Riga, 9 April 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Estonia's liberal Reform Party of the incumbent Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the Social Democrats (SDE) and the liberal party Estonia 200 (E200) voted in favour of a coalition agreement in Tallinn on Saturday, on which the parties had previously agreed.

The three-party centre-left alliance comes to a majority of 60 of the 101 seats in the parliament of the EU and NATO country bordering Russia.

"We want Estonia to be protected, the welfare and livelihood of our people to be guaranteed, the state finances to be in order, education, language and culture to be preserved and tomorrow to be better for everyone," Kallas said. 

The Reform Party leader is also expected to lead the coming government. She is to be joined at the Cabinet table by 12 ministers, two fewer than before.

Among other things, the coalition agreement includes an increase in value-added tax and income tax, as well as the introduction of a new motor vehicle tax. 

Other plans include marriage equality, climate reforms and closer cooperation with the Baltic and Nordic neighbouring states - including further support for Ukraine, which is under attack from Russia.

For its own security, Estonia's defence spending is to be set at 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) for four years. 

Kallas' Reform Party won a clear victory in the election on March 5 and thus remains by far the strongest political force in Estonia.

Currently, Kallas leads a tripartite alliance with the SDE and the conservative party Isamaa (Fatherland).

The E200 party, founded in 2018, managed to get into the unicameral Riigikogu people's assembly for the first time.

Photo: MIA archive