Summaries

Estonian State Will Support Estonian Newspapers AbroadThe National Foundation of Civil Society (Kodanikuühiskonna Sihtkapital) will launch a pilot project providing €50,000 in grants to support Estonian publications abroad.   All publications aimed at Estonians abroad, published on paper or online, promoting the Estonian language or culture, including publications in English,...

Victory Day Parade  Cancelled The Defense League's annual Victory Day parade was to take place in Paide this year, but will be cancelled due to the coronavirus.   The so-called victory lights will still be symbolically sent via torches across Estonia on June 23, which is also the eve of jaanipäev,...

University of Tartu Improved its World Ranking The University of Tartu (TÜ) has risen to its highest ever ranking, 285th position in the Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings. The result is sixteen places higher than last year. Since 2014, the university has climbed 176 places in the rankings. TÜ has...

Estonia's First UN Security Council Presidency a Success Estonia ended its first one-month term of holding the UN Security Council (UNSC) rotating presidency and on June 1st handed over the role to permanent UNSC member France.   "The month of May saw Estonia's foreign service at the heart of crisis...

Audiobooks of Estonian Literary Classics on Smartphones Soon   With 2020 being the Year of Digital Culture in Estonia, the Ministry of Culture is launching the Estonian audiobook market. As a first step, the texts of 50 literary classics, from Oskar Luts' "Kevade" ("Spring") to Indrek Hargla's "Apteeker (Apothecary) Melchior"...

Emergency Situation Declared Over in Estonia During an online government session held on May 16, the Estonian Government approved a resolution ending the state of emergency in the country as of midnight on Sunday, May 17.   The respective orders of the government and the head of the emergency situation...

Mail Service Between U.S. and Estonia Restored On May 12, the United States Postal Service (USPS) removed Estonia from the list of countries with which international mail and parcel services had been suspended, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced.   According to U.S. representatives, the intervening disruption in mail...

Baltic Presidents Release Joint "Victory in Europe Day" Message   The presidents of the three Baltic states have released a joint letter ahead of May 8, VE Day or "Victory in Europe Day", when most countries in Europe mark the end of the Second World War.   This year marks...

Estonia's One-Month UN Security Council Presidency Begins As of May 1, Estonia will hold the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for a month. Estonia intends to place special emphasis on the links between the COVID-19 pandemic and the security environment, cyber security, the fundamental principles of international...

Estonia to Slowly Start Easing Restrictions On April 23, Prime Minister Jüri Ratas said that the government is going to extend the emergency situation and accompanying orders by a minimum of two weeks, but that the 2+2 rule (a maximum of 2 people in a group, staying 2 metres apart)...