Overview of 2025

Last year, The Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (the Chamber) once again sent a record number of opinions to ministries, the Riigikogu (Parliament), and other state authorities. In total, we submitted 221 written opinions, which is 10% more than in 2024 and 70% more than in 2019. To do so, the Chamber’s lawyers reviewed more than 5,000 pages of materials related to law-making. The Chamber also made numerous proposals to amend and supplement existing legislation.

The biggest achievement of last year is that, as of 1 January 2026, a corporate profits tax will not enter into force—this tax would have amounted to 2% of a company’s profit. According to the Ministry of Finance’s forecast, companies would have had to pay approximately €145 million in profits tax in 2026. The Chamber was very critical of introducing this tax.

In 2025, our focus was on reducing bureaucracy and over-regulation and preventing unreasonable requirements from being introduced. As part of the bureaucracy-reduction campaign, we submitted 70 proposals, and at other times we made dozens more proposals to reduce administrative burden. For example, we proposed speeding up and simplifying planning and permitting procedures, abolishing and simplifying occupational working-environment requirements, making sustainability reporting voluntary, and raising the thresholds for audits and reviews of annual reports. By now, several of the Chamber’s proposals have made their way into draft legislation. For example, a number of working-environment requirements are being removed or eased, and the deadline for submitting sustainability reports was postponed by two years for most companies. At the same time, some proposals were not taken into account—for example, raising the thresholds for audits and reviews.

In addition, in 2025 we worked to ensure that labour law becomes more flexible. Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act reached the Riigikogu, enabling flexible working-time agreements and making the rules on employing minors, as well as working-time and rest-time requirements, more flexible. In addition, a draft bill was prepared that would ease the immigration quota problem in sectors facing a major labour shortage.

Energy issues were also a major focus. For example, the draft Energy Sector Development Plan included the Chamber’s proposal that the energy sector must increase the country’s competitiveness, and that an important metric is the final electricity price for consumers, including large consumers. It is also positive that the development plan is moving toward market-based electricity generation. In addition, in 2025 a draft bill was prepared that would allow large electricity consumers to apply to Elering for a discount on the renewable energy fee.

We also paid significant attention to education issues. For example, we submitted several proposals to address bottlenecks in vocational and upper-secondary education.

The Chamber’s representatives also participated in various working groups. We also prepared overviews of the most important legislative changes for companies.

Brief overview of the most important activities in 2025

Taxes and fees

• There will be no corporate profits tax.
• The income tax rate will not increase to 24% in 2026.
• The European Commission’s planned tax on large companies would harm companies’ competitiveness.
• The Chamber’s proposal: the land tax amount must not increase by more than 10% per year.
• Two new taxes may be added to the list of local taxes.
• Achievement: the motor vehicle tax amount decreases if the vehicle is removed from the traffic register.

Labour force

• Achievement: it will soon be allowed to enter into a flexible working-time agreement.
• The previous regulation regarding weekly rest time will be restored.
• We made 14 proposals to make labour law more flexible.
• The Chamber supports making the conditions for employing minors more flexible.
• Restrictions on minors’ working time will become less strict.
• Foreign nationals coming to work in sectors with labour demand may be exempt from the immigration quota.
• We achieved 4 wins related to the rules for hiring foreign nationals.
• We supported a change that speeds up a foreign national’s job change during the validity of a fixed-term residence permit issued for work.
• Working during sick leave will soon be allowed starting from the 31st day of sick leave.
• The Chamber did not support extending the review period for fixed-term residence permit applications.

Bureaucracy

• We submitted 70 proposals to reduce bureaucracy.
• Several of the Chamber’s proposals to simplify the Occupational Health and Safety Act made it into draft legislation.
• Achievement: the deadline for submitting sustainability reports was postponed by two years.
• The government supported the Chamber’s proposal to make compliance with environmental due diligence obligations voluntary for companies.
• We opposed abolishing the €1,000 threshold for invoices to be reported in the VAT return annex and opposed mandatory e-invoicing.
• We supported reducing small companies’ administrative burden in meeting cybersecurity requirements.
• The alcohol register will be abolished.
• Achievement: the deadline for first-time gender balance reporting was postponed by one year.
• Under the label of reducing bureaucracy, changes must not be made that are unrelated to reducing bureaucracy.
• The Chamber did not support introducing an obligation for catering companies to provide information on the origin of meat.

Energy

• Several of the Chamber’s proposals were included in the draft Energy Sector Development Plan.
• Large electricity consumers will receive a discount regarding the renewable energy fee.
• Electricity consumers and producers were exempt in 2025 from paying the cost of procuring frequency reserves.

Environment

• Discussions continued regarding the draft Climate-Resilient Economy Act and sectoral roadmaps.
• Several costly changes were left out of the waste reform, but the reform still contains several risks.
• The Chamber does not consider it necessary to introduce additional requirements to accelerate the uptake of zero-emission vehicles.
• The scope of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism must not be expanded hastily.
• The planned requirements for environmental claims are not sufficiently clear.

Education

• We sent 8 proposals to address bottlenecks in the education sector.
• Changes to the qualifications system must not reduce companies’ ability to have a say.
• Universities should continue to take OSKA recommendations into account.
• Several of the Chamber’s proposals were taken into account when amending the Adult Education Act.
• The Chamber opposes abolishing resit exams in basic school.
• The updated funding model for vocational education does not solve underfunding.

Other topics

• We submitted our proposals for the action plan for economic growth.
• The chambers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland approached the governments of the four countries and the European Commission regarding Europe’s competitiveness.
• Discussions began on the EU budget for 2028–2034.
• The liability of company executives must not be expanded.
• We proposed measures to alleviate the problem of access to occupational health doctors.
• A support measure for large investments was created.
• The state plans to make more than 100 amendments to the Commercial Code.
• New EU initiatives must not impose unreasonable requirements on companies.
• We supported changes that reduce the number of printed purchase receipts.
• In the new year, larger new buildings will have to include a shelter.
• The rules for testing innovative products, services, and technologies may become simpler.
• The draft Civil Crisis and National Defence Act requires several clarifications.
• Cybersecurity requirements will become stricter.
• We achieved a win related to changes in the unemployment insurance benefit system.
• The President declined to promulgate amendments to the Money Laundering Prevention Act.
• The Chamber prevented a significant extension of the deadline for resolving disputes in the Public Procurement Review Committee.
• The requirement to forward automatic fire alerts to the emergency response centre was removed for approximately 1,200 buildings.
• The Chamber supports the “Buy European” principle, but it must be implemented thoughtfully.
• Achievement: funding for private-law research and development institutions will be provided similarly to state institutions.
• The Chamber’s proposal to publish the operative part of tax decisions issued regarding legal persons reached draft legislation.

More detailed overview of the most important activities in 2025

TAXES

There will be no corporate profits tax

As one part of the security tax, a corporate profits tax was supposed to enter into force on 1 January 2026, amounting to 2% of a company’s profit. According to the Ministry of Finance’s forecast, companies would have had to pay approximately €145 million in profits tax in 2026. The Chamber was very critical of introducing this tax. In June 2025, the Riigikogu repealed the security tax law. The Chamber welcomed this decision, because abandoning the profits tax helps Estonia preserve its globally unique corporate income tax system, which has been a cornerstone of the competitiveness of our business environment and has distinguished us from other countries.

The income tax rate will not increase to 24% in 2026

In early December, the Riigikogu adopted amendments to the Income Tax Act, under which the planned income tax increase in 2026 from 22% to 24% will not take place. The Chamber has repeatedly emphasised that abandoning the tax increase helps stimulate the economy and improves the stability of the business environment.

The European Commission’s planned tax on large companies would harm competitiveness

The European Commission wants to increase the EU budget’s revenue sources and therefore proposed introducing an annual fee for companies based on turnover. The obligation to pay the new fee would apply to companies whose turnover exceeds €100 million per year. The fee would be €100,000–€750,000 per year, depending on the company’s turnover. The Chamber did not support introducing such a fee for large companies, because it would harm the international competitiveness of the European economy and companies. The Estonian state also does not support introducing a new fee for large companies.

The Chamber’s proposal: the land tax amount must not increase by more than 10% per year

In April, we proposed to the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture restoring the principle in the Land Tax Act that the maximum annual increase in the land tax amount is 10%. The ministry did not take the proposal into account. Under the current law, the cap on the land tax increase is 10%–100%, meaning each local government has the right to decide, within that range, the cap on land tax increases.

Two new taxes may be added to the list of local taxes

In summer, the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture presented the idea of granting local governments the right to introduce two new local taxes: a social infrastructure development charge and a solar park fee. The social infrastructure development charge would be a one-time fee paid by residential property developers per housing unit. The revenue could be used by the local government to finance, for example, the construction of a kindergarten, school, sports building, or library. The Chamber finds that the social infrastructure development charge is reasonable under certain conditions. However, we oppose the solar park fee, because it is not clear what serious negative impacts solar park development has on a region that would justify a local tax. A situation must be avoided where any activity with even a modest negative impact requires paying a fee. By the end of 2025, the relevant draft bill had not yet been prepared.

Achievement: the motor vehicle tax amount decreases if the vehicle is removed from the traffic register

During the drafting of the Motor Vehicle Tax Act, the Chamber repeatedly pointed out that the law lacked a provision allowing the motor vehicle tax amount to be reduced or refunded if the vehicle is not recorded in the Estonian traffic register for the entire year. For example, this need may arise if a person sells a vehicle abroad. The Chancellor of Justice also drew attention to this problem. The Riigikogu took the criticism into account and in 2025 added to the Motor Vehicle Tax Act a principle under which the Tax and Customs Board shortens the taxation period if the vehicle is removed from the traffic register or declared wanted. For example, if a vehicle is sold abroad and removed from the traffic register on 31 January, then the motor vehicle tax must be paid only for January, not for the entire year.

LABOUR FORCE

Achievement: it will soon be allowed to enter into a flexible working-time agreement

In recent years, the Chamber has repeatedly proposed amending the Employment Contracts Act so that employers and employees could agree on working time more flexibly. Under the current law, workload must be agreed as a specific number—for example, 20 hours per week—but a range (for example, 20–30 hours per week) is not allowed. In 2025, amendments to the Employment Contracts Act reached the Riigikogu, under which, provided certain conditions are met, an employer and employee may enter into a flexible working-time agreement: in addition to the agreed working hours, the employee may work additional hours up to the full-time norm, and those additional hours are not considered overtime. The change offers both employers and employees more flexible work arrangements and makes it easier to cope with situations where an employer’s workload and labour needs fluctuate and an employee’s ability and readiness to work varies over time. The draft bill will continue through the Riigikogu in 2026.

The previous regulation regarding weekly rest time will be restored

In 2025, the Chamber’s proposal reached the Riigikogu to amend the Employment Contracts Act so that an employer must ensure the employee has at least 48 consecutive hours of weekly rest time, and 36 hours for shift workers. Currently in Estonia, an interpretation applies that stems from a 2023 decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union. Under that interpretation, weekly rest time together with daily rest time must be at least 59 hours, and 47 hours for shift workers. The draft bill will continue through the Riigikogu in 2026.

We made 14 proposals to make labour law more flexible

In October, the Chamber sent proposals to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications to amend the Employment Contracts Act so that the law would be more flexible and better meet today’s labour market needs. For example, we proposed allowing fixed-term employment contracts without a compelling reason, making leave rules more flexible, giving employers more rights to check employees for intoxication, expanding the special arrangement for on-call time, and clarifying the rules for paying for overtime work. As of the end of 2025, it is not known whether and to what extent the ministry will take the Chamber’s proposals into account.

The Chamber supports making the conditions for employing minors more flexible

In October, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications introduced a draft bill aimed at simplifying minors’ working conditions and motivating employers to hire young people. For example, the draft bill would extend the period during which work is allowed during school holidays, shorten minors’ annual main leave from the current 35 calendar days to 28 calendar days, allow family businesses in more cases than before to enter into a fixed-term employment contract with a minor, and shorten the time limit for processing the Labour Inspectorate permit required before hiring a 7–12-year-old minor from 10 working days to two working days. The Chamber supports these changes, but also made additional proposals to simplify the regulation. For example, it should be allowed for minors aged at least 12 to perform work involving handling money, because nowadays payments are mostly made by bank card and the nature of the work is generally not complex.

Restrictions on minors’ working time will become less strict

Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act reached the Riigikogu which, among other things, allow a 15–16-year-old who has completed basic school, or a minor who has turned 17, to work full-time also during the school term. In addition, it will be allowed in the future for 7–12-year-olds, 13–14-year-olds, and compulsory-school-age minors aged at least 15 to work more hours on a day off from school than on a school day. The Chamber supports these changes so that minors can more easily gain first work experience. The draft bill will continue through the Riigikogu in 2026.

Foreign nationals coming to work in sectors with labour demand may be exempt from the immigration quota

For years, the Chamber has spoken about the need to alleviate problems related to the immigration quota being filled, to ensure access to qualified labour and the international competitiveness of our companies. To this end, we proposed exempting from the quota the residence permits of foreign nationals who come to Estonia to work in sectors where there is a labour shortage. This proposal has been heard at least in part. In September, the Ministry of the Interior introduced amendments to the Aliens Act, under which a foreign national can obtain a fixed-term residence permit to work in labour-shortage sectors (primarily manufacturing, and transport and warehousing) outside the immigration quota and without requiring approval from the Unemployment Insurance Fund. In addition, the draft provides that such foreign nationals do not need to be paid the Estonian average wage; instead, it is sufficient to pay at least 80% of the Estonian average wage. At the end of 2025, the government sent this draft bill to the Riigikogu.

We achieved 4 wins related to the rules for hiring foreign nationals

At the Chamber’s proposal, several unreasonable requirements were not added to the amendments to the Aliens Act adopted by the Riigikogu in March 2025—requirements that would have made the process of hiring foreign nationals slower and more expensive for Estonian companies. For example, at the Chamber’s proposal, the draft did not include a requirement that a foreign national could in the future work short-term in Estonia only on the basis of a long-term (D) visa. Also not included was a requirement that, before registering short-term employment, the employer must have conducted economic activity in Estonia for at least six months. In addition, as of the beginning of 2026, staffing intermediaries will no longer be subject to the requirement to provide a security deposit, and the government was not granted the right to suspend registrations of short-term employment under the pretext of safeguarding public order or security.

We supported a change that speeds up a foreign national’s job change during the validity of a fixed-term residence permit issued for work

In July, the Ministry of the Interior published a draft bill amending the Aliens Act that enables a foreign national to change jobs during the validity of a fixed-term residence permit issued for work without having to apply for a new residence permit. The Chamber supported this change because it gives companies greater flexibility when hiring foreign workers. The government sent the draft bill to the Riigikogu at the end of 2025.

Working during sick leave will soon be allowed starting from the 31st day of sick leave

In 2023, the Chamber proposed that an employee should be able to work during sick leave after the 30th day of sick leave. The Ministry of Social Affairs took this proposal into account, and the corresponding change will enter into force on 1 April 2026. Currently, working during sick leave is allowed starting from the 61st day of illness. For this, the employer and employee must enter into a written agreement. The employer may offer the employee the opportunity to work during sick leave with a partial workload or in lighter duties; it may also mean a need to make changes in the workplace or provide assistive tools for working.

The Chamber did not support extending the review period for fixed-term residence permit applications

The Chamber opposed the Ministry of the Interior’s proposal to extend the review period for a fixed-term residence permit application from two months to three months. The change extends the duration of the process for both employers and foreign employees. At the same time, the expectation is that the process should become faster than it is today. The Chamber’s proposal was not taken into account, and the change will enter into force on 1 January 2026.

BUREAUCRACY

We submitted 70 proposals to reduce bureaucracy

In April, the Chamber collected and sent 70 proposals to the Council for Efficiency and Economic Growth to reduce administrative burden. For example, we proposed speeding up and simplifying planning and permitting procedures, abolishing and simplifying working-environment requirements, making sustainability reporting voluntary, raising the thresholds for audits and reviews of annual reports, raising the threshold for auditor verification of packaging reports, making labour law more flexible, and easing the regulation on hiring foreign labour. By now, several of the Chamber’s proposals have made it into draft legislation. For example, a number of proposals to remove unreasonable working-environment requirements have been taken into account; the alcohol register is being abolished; the deadline for submitting sustainability reports has been postponed by two years for some companies; labour-shortage sectors are gaining an exemption from the immigration quota; and longer road trains will be permitted on highways. At the same time, some proposals have not been taken into account—for example, raising the thresholds for audits and reviews and raising the threshold for auditor verification of packaging reports. Implementation of the proposals will continue in 2026.

Several of the Chamber’s proposals to simplify the Occupational Health and Safety Act made it into draft legislation

In April 2025, we sent 30 proposals to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications that would help reduce unreasonable requirements in the field of occupational health and safety. In November, the ministry introduced a draft bill that includes several of the Chamber’s proposals. For example, the draft includes the Chamber’s proposals to make the positions of working-environment representative and the working-environment council voluntary. In addition, our proposal has been taken into account that an employer does not have to appoint a first-aider if the company’s employees work alone or if employers operating in a shared working environment agree on a joint first-aid arrangement. At the Chamber’s proposal, the draft also adds a change that an employer with fewer than ten employees working permanently does not have to arrange an analysis of the occupational health situation. In addition, under the draft, the requirement that an employer must arrange an employee’s health check-up within four months would be changed to within six months from the employee starting work. At the Chamber’s proposal, the obligation to conduct internal control of the working environment would also be removed.

Achievement: the deadline for submitting sustainability reports was postponed by two years

In April 2025, an EU directive entered into force under which the obligation to prepare and submit sustainability reports was postponed by two years for those companies that would have had to prepare and submit a sustainability report for the first time in 2026 or later. In April, the Chamber proposed to the Ministry of Finance that the deadlines for submitting sustainability reports in the Accounting Act should be amended accordingly as soon as possible. This proposal was taken into account, and the corresponding legislative amendments entered into force on 20 July. For companies, this is a positive change because it significantly reduces administrative burden. The change directly affects approximately 300 Estonian companies.

The government supported the Chamber’s proposal to make compliance with environmental due diligence obligations voluntary for companies

The European Commission came forward with an initiative to amend the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive to reduce companies’ burden and costs. The Chamber supported the planned simplifications but proposed making compliance with due diligence obligations arising from the directive voluntary for companies. The government supported this proposal and raised the idea at EU level, but in 2025 the EU did not decide to make compliance with environmental due diligence obligations voluntary for companies.

We opposed abolishing the €1,000 threshold for invoices reported in the VAT return annex and opposed mandatory e-invoicing

The Ministry of Finance proposed abolishing the €1,000 threshold for invoice data reported in the VAT return annex (KMD INF) and introducing a requirement to issue e-invoices for transactions between VAT payers. The Chamber proposed that the planned changes should be abandoned because they may increase companies’ administrative burden and costs and restrict economic freedom excessively, while the expected additional tax revenue is marginal.

We supported reducing small companies’ administrative burden in meeting cybersecurity requirements

The Chamber repeatedly pointed out that, for smaller companies, meeting cybersecurity requirements is unreasonably burdensome. To alleviate this problem, amendments to the cybersecurity requirements for network and information systems entered into force on 1 October 2025, under which micro- and small enterprises were removed from the obligation, as subjects of the Cybersecurity Act, to follow in full the Estonian information security standard or the ISO/IEC 270019 standard requirements. As a result of the change, the administrative burden decreased for approximately 200 companies that provide services within the meaning of the Cybersecurity Act. Smaller companies now have more flexibility to decide whether, and how much, to invest in ensuring cybersecurity beyond the basic level.

The alcohol register will be abolished

In previous years, the Chamber repeatedly proposed abolishing the national alcohol register to reduce the administrative burden and costs for alcohol handlers. In December 2025, the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture introduced a draft bill to terminate the alcohol register’s operation as of 1 July 2026. Thus, companies will no longer have to enter alcoholic products into the register, and related costs will be eliminated, such as the state fee, collecting, preparing and submitting documents required for registration, and laboratory analyses for making an entry.

Achievement: the deadline for first-time gender balance reporting was postponed by one year

On 20 June 2025, amendments to the Securities Market Act entered into force providing that the composition of the management bodies of listed companies must be gender-balanced by 30 June 2026 at the latest. This means that at least 40% of supervisory board members, or at least 33% of management board and supervisory board members, must be of the underrepresented gender. While the draft originally provided that listed companies must submit gender balance reporting to the Financial Supervision Authority for the first time by 1 July of that year, at the Chamber’s proposal the deadline was postponed to 30 June 2026.

Under the label of reducing bureaucracy, changes must not be made that are unrelated to reducing bureaucracy

In 2025, ministries introduced draft bills that reduce companies’ administrative burden. However, there were also cases where amendments unrelated to reducing bureaucracy were hidden in a “bureaucracy reduction” draft, with effects that were more negative than positive for companies. One such example involved amendments to the Tobacco Act, where the Ministry of Social Affairs wanted, under the banner of reducing bureaucracy, to shorten the list of establishments where smoking is permitted in designated smoking rooms, and to extend the smoking ban to company offices and catering establishments. At the Chamber’s proposal, the changes unrelated to reducing bureaucracy were removed from the draft.

The Chamber did not support introducing an obligation for catering companies to provide information on the origin of meat

The Chamber opposed the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture’s proposal to require catering companies to provide customers, in physical form (for example, in a menu or on a board), information about the country of rearing of fresh, chilled, and frozen beef, pork, goat, sheep, and poultry meat (including minced meat) used as food ingredients. We found this to be excessive bureaucracy. If they wish, consumers can always ask for the information themselves, and many catering establishments already provide it voluntarily. The ministry accepted our position and abandoned introducing this requirement.

ENERGY

Several of the Chamber’s proposals were included in the draft Energy Sector Development Plan

In 2025, the Ministry of Climate prepared a new version of the draft Energy Sector Development Plan to 2035, setting goals and actions for transitioning to climate-neutral energy production in the fields of electricity, natural gas, liquid fuels, and district heating. The ministry took into account the Chamber’s earlier proposal and clearly stated in the plan’s general objective that the energy sector must increase the country’s competitiveness. In addition, at the Chamber’s proposal, the affordability metric was specified so that it does not consider only household electricity prices, but the final electricity price for different consumer groups, including industry and other large consumers. The Chamber also considers it positive that the plan is moving toward market-based electricity generation. We also support the approach that existing dispatchable capacities must be kept operational until new dispatchable capacities have been built. The government will approve the new plan in early 2026.

Large electricity consumers will receive a discount regarding the renewable energy fee

In 2024, the Chamber proposed that the state exempt corporate electricity consumers—or at least large consumers—from the obligation to pay the renewable energy fee, or set a price cap for the fee. In November 2025, the Ministry of Climate introduced a draft bill under which companies consuming more than 1 GWh of electricity per year could apply to Elering for a discount on the renewable energy fee, reducing their fee by 75%–85%. The draft bill reached the Riigikogu in December 2025, and if the Riigikogu adopts it in 2026, large consumers will be able to apply for the discount retroactively from the beginning of 2026.

Electricity consumers and producers were exempt in 2025 from paying the cost of procuring frequency reserves

From the beginning of 2026, a balancing capacity cost was added to electricity bills, which must be paid by both electricity producers and consumers. This fee covers the costs of procuring frequency reserves, which keep electricity consumption and generation balanced at all times. Initially, consumers and producers would have had to pay this fee starting from 1 February 2025, but at the proposal of the Chamber and other organisations it was decided that in 2025 these costs would be covered by Elering from congestion revenue. Elering’s costs for procuring frequency reserves in 2025 were more than €60 million.

ENVIRONMENT

Discussions continued regarding the draft Climate-Resilient Economy Act and sectoral roadmaps

The Chamber continues to take the position that the draft Climate-Resilient Economy Act together with sectoral roadmaps must provide companies with investment certainty and legal certainty. In addition to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the law being created must also show who must do what, when, and how in order to achieve these goals. The planned actions must be realistically implementable and must increase companies’ competitiveness. Discussion of the draft Climate-Resilient Economy Act will continue in 2026.

Several costly changes were left out of the waste reform, but the reform still contains several risks

In December, the Riigikogu adopted the waste reform, in the drafting of which several of the Chamber’s proposals were taken into account. For example, the initial plan to introduce a packaging tax was abandoned; its cost to companies would have been about €20 million per year. In addition, a recycling target for sales packaging will not be introduced. It is also positive that, at the request of the Chamber and other business organisations, the amount people must pay for emptying or collecting one packaging waste container was increased from €0.25 to €0.50. In addition, the proposal was taken into account that a local government must ensure that among separately collected packaging waste, other waste must not exceed 5%.

At the same time, as a result of the waste reform, packaging undertakings—companies that package goods, import them, or sell packaged goods—may have less control over the costs of collecting packaging waste. As a result, the collection of packaging waste may no longer be as cost-efficient as before, and companies’ costs may increase. For example, the draft includes a provision obliging packaging undertakings to cover the costs of handling waste paper but does not give companies the right to demand compensation for the costs incurred. The risks for packaging undertakings are also not mitigated in a situation where local governments do not collect sufficient quantities of packaging waste for packaging undertakings to meet packaging waste recovery targets. As a result, packaging undertakings may become obligated to pay the state packaging excise duties amounting to millions of euros.

The Chamber does not consider it necessary to introduce additional requirements to accelerate the uptake of zero-emission vehicles

The European Commission is looking for ideas on how to increase the share of zero-emission vehicles in companies’ vehicle fleets. For example, an idea is being considered to introduce a requirement for what share of a company’s fleet must be zero-emission vehicles. The new requirement would affect passenger cars, vans, trucks, and buses. The Chamber supports the goal of making companies’ fleets more environmentally friendly, but does not consider introducing new requirements reasonable in the current situation. The Estonian state supports the Chamber’s position.

The scope of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism must not be expanded hastily

The European Commission plans to expand the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to products at subsequent stages of the production chain. The Chamber believes that the planned change may increase costs and administrative burden. Therefore, before expanding the scope, we requested an impact assessment to determine how the current system works and what its impact is on companies and the environment.

The planned requirements for environmental claims are not sufficiently clear

In July, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications published a draft bill that clarifies unfair commercial practices and adds rules on making environmental claims. The new draft would bring several significant requirements for companies. For example, it is planned to prohibit general and unsubstantiated environmental claims such as “eco-friendly” or “nature-friendly” unless their accuracy has been proven. Claims related to product durability would also be regulated and the use of uncertified labels would be restricted. The Chamber supports the goal of limiting misleading green claims and labels, but informed the ministry that the draft may cause companies excessive administrative burden and uncertainty. The legislative process will continue in 2026.

EDUCATION

We sent 8 proposals to address bottlenecks in the education sector

In a letter sent to the Ministry of Education and Research, we highlighted various bottlenecks in vocational and upper-secondary education and proposed solutions that would help resolve or at least alleviate existing problems. For example, we proposed ending the division of the upper-secondary mathematics curriculum into the so-called “narrow” and “broad” tracks, setting the criterion for opening or maintaining an upper-secondary level at having at least 180 students, and giving the advisory board of a vocational education institution a much clearer function and real responsibility in school management. We also put forward the idea that, to ensure uniform quality, the organisation of basic school should be arranged by the state. We also proposed solutions to alleviate the shortage of subject teachers.

Changes to the qualifications system must not reduce companies’ ability to have a say

The Chamber supports the Ministry of Education and Research’s goal of making the qualifications system more flexible and strengthening cooperation between education and the world of work. At the same time, we are concerned that several planned changes may work against this goal. For example, the Chamber did not support the idea that in the future occupational standards would be prepared only for regulated professions. We found that instead of reducing the number of occupational standards, the process of creating and amending them should be simplified. For example, we proposed that the state could create an online environment for developing occupational standards, enabling flexible changes to occupational standards as needed. The Chamber also did not support introducing additional fees for awarding bodies, because this would reduce interest in awarding qualifications and could hinder applying for qualifications. The corresponding draft bill will be completed in early 2026.

Universities should continue to take OSKA recommendations into account

In May 2025, in an appeal sent to the Ministry of Education and Research, the Chamber emphasised that administrative agreements between the state and universities for the period 2026–2029 must assign universities the task of considering labour market signals and the recommendations of OSKA sectoral reports (the labour and skills monitoring and forecasting system) when planning admissions and shaping curricula content. In addition to the general principle, the administrative agreements should include more specific guidelines based on OSKA reports. For example, if OSKA reports indicate that admissions in a curriculum group need to be increased or decreased, this should also be reflected in the administrative agreement. We also emphasised that universities must continue, at least to the current extent, to provide higher education outside Tallinn and Tartu.

Several of the Chamber’s proposals were taken into account when amending the Adult Education Act

On 1 April 2025, several amendments to the Adult Education Act entered into force, and in drafting them several of the Chamber’s proposals were taken into account. For example, at our proposal, the law did not include a requirement that all continuing education institutions that wish in the future to provide continuing education financed from the state and local government budgets and structural fund resources must undergo state quality assessment. Such an obligation would have created an unreasonably large burden and cost for both the public sector and training companies.

The Chamber opposes abolishing resit exams in basic school

In October, the Chamber proposed to the Ministry of Education and Research abandoning a change that would allow a student to complete basic school even if the final exam(s) were passed with less than 50% of the maximum score. We believe that easing the conditions for completing basic school would negatively affect learning motivation and the quality of basic education. The change could also reduce young people’s knowledge in STEM subjects, which in turn affects their future opportunities.

The updated funding model for vocational education does not solve underfunding

The Ministry of Education and Research updated the vocational education funding model to support the goals of the vocational education reform and, as far as possible, better reflect the actual needs of schools providing vocational education. In September, the Chamber informed the ministry that because vocational education lacks funding, changing funding principles alone will not solve or alleviate the existing problem.

OTHER TOPICS

We submitted our proposals for the action plan for economic growth

We sent the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications our ideas on which activities must be prioritised in the 2026 economic growth action plan. For example, emphasis must be placed on ensuring a competitive final electricity price for consumers, including large consumers. In addition, planning and permitting procedures must be simplified and sped up. We also highlighted that data must be cross-used between different state databases and that a public-sector authority must not require companies to submit data that the company has already submitted to the state. We also proposed increasing local governments’ motivation to support entrepreneurship so that local governments would not oppose establishing certain production units within their territory. We also proposed making labour law more flexible.

The chambers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Finland approached the governments of the four countries and the European Commission regarding Europe’s competitiveness

We approached the governments of the four countries and the European Commissioner for Economy Valdis Dombrovskis to propose concrete steps to strengthen the competitiveness of the European Union’s business environment. For example, we proposed reducing administrative burden by at least one third and cutting public sector costs by reducing legislative output.

Discussions began on the EU budget for 2028–2034

In July 2025, the European Commission published a proposal for the EU’s long-term budget for 2028–2034, with a volume of approximately €2 trillion. The priorities of the new budget are competitiveness, security, reducing carbon dioxide emissions, sustainability, and economic, social, and territorial cohesion. The new budget aims to increase the flexibility of EU funding, simplify the use of funds, reduce administrative burden, and strengthen results-based approaches. A Chamber representative participated in working groups discussing what Estonia’s positions on the new budget should be and for which reforms Estonia could in the future use EU funding. Discussions on this topic will continue in 2026 both in Estonia and at EU level.

The liability of company executives must not be expanded

In April, the Ministry of Finance introduced a draft bill that planned to make those management board members, owners, or CEOs personally liable (from their personal assets) for a company’s tax debt even if they were not responsible for the creation of the tax debt, but intentionally left it unpaid despite the company having money to pay it. The Chamber strongly opposed this proposal. As of the end of 2025, this draft bill had not been advanced further.

We once again raised the issue of access to occupational health doctors and proposed a solution

We again proposed amending the Occupational Health and Safety Act so that family doctors could provide employees’ health check services where the workplace involves smaller risk factors, such as office work. Today the problem is that in certain regions there is no occupational health doctor, and therefore employers must send their employees far from the workplace for health checks. The Ministry of Social Affairs will initiate a discussion on occupational health development directions in early 2026.

A support measure for large investments was created

In 2024, the Chamber informed the state that, given the current security and economic policy situation, the conditions of the existing large investment support measure should be made significantly more generous for investors. In February 2025, the regulation on support for large-scale investments entered into force, giving companies the opportunity to apply for up to €20 million in support from the state for making an investment of at least €100 million. During the drafting of the regulation, the Chamber proposed to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications reducing the investment requirement from €100 million to €30 million, but this proposal was not taken into account. In September 2025, the state decided to support three projects whose total investment cost is approximately €400 million and state support €44 million.

The state plans to make more than 100 amendments to the Commercial Code

In November, the Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs introduced a draft bill containing more than 130 amendments to the Commercial Code. The Chamber supports amendments that increase flexibility, simplify compliance, and remove unreasonable requirements. At the same time, we opposed several amendments. For example, the Chamber does not support abolishing the general quorum requirement, because this could lead to a situation where a decision is adopted without broad support among owners. In addition, the Chamber does not support adding a principle to the law under which, when casting a vote, a member of a legal person must consider the interests of the legal person. For example, distributing dividends is often not in the company’s interest, but such a decision serves the interests of the company’s owners and must continue to be permitted. The legislative process will continue in 2026.

New EU initiatives must not impose unreasonable requirements on companies

We monitored that new initiatives coming from the EU would not impose unreasonable requirements and costs on Estonian companies. For example, we stated that, in our assessment, a European Commission draft regulation that aims to tighten ecodesign requirements for solid-fuel boilers contains disproportionate requirements, with the goal of reducing air pollution, improving energy efficiency, and increasing repairability and recyclability of equipment.

We supported changes that reduce the number of printed purchase receipts

The Chamber supported amendments to the Consumer Protection Act that entered into force on 1 September 2025, under which a trader generally no longer has to issue a paper receipt to the consumer for a purchase. A paper receipt must be issued only if the consumer requests it, or if the consumer pays in cash and does not use a customer card that would allow access to the receipt in an electronic customer service environment. Previously, the trader had to issue a receipt if the purchase amount exceeded €20.

In the new year, new buildings will have to include a shelter

In 2025, the legislative process continued for a draft bill prepared by the Ministry of the Interior amending the Emergency Act and other acts, which establishes requirements for sheltering locations and for the organisation of sheltering, and introduces an obligation to build public and non-public shelters when constructing new buildings. The Chamber’s position was that the conditions for building a public shelter must be more precise and that, in determining the obligation to build a public shelter, in addition to the building’s size, the building’s location and expected number of visitors should be considered. The ministry and the Riigikogu did not take the Chamber’s proposals into account. From 1 July 2026, a public shelter must be built in newly constructed buildings with an enclosed floor area of at least 10,000 m². In addition, smaller buildings must have a non-public shelter, and for existing buildings, sheltering options must be analysed and, if necessary, a sheltering location must be adapted within the building.

The rules for testing innovative products, services, and technologies may become simpler

In November, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications introduced a draft bill enabling the testing of technologies and business models in a test environment under adapted rules—so-called regulatory sandboxes. The Chamber supports such a solution but made several proposals to make the use of this solution simpler and cheaper for companies.

The draft Civil Crisis and National Defence Act requires several clarifications

In 2025, the Riigikogu began processing a draft Civil Crisis and National Defence Act, under which all providers of vital services would be obliged to organise exercises, prepare a risk analysis, ensure continuity, and, if necessary, carry out background checks on employees. The Chamber submitted nine comments to the Riigikogu on the draft, emphasising the need to clarify the regulation on positions with crisis tasks, explain the extent to which a nationwide risk analysis must be taken into account, limit the frequency of audits, and avoid role conflicts between wartime duties and ensuring vital services. The Chamber also highlighted the need to increase flexibility in background checks. The legislative process will continue in the Riigikogu in 2026.

Cybersecurity requirements will become stricter

In December 2025, the Riigikogu adopted amendments to the Cybersecurity Act that significantly expand the range of companies that will have to comply with strict cybersecurity requirements and introduce new obligations regarding risk management, incident reporting, management responsibility, and supervisory measures. The Chamber stressed that the law must be simple and understandable for companies, requirements must be proportionate, and the state must ensure sufficient support for new subjects in implementing the requirements. At the Chamber’s proposal, both new and existing subjects of the Cybersecurity Act are granted a three-year transition period during which they must bring their activities into compliance with the new requirements and begin applying them. The amendments enter into force on 1 January 2026.

Achievement related to changes in the unemployment insurance benefit system

On 1 January 2026, amendments to the Unemployment Insurance Act enter into force under which, from 2026, in the event of job loss an unemployed person will be paid either an income-based unemployment insurance benefit (the current unemployment insurance benefit) or a new flat-rate unemployment insurance benefit (today’s unemployment allowance). During the drafting of the changes, the Chamber emphasised that the new flat-rate benefit must motivate working, not registering as unemployed and receiving benefits. During the reform, different qualifying periods were considered. Initially, the qualifying period was six months, but at the Chamber’s proposal it was raised to eight months. Under the current law, to receive the unemployment allowance a person must have been employed for at least 180 days during the 12 months preceding registration as unemployed.

The President declined to promulgate amendments to the Money Laundering Prevention Act

In June, the Chamber and the Bar Association approached the President of the Republic, finding that the act amending the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act and the International Sanctions Act, adopted by the Riigikogu, was unconstitutional. The amendments aimed to give the Financial Intelligence Unit broader rights to process data related to both individuals and companies. At the same time, there was a lack of thorough analysis confirming that the amendments would not disproportionately infringe fundamental rights. The President agreed with the criticism and decided not to promulgate the law. The legislative process will continue in the Riigikogu in 2026.

The Chamber prevented a significant extension of the deadline for resolving disputes in the Public Procurement Review Committee

In July, the Ministry of Finance introduced a draft bill seeking to grant the Public Procurement Review Committee the right, for a valid reason, to extend the deadline for making decisions from the current 30 days to up to 60 days. The Chamber informed the ministry that it does not support the planned change because a longer deadline harms companies’ access to legal protection and increases uncertainty in concluding procurement contracts. The ministry took the Chamber’s proposal into account.

The requirement to forward automatic fire alerts to the emergency response centre was removed for approximately 1,200 buildings

On 11 November 2025, amendments to a regulation entered into force under which the requirement to forward a fire alarm from an automatic fire detection and alarm system to the emergency response centre (ATeS) was removed for approximately 1,200 buildings. The ATeS requirement was removed for accommodation establishments, assembly buildings, and office buildings. In addition, there were changes affecting industrial and warehouse buildings. The change was justified by the fact that previously there was a very high number of automatically forwarded false alarms, and most false call-outs occurred during daytime and were caused by human activity—meaning that rapid detection of a fire and notification of the emergency response centre were very likely even without the ATeS requirement. The Chamber has not opposed the change, but proposed that building owners and operators should be able to voluntarily connect a building to the emergency response centre. The ministry did not take this proposal into account. An exception was added only for permanently unstaffed accommodation establishments.

The Chamber supports the “Buy European” principle, but it must be implemented thoughtfully

We support the “Buy European” principle under discussion at EU level, aimed at strengthening the competitiveness of European companies both in the European market and beyond. Under this principle, products, services, or companies of European origin are preferred—whether in public procurement, consumer choices, or companies’ supply chains. The Chamber finds that although free trade remains important, in the current security situation it is justified to apply European preference measures at least in certain sectors, but they must be implemented in a considered way.

Achievement: funding for private-law research and development institutions will be provided similarly to state institutions

On 1 October 2025, the Act on the Organisation of Research and Development and Innovation entered into force, under which all evaluated institutions and legal persons receive research and development support based on the same criteria. An earlier version of the draft bill provided that funding for private-law research and development institutions would be linked to performing tasks related to public interests, but the Chamber was critical of such a change because private-law R&D institutions would have been placed in a less favourable position compared to state institutions. This change did not make it into the law.

The Chamber’s proposal to publish the operative part of tax decisions issued regarding legal persons reached draft legislation

In April, the Ministry of Finance prepared a draft bill amending the Taxation Act, which includes the Chamber’s earlier proposal to publish the operative part of tax decisions issued regarding legal persons. If the operative part of tax decisions regarding legal persons becomes public, it increases transparency in the tax environment and helps companies make more informed choices about business partners. As of the end of 2025, the draft bill had not reached the Riigikogu.

Lawyers provided legal advice to more than 100 companies

In 2025, the Chamber’s members actively used our lawyers’ services. The lawyers advised members in all key areas that companies encounter in their day-to-day operations, such as contracts, labour law, public procurement, and taxes. Consultations related to contracts continued to be of particularly high interest to companies. We helped companies draft various types of contracts, introduce amendments to contracts, and carried out contract analyses.