By Linas Jegelevicius

Over the past decade, Estonia has developed an international reputation as both an economic tech hub and a liberal bastion of human rights. As well as opening its doors to digital nomads with initiatives such as e-residency, Estonia was the first state in the Baltics to pass a law on same-sex partnerships. But now its liberal reputation could be in trouble.

The country’s coalition government, which encompasses the Centre Party, the Fatherland Party, known as Isamaa, and the far-right EKRE party has announced a referendum next spring on the constitutional definition of marriage. It is set to ask a question about whether marriage should be defined in the constitution as being between a man and women

“The referendum is part of the far-right’s desire to roll back liberal policies that have brought greater equality and tolerance to our societies. And it also a cynical way to divide people,” Raimond Kaljulaid, an Estonian parliamentarian representing the Social Democrats in Riigikogu, the Estonian Parliament, told Euronews.

Estonia’s referendum will not be binding, and the government will not have to resign if it loses it. EKRE, which has sought to revoke the law on registering same-sex partnerships since its adoption in 2015, has been the driving force of the initiative. Tonis Saarts, associate professor of comparative politics at Tallinn University, says the far-right fears the law on the registration of same-sex partnerships could pace the way for same-sex marriage. Read more via EuroNews