Karis wants president to represent Estonia at NATO summits
Sunday 11th October 2026 on 06:01 in
Estonia
Outgoing Estonian President Alar Karis says the president should represent Estonia at NATO summits, and that he felt excluded from shaping foreign policy. He made the remarks in an interview with ERR ahead of handing over the office to Ülle Madise on Monday.
Karis also said the Riigikogu should consider the wider effects of legislation when passing laws. He described presidential vetoes as important decisions that send legislation back to parliament for review.
He said laws are sometimes rushed, with details overlooked or constitutional requirements forgotten because of political pressure. Karis said he was concerned that parliament often corrected only the specific issue he had raised, rather than reviewing the law as a whole. The president, he noted, cannot reject a law simply because he dislikes it or considers it poorly drafted; the Constitution sets the limits.
Asked to name his most important decision as president, Karis said all decisions should matter. He said vetoes are among the decisions that prompt the most debate and are important because they give parliament a chance to reconsider a law.
Karis said he found it harder to identify what he would have done differently, adding that he regretted things left undone more than things he might have handled differently. He did not name a specific example.
He said it was too early to judge his greatest achievement, noting that a president’s record could be assessed more objectively with time. He hoped journalists and historians would look beyond daily headlines and examine the substance of the work.
Karis has sent more laws back to parliament than his predecessors, but said this was not something to boast about. He said all presidents defend the Constitution, and that the number of vetoes reflects the laws passed and the quality of parliament’s work.
Discussing the car tax, Karis said he had returned the law and highlighted its effect on a vulnerable group in society. Parliament ultimately passed it.