Estonia

What the government has said

“Estonia has submitted its position. Estonia's position is that we do not support this.”Minister Kristina Kallas, ERR, 19 February 2026, translated from Estonian

Receipt: Ministers Kristina Kallas and Igor Taro, ERR, 19 Feb 2026

Parliament's EU committee voted unanimously against the mandatory text. Wants encrypted communication kept out and calls grooming detection too unreliable (June 2026).

How it voted in the Council

Negotiating mandate, 26 November 2025

yes The Council position adopted in Coreper: voluntary scanning only, no detection orders. Coreper does not publish votes; the split was reported the same day by the Czech news agency CTK.

Chat Control 1.0, 23 July 2026

yes The vote that brought back the temporary rules: voluntary scanning of private messages allowed until 3 April 2028.

A government can oppose mandatory scanning and still vote for the voluntary regime. The two are listed separately for that reason. Council votes need 15 states with 65 % of the population; four states with more than 35 % block.

How its MEPs voted

On 9 July 2026 the European Parliament voted on a motion to reject the Council text that brought back voluntary scanning, Chat Control 1.0. Rejection needed 361 votes and got 314, so the text passed. Of the 7 MEPs elected in Estonia, 6 voted to reject it, 0 voted against rejection, 0 abstained and 1 did not vote.

• 6 for rejection, that is against voluntary scanning
• 0 against rejection, letting the text pass
• 0 abstained
• 1 did not vote

The government line above concerns mandatory scanning; this vote concerned the voluntary regime. They are different questions, which is why both are shown. Source: roll-call vote 195775 as published by the European Parliament and compiled by HowTheyVote.eu; all 27 delegations side by side on the governments page.

Who decides in Estonia

Minister

Igor Taro, Minister of the Interior (Eesti 200) since 25 Mar 2025; spoke on the file with Kristina Kallas on 19 Feb 2026. Justice and Digital Affairs Minister Liisa-Ly Pakosta (Eesti 200)

Ministry in charge

Ministry of the Interior; Ministry of Justice and Digital Affairs

Permanent representation

Ambassador Kyllike Sillaste-Elling, Permanent Representative (Coreper II); Ambassador Katrin Juhandi, Deputy Permanent Representative (Coreper I)

National parliament

Riigikogu European Union Affairs Committee: unanimous vote against the mandatory text on 10 Oct 2025 (see sources)

Source: valitsus.ee/en/prime-minister-ministers/minister-interior-igor-taro

Timeline

1. 23 July 2026Council vote on Chat Control 1.0, the temporary rules. Estonia: yes.
2. 9 July 2026European Parliament votes on rejecting Chat Control 1.0; the motion fails, the text passes. MEPs elected in Estonia: 6 for rejection, 0 against, 0 abstained, 1 did not vote. source
3. Since 19 Feb 2026Recorded as against. Receipt: Ministers Kristina Kallas and Igor Taro, ERR, 19 Feb 2026 source
4. 26 November 2025Council negotiating mandate adopted in Coreper. Estonia: yes.

Sources

• Ministers Kristina Kallas and Igor Taro, ERR, 19 Feb 2026 (receipt)
• Riigikogu EU Affairs Committee, unanimous, 10 Oct 2025 (ERR)
• Council minutes, 10 Jun 2026 (encryption must stay excluded), via netzpolitik.org
• Permanent Representation of Estonia to the EU, personnel
• Method: what the labels mean and where the population shares come from