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Estonia prioritizes Council of European Union presidency, Brexit

Xinhua, November 21, 2016 Adjust font size:

Estonia's presidency of the Council of the European Union(EU) in the second half of 2017 and the effects of Britain's exit from the EU are the new coalition government's foreign policy priorities, the Estonian Public Broadcasting reported on Monday.

This was according to Sven Mikser of Estonia's Social Democratic Party, who made the remarks on Sunday. Mikser is expected to be the new coalition government's minister of foreign affairs.

Mikser said the new coalition wanted to strengthen Estonia's foreign service, with an expected just under 10 percent increase of the foreign ministry's budget of four million euros (4.25 million U.S. dollars).

Estonia needed strong diplomatic representation in bilateral relations as well as in international organizations, which was in the interest of Estonia's security and defense as well, stressed Mikser.

Mikser was Estonia's defense minister from 2002 to 2003 and again from March 2014 to September 2015 and is currently chairman of the Estonian parliament's foreign affairs committee.

He noted the coming months would be challenging in terms of foreign policy due to the change of administrations in the United States.

Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid on Sunday appointed Estonian Center Party Chairman Juri Ratas as candidate for prime minister and tasked him with forming a new government. Prime Minister Taavi Roivas, leader of the Reform Party, lost a no confidence vote in Parliament on Nov. 9.

On Monday, the Estonian parliament is set to debate the granting of powers to Ratas for the formation of the new coalition government with Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, and the Social Democratic Party.

A simple majority is needed for Ratas to gain the approval of the Parliament. Endit