**Estonia Votes to Remove Voting Rights from Non-EU Citizens**
The Estonian parliament has voted to change the country‘s constitution. From now on, only citizens of Estonia and other EU countries will be allowed to vote in local elections.
This decision mainly affects Russian and Belarusian citizens who live in Estonia. There are around 322,700 ethnic Russians living in Estonia, but they won’t have a say in local elections anymore. The Estonian government says this is because Russia and Belarus have been aggressive towards the country since the war started in Ukraine.
The change was made to prevent “aggressor states” from influencing local decisions. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said: “We will decide for ourselves.”
Only 8 out of 101 politicians voted against the changes. The bill now needs to be signed into law by the President.
**Critics Say Decision is Not Democratic**
Some politicians, like Lauri Laats, think this decision is not democratic. He said: “This is not a democratic decision.” But others, like Toomas Uibo, say that people can become Estonian citizens if they choose to do so, and therefore the ban doesn’t discriminate against them.
**Estonia Increases Defense Spending**
Estonia has been increasing its defense spending to prepare for potential threats from Russia. The country now allocates 3.2% of its GDP to defense, more than double what it was three years ago. Estonia also plans to raise its defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2025.
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