolstered in the front-line nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as in Finland and Poland. Kallas says Russia is carrying out a shadow war against the West. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged vigilance, saying Tuesday he had information that acts of sabotage can happen again. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said at least nine people were recently arrested on suspicion of beatings and arson, allegedly directed by Russia's secret services, and described them as Ukrainian, Belarusian and Polish nationals, some from th

Putin aims to bring back lost colonies of USSR with Ukraine war: Estonia FM

The comments were made at a session of the Raisina Dialogue, titled 'Back to the Future: A New Era of Conflict in Europe?'

Heavy force damaged Baltic Sea gas pipeline, says Estonia's Hanno Pevkur

The Balticconnector subsea gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable connecting Finland and Estonia were damaged on Sunday

Prez Murmu accepts credentials from 4 nations' envoys at Rashtrapati Bhavan

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday accepted credentials from envoys of Estonia, Ukraine, Burkina Faso and Norway at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, an official statement said. Those who presented their credentials were Marje Luup, Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia; Oleksandr Polishchuk, Ambassador of Ukraine; Desire Boniface Some, Ambassador of Burkina Faso; and May-Elin Stener, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Norway, said the statement issued by the president's office.

What is visa shopping and here's why one should avoid this practice

With a limited supply of appointments, tourists applying for Schengen visas are often tempted to apply for countries wherever appointments are available

British, German fighter jets intercept Russian plane near Estonia airspace

British and German air force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace, the U.K. defence ministry said Wednesday, amid mounting concerns about confrontation in the skies near Russia and Ukraine. The U.K. and Germany are conducting joint air policing missions in Estonia as part of NATO efforts to bolster its eastern flank in response to Russia. Britain's defence ministry said the Typhoon jets responded Tuesday after a Russian air-to-air refuelling aircraft failed to communicate with Estonian air traffic control. The Russian plane didn't enter the airspace of Estonia, a NATO member. UK and German planes are patrolling together as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission until the end of April. Wing Commander Scott Maccoll, Commander of the RAF's 140 Expeditionary Air Wing, said it was great to see the UK and German elements operate as one team. U.K. armed forces minister James Heappey said this joint UK and German deployment i

Estonia's pro-Ukraine prime minister Kaja Kallas scores win in re-election

The centre-right Reform Party of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, one of Europe's most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, overwhelmingly won the Baltic country's general election, while a far-right populist challenger lost seats in a vote that focused on national security and the economy. Preliminary returns from a completed ballot count showed the Reform Party, the senior partner in the outgoing three-party coalition government, received 31.2 per cent of the vote the biggest share in Sunday's election. That translates into 37 seats at Estonia's 101-seat Parliament, or Riigikogu, an increase of three seats from the 2019 election. This result, which is not final yet, will give us a strong mandate to put together a good government, Kallas told her party colleagues and jubilant supporters at a hotel in the capital, Tallinn. Kallas, prime minister since 2021, faced a challenge from the far-right populist EKRE party, which seeks to limit the Baltic nation's exposure to Russia's war in Ukraine

Estonian PM urges not to give in to Putin's nuclear threats

Estonia's prime minister said Tuesday that the West must not give in to Moscow's nuclear threats or premature peace proposals but stand firmly in support of Ukraine as the invaded country fights to rid its occupied territories of Russian soldiers. Kaja Kallas, who has led Estonia's government since last year, told The Associated Press in an interview that very dangerous calls for negotiations and peace in Ukraine have come from very prominent people lately. She didn't specify anyone by name, but her comments came a day after Tesla CEO Elon Musk floated on Twitter a proposal for ending the war that elicited fierce opposition from Kyiv. Musk, who has been involved in an on and off and reportedly on again deal to buy the social media platform, argued that Russia should be allowed to keep the Crimean Peninsula that it seized in 2014. The four regions Russia annexed following Kremlin-orchestrated referendums last month should hold repeat votes organised by the United Nations, he said.

Russia closes airspace for Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania & Slovenia airlines

Russia has closed its airspace for planes from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia, including transit flights, the country's Federal Agency for Air Transport announced

Jio, Estonia's University of Oulu sign pact for collaboration on 6G tech

Jio Platforms is the parent of telecom player Reliance Jio

This country is the best place in the world to become a digital native

Estonia has a one-stop digital shop for services: you can easily file your taxes online, get drug prescriptions, book hospital treatments.

Indian missions to open in Estonia, Paraguay, Dominican Republic

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the opening of three Indian Missions in Estonia, Paraguay and Dominican Republic in 2021

Estonia woos Indian businesses with e-residency, access to EU market

Estonia is the first country in the world to offer e-residency, a government-issued digital ID available to anyone in the world

Welcome to e-Estonia, a nation that's leading Europe in digital innovation

The government took nearly all its services online in 2003 with the e-Estonia State Portal