The Antsla Municipal Council announced that they would not change the borders of the Rõuge and Antsla municipalities. The 17 villages of the Mõniste region will remain in the Rõuge municipality. This marks the end of negotiations between the two municipalities.
Rõuge is the southernmost municipality in Estonia. It covers an area of 933 square kilometers. The Rõuge municipality includes 274 villages and three boroughs.
Before the administrative reform, the Mõniste region was an independent municipality. After the reform, it was merged with the Rõuge municipality.
Last spring, the 17 villages of the Mõniste region wished to join the Antsla municipality. They hoped that this would preserve the local primary school.
The councils of the Antsla and Rõuge municipalities discussed the issue for a long time. Before making a decision, the Antsla Municipal Council conducted a public survey. The survey showed that the majority did not support the villages' joining the Antsla municipality.
If the villages had succeeded in joining, it would have been the largest transition of villages so far.