Estonia in the European Union

The European Union is an economic and political community of 27 European countries.

What is the European Union? From an economic union to a political union

The predecessor of the European Union was created shortly after World War II. As a first step, economic co-operation was encouraged in the hope that the countries in trade with each other would become economically interdependent and that this would motivate them to avoid conflicts.

This resulted in the European Economic Community (EEC), set up in 1958, in which six countries initially cooperated economically: Belgium, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, and Germany.

Since then, 22 more countries have joined the EU, creating a huge single market (or internal market) that is constantly evolving and moving towards its full potential.

Originating from a solely economic union, the EU has developed into a broad-based organisation for policies such as climate, environment, health, external relations, security, justice, migration, and more. This change is also reflected in the renaming of the European Economic Community to the European Union in 1993.

Estonia in the European Union

Estonia became an EU member state in 2004 after six years of accession negotiations. At the same time, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus joined the EU.

In 2007, Estonia joined the Schengen visa area, where border controls between countries have been abolished. In 2011, Estonia adopted the common currency, the euro.

In the second half of 2017, we held the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Namely, the Council of the EU is chaired by all EU Member States for six-month periods in accordance with the agreed schedule.

The main substantive task of the Presidency is to guide legislation and policy-making as the holder of presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Presidency discusses the proposals with the European Parliament and represents the Council in relations with the other EU institutions, third countries, and the public. Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the European Council, where Estonia is represented by the prime minister, has guided the choice of strategic topics and political priorities, as well as the pace of negotiations.

In Estonia, EU policy is coordinated by the European Union Secretariat of the Government Office.

Areas of EU action

  • Development and cooperation
  • Energy
  • Business and industry
  • Education, training, and youth
  • Humanitarian aid and civil protection
  • Human rights and democracy
  • Trade
  • Environment
  • Competition
  • Culture
  • Taxation
  • Agriculture
  • Regional policy
  • Research and innovation
  • Health
  • Food safety
  • Customs
  • Transport
  • Employment and social affairs
  • Foreign and security policy
  • Justice and fundamental rights
  • Single market

The role of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in shaping European Union policy

Of the sectoral councils of ministers of the Council of the European Union, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has four sectoral formats: the councils of foreign affairs, general affairs, development affairs, and trade ministers.

Although the work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indirectly concerns many different areas (for example, migration, climate, and energy), we lead the development of Estonian EU policy on four broader topics:

  • foreign and security policy;
  • trade policy;
  • development cooperation and humanitarian aid;
  • enlargement of the European Union.

The enlargement of the Union is one of the most important EU policies that contributes to peace, democracy, prosperity, security, and stability in Europe. The enlargement policy currently covers seven countries, five of which are candidate countries (Turkey, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Albania) and two are potential candidates (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo). Accession negotiations are open with Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, and North Macedonia. At the heart of the enlargement process are reforms in key areas such as the state governed by the rule of law, fundamental rights, economic development, competitiveness, democratic institutions, and public administration. Good neighbourly relations and regional cooperation are also important. The EU supports the implementation of enlargement policy through the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III).

Estonia continues to be a supporter of the enlargement policy and stands for strict but fair conditions for enlargement, and for countries that have made progress to have the opportunity to move forward in the enlargement process. Estonia also expects the enlargement countries to gradually integrate into the EU’s common foreign and security policy.

The European Commission publishes an enlargement package each year, which provides an overview of the state of EU integration of candidate and potential candidate countries.

Last updated: 24.08.2022