27.04.26 OPINION ... Parallels between Estonia and Ukraine are not particularly convincing when discussing the "Donbas scenario" because Ukraine in spring 2014 and Estonia today differ fundamentally, writes Igor Gretskiy, research fellow at the International Center for Defense and Security.

25.04.26 OPINION ... We are moving toward a world of divided spheres of influence, vassal dependencies and mutually beneficial deals — one that stands in contrast to the old liberal world order where values served as the guiding principle, writes Tõnis Saarts.

24.04.26 OPINION ... In Estonia, approximately 500 surveillance warrants per year are issued in criminal proceedings for phone tapping, and there is no uncontrolled or mass surveillance, writes prosecutor Alar Lehesmets.

23.04.26 OPINION ... Science fiction has a well-established place in the development of military thought: it helps break routines in both thinking and planning. It can also be used to influence political decision-makers, writes former Estonian diplomat and journalist Harri Tiido.

23.04.26 OPINION ... A nuclear power plant or a pumped-storage facility cannot operate under a purely market-based business model supported only by a state guarantee covering a longer loan period. Consequently, it is clear that loan guarantees will not attract investment into large-scale energy projects, write Anne Sulling and Erkki Raasuke.

23.04.26 OPINION ... The government has no plan to lift Estonia out of energy poverty, but without a plan, international energy giants will not invest here either, writes Lauri Läänemets.

22.04.26 OPINION ... If, in privatizing Omniva, the government fails to create a system that also ensures the delivery of journalism, a large share of 200,000 readers will be left exposed to rumors, propaganda, and direct information operations by hostile actors — without anything to counterbalance them, says Hans Väre.

22.04.26 OPINION ... As America's security umbrella frays and Russia's war redraws Europe's strategic map, Europe can no longer afford to think in electoral cycles. Former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves argues that the era of Pax Americana is ending and that Europe must finally develop a grand strategy of its own.

22.04.26 OPINION ... Spoken communication requires effort. At the same time, the relatively small number of important words and their uses can be learned fairly easily — but only if they are taught, writes Tiit Hennoste.

21.04.26 OPINION ... Memorial emerged in the time of Soviet collapse as a center for interpreting Russia's violent history. It is hardly surprising that the authorities in Moscow now consider this a grave crime, writes journalist Argo Ideon.

21.04.26 OPINION ... While the makeup of the Riigikogu will very probably be quite different after the next elections, this might end up meaning little if certain casts of mind do not change of become clearer, writes Martin Mölder.

20.04.26 OPINION ... Estonia's tax system continues to primarily tax labor and consumption, while accumulated wealth remains largely untaxed. Yet public debate focuses on a progressive income tax, which hits the working middle class but neither reduces inequality nor eases the tax burden on labor, writes Kerly Randlane.

20.04.26 OPINION ... An oil shale power plant is a dead-end plant for the future. No investor, no bank will finance a new oil shale power plant in Estonia, writes Andres Sutt in response to Urmas Reinsalu's opinion piece.

20.04.26 OPINION ... The Estonian government's plan to postpone the adoption of the EU's transparent pay directive and talk of its "reworking" is a political choice, and a bad one at that, writes Christian Veske, Estonia's gender equality and equal treatment commissioner.

17.04.26 OPINION ... The idea that the Middle East oil crisis will have only a short‑term impact is wishful thinking—it's time to get used to new and higher prices, writes Estonian economist Raul Eamets.

17.04.26 OPINION ... Government plans to make its energy policy irreversible by killing alternatives are misguided and risky, writes leader of the opposition Isamaa party Urmas Reinsalu.

17.04.26 OPINION ... A careless approach to research security could jeopardize both the security of Estonia's e-state and the country's reputation in the eyes of its allies, which is why security-minded thinking must become part of everyday life in the scientific community, writes Riin Tamm.

16.04.26 OPINION ... There is too much discontent in the air, too much hatred, too much aggression. It seems that the postwar world order has begun to waver, said Alar Karis in his honorary doctorate lecture after being awarded an honorary doctorate by Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania.

16.04.26 OPINION ... If I were in Bolt's place, I would make it a point of honor — and a success story — to invest in peripheral municipalities, instead of sulking over small change, writes journalist Mirjam Mõttus.

15.04.26 OPINION ... The fuel market is in serious disarray, while prices at the pump do not reflect its true condition, writes Alan Vaht.

15.04.26 OPINION ... Digital state services become inconvenient or costly when the Estonian government builds competing in-house IT units or commissions lines of code instead of services, rather than relying on the globally experienced IT companies we already have, writes Doris Põld in reply to Nils Niitra.

15.04.26 OPINION ... I have at times begun comparing artificial intelligence to a kratt — a kind of magical helper in Estonian folklore that a person fashions for themselves out of old materials, writes Toomas Jürgenstein.

14.04.26 OPINION ... Perhaps restrictions on social media should apply to adults as well, in order to protect young people from the negative and infantilizing content on these platforms, argues literary scholar Maarja Vaino.

14.04.26 OPINION ... If expectations are raised too high and then remain unfulfilled, disappointment usually follows for entire societies, which carries major risks for the European Union enlargement process, writes Urmas Paet.

14.04.26 OPINION ... Microchipping helps shape the future of Estonia's pet culture. At present, local governments and shelters are, figuratively speaking, putting out fires, but we could instead focus on preventive work, writes Anni Anete Mõisamaa.

13.04.26 OPINION ... For people without cars in Tartu, the 15-minute neighborhood has become a 45-minute commute to reach basic services like the closed city center post office, writes Tiit Hennoste in a commentary originally published in Sirp.

13.04.26 OPINION ... The overall threat picture has not changed. Estonia's principal adversary remains the same – it was, is, and for the foreseeable future will continue to be Russia with its imperialist mindset, writes Margo Palloson, director general of the Internal Security Service (ISS/KAPO), in the agency's new annual report.

10.04.26 OPINION ... Unlike many traditional industries, data centers do not require a very large workforce and are therefore well suited to Estonia's economic model and demographics, writes Tõnis Vare.

10.04.26 OPINION ... Europe is not ready to give up U.S. security guarantees. Hopefully, the dispute shaking NATO will help Europeans finally understand that they cannot rely indefinitely on the American umbrella and must stand on their own feet, writes Peeter Kaldre.

09.04.26 OPINION ... If a pro–oil shale governing coalition comes to power a year from now, it will hopefully not erase the benefits of renewable energy, but instead succeed in putting together the best possible energy model, Erik Gamzejev writes.

08.04.26 OPINION ... The Estonian state has expanded the expenses and staffing of its IT centers to unprecedented levels while simultaneously pumping hundreds of millions of euros into IT companies — of which only a few skim the cream. This is a relationship of dependency that no longer makes people's lives easier, but rather the opposite, writes Nils Niitra.

07.04.26 OPINION ... There is nothing to suggest that destabilizing the Middle East serves Estonia's interests. While Estonia's political elite speaks of advancing the country's direct national interests, Estonian people see new risk instead, write Jaak Valge and Andres Aule.

07.04.26 OPINION ... Russian internet, in its previously familiar form, is destined to fade away, writes Argo Ideon.

04.04.26 OPINION ... Not every resident of Estonia needs to master four or five foreign languages, but alongside those who know English, there should be more people who can at least read less widely spoken languages, writes Anna Verschik.

04.04.26 OPINION ... The Supreme Court's ruling on communications data directs the state to pressure telecommunications companies to continue convenience-based surveillance, writes Andri Rohtla.

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 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.

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.

31.03.26 OPINION ... The ETS will not be dismantled because it is not sensible, nor is it supported by any credible voice in Europe. Building such expectations is therefore misleading to voters, as it can only lead to disappointment that something was not done that would, in fact, have been harmful, writes Andres Sutt.

30.03.26 OPINION ... One of the eeriest features of modern war is the way game logic, computer simulation and the battlefield are converging — all the more reason to combat that sense of unease with first-hand knowledge, writes Meelis Oidsalu

27.03.26 OPINION ... In light of global trends, the question remains what we ourselves can do to protect Estonia from the backsliding of democracy, so that people feel their will is being taken into account, reflects Mari-Liis Jakobson in a Vikerraadio daily commentary.

27.03.26 OPINION ... If national identity is defined too narrowly, it can become a closed circle that is difficult to enter. If it is defined too broadly, there is a fear that national distinctiveness may dissolve. As a result, smaller nations often live between two opposing fears: on the one hand, the fear of disappearance; on the other, the fear of excessive closure, writes Igor Kotjuh.

24.03.26 OPINION ... The optimist in me thinks that Tallinn has survived all kinds of times and will get through the present as well. The pessimist in me, however, worries that all of this is merely practice — trials in running the country, writes Kaarel Oja.

23.03.26 OPINION ... Looking at the statistics, it can confidently be said that over the past quarter century, Estonia has caught up with the Nordic countries in the field of young people's sexual health. On the other side of the coin, however, there is a whole range of indicators — primarily related to social health — where there is more than enough room for improvement, writes Liilia Lõhmus.

21.03.26 OPINION ... The Reform Party presents us with a nebulous vision of the future, one in which even the outlines are barely discernible, let alone a clear picture, Tõnis Saarts finds.

20.03.26 OPINION ... Protecting children from criminals is a critically important responsibility shared by society as a whole. To help safeguard children from pedophiles, the state has established two simple measures, which Mallu Mariann Treimann-Legrant has now commendably brought back to the attention of a large portion of Estonia. I call on everyone to always be active in the best interests of children, while adhering to the rules agreed upon in a state governed by the rule of law, writes Liisa Pakosta.

20.03.26 OPINION ... Drawing on the experiences and lessons of other countries, we could already be asking what political parties seeking a seat in parliament see as a sustainable level of government debt for Estonia — and what they plan to do about it after the 2027 elections, write Peter Lõhmus and Viljar Arakas.

20.03.26 OPINION ... The dismissal of a Riigikogu advisor after 32 years in office is not just a humanly callous decision, it also negatively impacts journalism in Estonia, writes Urmet Kook.

18.03.26 OPINION ... Nordic and Baltic cooperation has been growing stronger for a long time and could culminate in a United North as a new pillar of strength for the free world grounded in democracy, trust and a shared responsibility for security, writes Marko Mihkelson.