Estonia

School begins at 8 AM for most Estonian children, a tradition that eighteen parents are now challenging in court. They are not alone in their dissatisfaction with the education system: a social media campaign is currently urging a boycott of government education surveys until teacher workloads are reduced. Meanwhile, MP Karmen Joller has dropped her plan to overhaul the Health Care Fund council, suggesting the status quo remains more comfortable than the alternative.

The national detention center has reached capacity, forcing authorities to look for new space as the prison system faces scrutiny from within. Swedish inmates at Tartu prison have alleged they are victims of racism; the prison director has dismissed the claims as slander. In Tallinn, city officials face separate allegations of mistreating a resident for several years, a case that has now reached the public eye.

The Prime Minister is seeking a way to close the gas pipeline that supplies Russia’s Kaliningrad region through Estonian territory, a piece of infrastructure that persists despite the broader diplomatic climate. In more local matters, energy experts have begun the annual ritual of advising households on which electricity package will hurt the least this winter.