Estonia could look at cutting certain assistance and support programs to reduce the all-time high budget deficit, said prime minister Kaja Kallas' economic adviser and former Bank of Estonia governor Ardo Hansson. He also pointed out a possible extension to property taxation.
The Ministry of Finance is planning to further tighten the licensing of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, with legislation inherited from the previous Center/EKRE/Isamaa administration set to do just that. This would see the Financial Supervisory Authority regulating the sector, and would follow other changes which have come off the back of the cryptocurrency boom a few years ago.
Several years ago, and particularly during Taavi Rõivas (Reform) time as prime minister, Estonia was well on the way to becoming somewhat of a cryptocurrency hotspot, ERR s online news in Estonian reports, with over 1,300 having been issued cryptocurrency licenses, while avenues were explored for Estonia to exploit its Baltic tiger e-state niche further
Defense Minister Kalle Laanet (Reform) says that the border town of Narva is key to the entire country s defense and security.
Laanet, who was appointed minister last month after the Reform/Center coalition entered office, said: Estonia starts at Narva. It is evident that we need to find opportunities to highlight the importance of national defense to the people of the town.
The large majority of Narva s population speaks Russian as their native tongue. The town lies on the river of the same name, with the bridge spanning it constituting a major border crossing in both directions.
Highlighting defense would need to: Start with encouraging the youth to take part in the national defense curriculum in school, through to presenting them with career opportunities in the Estonian Defense Forces (EDF), Laanet continued, according to a ministry press release.
The effects of distance learning resulting from the coronavirus pandemic have caused the education ministry to rethink its approach to school exams, with the possibility that graduating from high school will not be dependent upon exam results, as has been the case up until now.
Other concerns voiced by stakeholders include fears that exams just for their own sake do not provide a clear picture of school pupils development.
The discussions mainly concern basic school leaving exams – which come at the end of the mandatory education cycle – and while a long-term plan is underway, ERR reports, the coronavirus pandemic has also brought the issue front and center.
The body tasked with monitoring party finances has asked a Tallinn deputy mayor about a campaigning debt of â¬9,000, arising from the European parliamentary elections in May 2019.
The Political Parties Financing Surveillance Committee (ERJK) says that Vadim Belobrovtsev (Center), one of six deputy mayors in the city government, had as of September last year delayed payment on invoices issued by a consulting firm for 17 months. Depending on the details, this may constitute an illegal donation, the ERJK says.
The ERJK says that the length of time the debt had been in place attracted its attention. Such long-term debts are not common in economic activities, which is why the Commission had grounds to check whether there was a possible violation of the Political Parties Act, which consists in the use of creditor s money on favorable terms.