#ESTONIA: Pro-Ukraine PM's Party Wins Big

[world politics news]

Voters in Estonia elected a new parliament Sunday with initial results suggesting the center-right Reform Party of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, one of Europe's most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, had won overwhelmingly with nearly all votes counted.

Kallas faced a challenge from the far-right populist EKRE party, which seeks to limit the Baltic nation's exposure to the Ukraine crisis and blames the current government for Estonia's high inflation rate.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ESTONIA: Parliament Declares Russia A "Terrorist Regime"

[world politics news]

Estonian lawmakers have adopted a statement that declares Russia a “terrorist regime” and condemns its recent annexation of four Ukrainian territories.

Of the 101 MPs, 88 on Tuesday voted in favour, 10 were absent and three abstained.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ESTONIA: Officials Dent Russian Claims Bomber Fled There

[world politics news]

Estonia has hit back at Russian claims that a woman blamed by Moscow for planting a deadly car bomb on Saturday later fled to Estonia, a Baltic country.

As tensions spread over the six-month-long Ukraine war, Estonian officials in the capital, Tallinn dismissed the allegations over the whereabouts of the woman the Kremlin has accused of killing the daughter of a prominent supporter of President Vladimir Putin.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ESTONIA' Gov't Will Remove Soviet Era Statues

[world politics news]

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has announced  that her government has decided to remove all Soviet monuments from public spaces across Estonia.

She said that they are symbols of repression and occupation, and have become a source of increasing social tensions and a risk to public order.

Kallas said the move is intended to prevent their use by Russia to sew disinformation and stoke tensions amongst the Estonian population, nearly a quarter of which are Russian speakers.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ESTONIA: Symbols Supporting Russian Invasion Banned

[world politics news]

The Estonian parliament has passed a Bill that criminalizes the use of symbols linked to an act of aggression, such as those supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It is now illegal to openly display symbols linked to the act of aggression, genocide, or a crime against humanity.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#LITHUANIA: Baltic Nations Fear They're Next To Be Invaded

[world politics news]

 

The Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have called for additional NATO forces to bolster their security as Russia invades Ukraine and tightens its grip on neighboring Belarus.

The small European Union states, whose combined population is similar to that of the island of Ireland, have called for years for a harder line to be taken to deter the Kremlin.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis tweeted Thursday:

"We in Lithuania know it very well that Ukraine is fighting not just for Ukraine, but for us in the region, Europe and everyone in the democratic world. It is our obligation not just to punish Russia for its actions but to help Ukraine with all and every means available. Now."

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ESTONIA: New Coalition Hopes To Hammer Out Deal With Russia Over 2005 Border Treaty

[world politics news]

Estonia's new ruling coalition, which now includes the rising populist Conservative People's Party, is seeking to hammer out a deal with neighboring Russia over borders that has been at a stand-still for over a decade.

Centre Party Prime Minister Jüri Ratas says that while there are differences of opinion in the current coalition between his party, the Conservative People's Party of Estonia (EKRE) and Isamaa (Pro Patria) on the question of the ratification of the border treaty with Russia, he is ready to move discussions on it forward if the Kremlin is. At the same time, he noted a need for pragmatism on the matter.

In March's election, the nationalist Conservative People's Party tripled its 2015 election result, forcing centrist Prime Minister Jüri Ratas to include them in a three-party coalition.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#ESTONIA: US Ambassador To Estonia Resigns Over Trump Rhetoric On #EU, #NATO

[world politics news]

The U.S. ambassador to Estonia has resigned over Pres. Trump's comments about the European Union and his treatment of European allies. In a private Facebook message posted Friday, James D. Melville wrote: "For the President to say EU was 'set up to take advantage of the United States, to attack our piggy bank,' or that 'NATO is as bad as NAFTA' is not only factually wrong, but proves to me that it's time to go." Melville had served since 2015.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#ESTONIA: Parliament Elects Nation's First Female President After Heated Debate

[world politics news]

Estonia’s parliament has selected a new president who will be the country’s first female leader. Kersti Kaljulaid, a European Union accountant, won Monday’s vote 81-0, with 20 members absent or abstaining. Her selection follows two failed votes and weeks of heated debate. Kaljulaid, 46, will succeed the current president, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, who is stepping down next week after two five-year terms in the ceremonial post.

[FULL STORY HERE]