Estonian PM to attend European Council

TALLINN - Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas will attend the European Council in Brussels on Thursday and Friday; the meeting will focus on helping Ukraine and boosting the competitiveness of the economy.

The Euro Summit on Friday will discuss the current economic situation and budgetary and economic policies.

Estonia’s priorities at the meeting of the heads of state and government of the European Union are continuing to raise the price of war for Russia and helping Ukraine to victory, including the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine and boosting the European defense industry. It is also important to move forward with preventing the circumvention of sanctions and holding Russian regime accountable following last week's arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court, spokespeople for the Estonian government said.

The agenda of the meeting includes a discussion on the steps needed to boost the competitiveness of the European economy. The foundation of the competitiveness of the European Union is a strong internal market, where it must be as easy as possible for companies to do business. For Estonia, it is important to reduce the administrative burden on companies and simplify reporting  by making better use of digital tools and by applying the principle of once only on reporting. Estonia also prioritizes improving the connections of the internal market in the fields of communications, transportation, and energy, promoting the data economy, and ensuring better access to capital for SMEs and startups to support technological innovation

The heads of state and government will also discuss the situation in the energy sector and how to prepare for the coming winter now to ensure security of supply and more affordable energy prices. Changes to the organisation of the electricity market will also be discussed, with Estonia supporting solutions to speed up the market penetration of renewable energy and better manage consumption to ensure affordable energy prices.

The Euro Summit on Friday will feature discussions on economic issues, in particular inflation, economic policy, and budgetary rules. Estonia supports responsible and sustainable budgetary policies in the European Union.