Estonian Review: October 29 – November 4, 2001
14.06.2005
DEFENCE NEWS
FOREIGN NEWS
DOMESTIC NEWS
ECONOMIC NEWS
REFLECTIONS OF ESTONIA
DEFENCE NEWS
German Defence Minister: Germany supports extensive enlargement of NATO
Nov 02 - During his visit to Estonia German Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping recognized Estonia’s preparations towards NATO membership and said that Germany’s defence aid would continue: “We can see Estonia’s efforts and achievements on the NATO course and we are optimistic of the future.” The German Defence Minister said that so far Estonia had implemented its Annual National Plan of accession to NATO well and that now, when the program had come to its third phase, it should be concluded in the first half of the next year. Scharping noticed that coping with the program is one of the objective bases for receiving an invitation for membership from NATO. According to the German Defence Minister Germany sees the Baltic countries as a united group in NATO enlargement. He also said that Germany supports extensive enlargement of the North Atlantic Alliance. Scharping added that no third country would have a right of veto to the Baltic countries’ accession to NATO: “Meeting my Russian colleague in August I said that accession of the Baltic countries to NATO was an issue of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and third countries had nothing to say in this.” During his visit the German Defence Minister met with the Estonian President Arnold Rüütel, Defence Minister Jüri Luik and Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
Armed forces marked 10th anniversary
Oct 31 - The Estonian Armed Forces marked the 10th anniversary of their restoration. The celebrations included a parade of the Tallinn garrison units in Tallinn. The presentation of medals marking the anniversary took place in the Town Hall of Tallinn. A display of marching drills, armament and equipment of the army was held in the Town Hall Square the same day, while the Navy minesweepers Sulev and Kalev were opened to the public at the Admiralty wharf in Tallinn. The celebrations culminated with the reception of the armed forces commander Tarmo Kõuts in the Concert Hall Estonia. The Estonian government issued resolution 404-k on the establishment of the armed forces General Staff on October 31, 1991. The first unit of the new army was the staff company. The first officers’ training course began in winter 1991 in Tallinn, while the training school of non-commissioned officers was opened in Meegomäe, Võru county, in the beginning of 1992. The MoD was established by the Parliament in spring 1992 and the first conscripts were drafted to the Kuperjanov Battalion in March of the same year.
US to donate four helicopters to the Estonian Air Force
Oct 30 - The Estonian Air Force will receive four Robinson R-44 light helicopters from the US next year. The US will also provide training to the crews and maintenance specialists. The delivery of the four helicopters will double the fleet of the Estonian Air Force and Border Guard. The agreement between the US administration and the Estonian Defence Ministry on the delivery of the helicopters was signed on July 31, 2001. The donation costs 2,354,000 USD. Estonian Air Force information officer Tiit Paabo said that the helicopters will arrive in the Ämari air force base in April 2002 at the earliest. Their main use will be training of pilots, liaison and observation flights as well as search missions.
FOREIGN NEWS
Dutch Prime Minister is for Estonia’s quick membership in EU and NATO
Oct 31 - During his visit to Estonia the Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok said that “It is in our common interest that Estonia is admitted to NATO and EU as quickly as possible. It is beneficial not only for Estonia but for the whole of Europe as it will strengthen security, stability and solidarity.” Meeting with the Estonian President Arnold Rüütel and with his Estonian counterpart Mart Laar the European Union and NATO enlargements were discussed. The Prime Minister pointed out that the enlargement negotiations have been so succesfull for Estonia that the country may finish the preparations by the end of next year and become a full member of the EU in 2004. He said that the Netherlands was ready to open its labor market to workers from Estonia immediately after Estonia’s entry into the EU. The Dutch Prime Minister also regarded it as very likely that all three Baltic states would get invitations at the NATO summit in Prague in 2002 to join the alliance. He voiced recognition of Estonia’s rapid development during the decade after the country regained its independence. He said the development was not only in appearances but also in the mentality and attitudes, which in Estonia were becoming fully similar to those seen in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is the third largest foreign investor in Estonia after Finland and Sweden and has helped Estonia with police cooperation and border checkpoint creation. The Dutch Prime Minister said that there must be opportunities to make the relations of the two countries even more active.
Estonian minister encourages EU to open labor market
Oct 30 - Estonian Social Affairs Minister Eiki Nestor appealed to member countries of the European Union (EU) to open their labour markets to new members from the moment of their accession. "We hope that also the other member countries will follow Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands and decide to open their labor markets to the new members from the moment of accession," Nestor said at a round table of EU aspirant countries' social affairs ministers in Brussels. The minister added that the EU member countries' fears concerning opening their labor markets were somewhat exaggerated and that employees' movement from new member countries to the old member countries would not significantly increase.
Baltic, Nordic justice ministers condemned terrorism
Nov 02 - Justice ministers of the Baltic and Nordic countries meeting in Tallinn adopted a resolution condemning terrorism. The ministers declared that they regard it as necessary to continue the implementation of measures discussed at the European justice ministers' meeting a month ago in Moscow. The justice ministers underlined that international cooperation was necessary in the fight against terror, and particularly underlined the importance of information exchange. Also, the Baltic and Nordic justice ministers agreed that cooperation would increase in the making of laws, training of judges of higher-level courts, the fight against money-laundering and development of prisons. The next meeting of the Baltic and Nordic countries' justice ministers will be held in two years in Sweden.
DOMESTIC NEWS
An international conference on European Union took place in Tallinn
Nov 02 - The international conference “Estonia and the European Union: Estonia on its way to a changing Europe” was held on October 31 - November 2 in Tallinn. The main subject discussed at the conference was “What kind of EU we would like to have?” The future of the EU’s common foreign and security policy and the participation of the public in the enlargement process were also discussed. Among others, Estonian President Arnold Rüütel, Prime Minister Mart Laar and Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves spoke at the conference. In his speech, Foreign Minister Ilves said it was important that, before making decisions concerning EU enlargement and the EU’s future, the organisation should pay equal attention to the opinions of both old and new member countries. “The future new member countries have acquired such a rich experience of renewal as a result of their recent extensive reform process that something useful for the whole EU can be found in it,” Ilves said. He quoted the example of the Estonian experience of bringing decision making processes of the state and self-governments closer to the people by means of information technology and the e-government project. Ilves also underlined the important EU principle of taking into consideration the specific weight of both big and small member countries and a balanced attitude to their interests. The Foreign Minister said that in the future EU opportunities of strengthening the European parliament and of more clearly defining the role of national parliaments should be considered.
Head of the OSCE mission about its exit
Oct 29 -The mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) may leave Estonia within the next year, Postimees daily reported. Head of the OSCE mission Doris Hertrampf told the daily that the OSCE mission in Estonia focuses on a rather restricted number of laws and legal acts that influence the situation of ethnic minorities: citizenship law, aliens' law, language law; also legal acts associated with education and language examinations. She pointed out that the above-mentioned laws and legal acts have been harmonised with European norms and the OSCE mission is content with these. Answering the question of the departure of the OSCE mission from Estonia, Hertrampf expressed hope that there would be no need to extend the mandate of the mission in Estonia. The mandate of the mission is extended every six months, which means that unless the mission's mandate is extended in December, the mission will cease to exist as of December 31st. The OSCE mission was established in Estonia on December 13, 1992 and started work in Tallinn on February 15, 1993.
ECONOMIC NEWS
IMF is confident in Estonia
Oct 30 - Estonia will stop submitting memorandums to the International Monetary Fund, as the country's economic policy framework is now in place, visiting director of the IMF's 2nd European department John Odling-Smee said. "I believe that the series of stand-by arrangements that have been in place since 1992 have served Estonia well, by providing Estonia with a framework for setting its economic policies and by signaling to the domestic and international financial community that the IMF supported Estonia's economic policies," Odling-Smee said. "Estonia now has its policy framework firmly in place, and it has established its own credibility in the financial community," he stated. In Odling-Smee's words, a new phase will now begin in Estonia-IMF relations in which regular consultations about economic policies will be held just as the fund does with the advanced economy countries. Odling-Smee said the IMF has no doubt Estonia will soon achieve full membership status in the EU and that the full implementation of European laws and standards will strengthen the market economy institutions here. Estonia joined the fund in May 1992.
Currency Rates in Kroons (November 02, 2001)
British pound - GBP - 25.336
Canadian dollar - CAD - 10.840
Swiss franc - CHF - 10.620
Danish krone - DKK - 2.101
Finnish markka - FIM - 2.631
French franc - FRF - 2.385
German mark - DEM - 8.000
Japanese yen - JPY - 0.142
Latvian lat - LVL - 27.919
Lithuanian lit - LTL - 4.330
Norwegian krone - NOK - 1.964
Russian rouble - RUB - 0.581
Swedish krona - SEK -1.641
US dollar - USD - 17.297
Euro - EUR - 15.646
REFLECTIONS OF ESTONIA
Estonian gene reserve project receives praise in America
Oct 29 - The Estonian gene reserve project won a special award for the usage of modern technologies for the benefit of people and society at a contest held by the American magazine Wired. The magazine pointed out the great potential of the project for the development of science and society and for implementing new generation (based on information technology) healthcare. The aim of the annual Wired awards is to acknowledge the people who have used new technologies in the most innovative ways and to praise technologies, products and services that have achieved top results by using advanced technologies in their everyday work.
Are we able to integrate with the West?
By Jüri Luik: Estonian Defence Minister
(The Daily Eesti Päevaleht)
Nov 01 - We have gradually anchored ourselves to the common values of the West. Take, for example, Estonia's European Council and World Trade Organisation memberships, success at the European Union negotiations and alliance relations with the USA, which were confirmed at the meeting of Prime Minister Mart Laar with US Vice-President Richard Cheney. If we indeed want to receive the invitation to NATO at the Prague summit of the alliance next year, we have to understand that it is not just a foreign political, but also a domestic political issue. /---/ We have to openly plan our resources for the next decade, and build up a structure that enables us to carry out the national defence of Estonia and fulfil international missions. /---/ The Defence Ministry and the Defence Forces commander are lucky to have many young men and women in their teams who are familiar with international and NATO documents and who are able to compile long-term projects and plan the financing. It is not that NATO needs it. In the first place, it is important for ourselves if we want to use our scanty resources reasonably. /---/ Estonia's defence budget - two per cent of GDP. The "Basics of security policy for the Republic of Estonia", which was approved by the Parliament, proves the importance of the task. In each state budget, some politicians would like to eat their cake and have it too. This, however, is impossible. Unless we raise the national defence costs to two per cent of GDP, we have no business in NATO. Of course we can then finance other priorities, yet let us remember that security is still the greatest problem of Estonia. Those who disagree have learned nothing from our history. Not to mention the fact that it would be especially stupid to give up our NATO aspirations now that we are so close to the alliance. /---/ NATO is no European Union. Here we are not going to accede to a detailed pact which prescribes hundreds of thousands of details. Rather, NATO is an alliance of states that share each others' views, where the goals set have to be attained, yet where many decisions have to be made independently. At the same time, we must not be deceived by this freedom: if we admit that our battalion is not up to NATO standards for training and armament, yet still claim that it is mightier in the military sense, nobody would believe us. Even if we are eventually right, and the heroism of the boys defending their own country compensates for all the technical shortcomings. NATO is built on common sense, and heroism is but an extra asset. So let us take advantage of the experience of the democratic countries of the West in national defence. It is not a shortcoming that we haven't invented everything on our own, because our national defence is part of Europe, and the spirit of our national defence has to belong to Europe, too. /---/ The Defence Forces of Estonia are ten years old now, a grown-up and dignified institution. Major difficulties and problems are things of the past. However, we must also understand that we lack a certain military capacity against a superior enemy, which we simply cannot afford. Estonia needs international military co-operation, it is an important pledge of our security. So let us use our chance.
EESTI RINGVAADE is compiled from local news services, including BNS and ETA, and is issued by the Press and Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Estonian Review does not reflect the official policy of the MFA.
Eesti Ringvaade is also available through the Internet at http://www.vm.ee
To subscribe please contact: vmpress@vm.ee
FOREIGN NEWS
DOMESTIC NEWS
ECONOMIC NEWS
REFLECTIONS OF ESTONIA
DEFENCE NEWS
German Defence Minister: Germany supports extensive enlargement of NATO
Nov 02 - During his visit to Estonia German Defence Minister Rudolf Scharping recognized Estonia’s preparations towards NATO membership and said that Germany’s defence aid would continue: “We can see Estonia’s efforts and achievements on the NATO course and we are optimistic of the future.” The German Defence Minister said that so far Estonia had implemented its Annual National Plan of accession to NATO well and that now, when the program had come to its third phase, it should be concluded in the first half of the next year. Scharping noticed that coping with the program is one of the objective bases for receiving an invitation for membership from NATO. According to the German Defence Minister Germany sees the Baltic countries as a united group in NATO enlargement. He also said that Germany supports extensive enlargement of the North Atlantic Alliance. Scharping added that no third country would have a right of veto to the Baltic countries’ accession to NATO: “Meeting my Russian colleague in August I said that accession of the Baltic countries to NATO was an issue of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, and third countries had nothing to say in this.” During his visit the German Defence Minister met with the Estonian President Arnold Rüütel, Defence Minister Jüri Luik and Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves.
Armed forces marked 10th anniversary
Oct 31 - The Estonian Armed Forces marked the 10th anniversary of their restoration. The celebrations included a parade of the Tallinn garrison units in Tallinn. The presentation of medals marking the anniversary took place in the Town Hall of Tallinn. A display of marching drills, armament and equipment of the army was held in the Town Hall Square the same day, while the Navy minesweepers Sulev and Kalev were opened to the public at the Admiralty wharf in Tallinn. The celebrations culminated with the reception of the armed forces commander Tarmo Kõuts in the Concert Hall Estonia. The Estonian government issued resolution 404-k on the establishment of the armed forces General Staff on October 31, 1991. The first unit of the new army was the staff company. The first officers’ training course began in winter 1991 in Tallinn, while the training school of non-commissioned officers was opened in Meegomäe, Võru county, in the beginning of 1992. The MoD was established by the Parliament in spring 1992 and the first conscripts were drafted to the Kuperjanov Battalion in March of the same year.
US to donate four helicopters to the Estonian Air Force
Oct 30 - The Estonian Air Force will receive four Robinson R-44 light helicopters from the US next year. The US will also provide training to the crews and maintenance specialists. The delivery of the four helicopters will double the fleet of the Estonian Air Force and Border Guard. The agreement between the US administration and the Estonian Defence Ministry on the delivery of the helicopters was signed on July 31, 2001. The donation costs 2,354,000 USD. Estonian Air Force information officer Tiit Paabo said that the helicopters will arrive in the Ämari air force base in April 2002 at the earliest. Their main use will be training of pilots, liaison and observation flights as well as search missions.
FOREIGN NEWS
Dutch Prime Minister is for Estonia’s quick membership in EU and NATO
Oct 31 - During his visit to Estonia the Dutch Prime Minister Wim Kok said that “It is in our common interest that Estonia is admitted to NATO and EU as quickly as possible. It is beneficial not only for Estonia but for the whole of Europe as it will strengthen security, stability and solidarity.” Meeting with the Estonian President Arnold Rüütel and with his Estonian counterpart Mart Laar the European Union and NATO enlargements were discussed. The Prime Minister pointed out that the enlargement negotiations have been so succesfull for Estonia that the country may finish the preparations by the end of next year and become a full member of the EU in 2004. He said that the Netherlands was ready to open its labor market to workers from Estonia immediately after Estonia’s entry into the EU. The Dutch Prime Minister also regarded it as very likely that all three Baltic states would get invitations at the NATO summit in Prague in 2002 to join the alliance. He voiced recognition of Estonia’s rapid development during the decade after the country regained its independence. He said the development was not only in appearances but also in the mentality and attitudes, which in Estonia were becoming fully similar to those seen in the Netherlands. The Netherlands is the third largest foreign investor in Estonia after Finland and Sweden and has helped Estonia with police cooperation and border checkpoint creation. The Dutch Prime Minister said that there must be opportunities to make the relations of the two countries even more active.
Estonian minister encourages EU to open labor market
Oct 30 - Estonian Social Affairs Minister Eiki Nestor appealed to member countries of the European Union (EU) to open their labour markets to new members from the moment of their accession. "We hope that also the other member countries will follow Sweden, Denmark, Ireland and the Netherlands and decide to open their labor markets to the new members from the moment of accession," Nestor said at a round table of EU aspirant countries' social affairs ministers in Brussels. The minister added that the EU member countries' fears concerning opening their labor markets were somewhat exaggerated and that employees' movement from new member countries to the old member countries would not significantly increase.
Baltic, Nordic justice ministers condemned terrorism
Nov 02 - Justice ministers of the Baltic and Nordic countries meeting in Tallinn adopted a resolution condemning terrorism. The ministers declared that they regard it as necessary to continue the implementation of measures discussed at the European justice ministers' meeting a month ago in Moscow. The justice ministers underlined that international cooperation was necessary in the fight against terror, and particularly underlined the importance of information exchange. Also, the Baltic and Nordic justice ministers agreed that cooperation would increase in the making of laws, training of judges of higher-level courts, the fight against money-laundering and development of prisons. The next meeting of the Baltic and Nordic countries' justice ministers will be held in two years in Sweden.
DOMESTIC NEWS
An international conference on European Union took place in Tallinn
Nov 02 - The international conference “Estonia and the European Union: Estonia on its way to a changing Europe” was held on October 31 - November 2 in Tallinn. The main subject discussed at the conference was “What kind of EU we would like to have?” The future of the EU’s common foreign and security policy and the participation of the public in the enlargement process were also discussed. Among others, Estonian President Arnold Rüütel, Prime Minister Mart Laar and Foreign Minister Toomas Hendrik Ilves spoke at the conference. In his speech, Foreign Minister Ilves said it was important that, before making decisions concerning EU enlargement and the EU’s future, the organisation should pay equal attention to the opinions of both old and new member countries. “The future new member countries have acquired such a rich experience of renewal as a result of their recent extensive reform process that something useful for the whole EU can be found in it,” Ilves said. He quoted the example of the Estonian experience of bringing decision making processes of the state and self-governments closer to the people by means of information technology and the e-government project. Ilves also underlined the important EU principle of taking into consideration the specific weight of both big and small member countries and a balanced attitude to their interests. The Foreign Minister said that in the future EU opportunities of strengthening the European parliament and of more clearly defining the role of national parliaments should be considered.
Head of the OSCE mission about its exit
Oct 29 -The mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) may leave Estonia within the next year, Postimees daily reported. Head of the OSCE mission Doris Hertrampf told the daily that the OSCE mission in Estonia focuses on a rather restricted number of laws and legal acts that influence the situation of ethnic minorities: citizenship law, aliens' law, language law; also legal acts associated with education and language examinations. She pointed out that the above-mentioned laws and legal acts have been harmonised with European norms and the OSCE mission is content with these. Answering the question of the departure of the OSCE mission from Estonia, Hertrampf expressed hope that there would be no need to extend the mandate of the mission in Estonia. The mandate of the mission is extended every six months, which means that unless the mission's mandate is extended in December, the mission will cease to exist as of December 31st. The OSCE mission was established in Estonia on December 13, 1992 and started work in Tallinn on February 15, 1993.
ECONOMIC NEWS
IMF is confident in Estonia
Oct 30 - Estonia will stop submitting memorandums to the International Monetary Fund, as the country's economic policy framework is now in place, visiting director of the IMF's 2nd European department John Odling-Smee said. "I believe that the series of stand-by arrangements that have been in place since 1992 have served Estonia well, by providing Estonia with a framework for setting its economic policies and by signaling to the domestic and international financial community that the IMF supported Estonia's economic policies," Odling-Smee said. "Estonia now has its policy framework firmly in place, and it has established its own credibility in the financial community," he stated. In Odling-Smee's words, a new phase will now begin in Estonia-IMF relations in which regular consultations about economic policies will be held just as the fund does with the advanced economy countries. Odling-Smee said the IMF has no doubt Estonia will soon achieve full membership status in the EU and that the full implementation of European laws and standards will strengthen the market economy institutions here. Estonia joined the fund in May 1992.
Currency Rates in Kroons (November 02, 2001)
British pound - GBP - 25.336
Canadian dollar - CAD - 10.840
Swiss franc - CHF - 10.620
Danish krone - DKK - 2.101
Finnish markka - FIM - 2.631
French franc - FRF - 2.385
German mark - DEM - 8.000
Japanese yen - JPY - 0.142
Latvian lat - LVL - 27.919
Lithuanian lit - LTL - 4.330
Norwegian krone - NOK - 1.964
Russian rouble - RUB - 0.581
Swedish krona - SEK -1.641
US dollar - USD - 17.297
Euro - EUR - 15.646
REFLECTIONS OF ESTONIA
Estonian gene reserve project receives praise in America
Oct 29 - The Estonian gene reserve project won a special award for the usage of modern technologies for the benefit of people and society at a contest held by the American magazine Wired. The magazine pointed out the great potential of the project for the development of science and society and for implementing new generation (based on information technology) healthcare. The aim of the annual Wired awards is to acknowledge the people who have used new technologies in the most innovative ways and to praise technologies, products and services that have achieved top results by using advanced technologies in their everyday work.
Are we able to integrate with the West?
By Jüri Luik: Estonian Defence Minister
(The Daily Eesti Päevaleht)
Nov 01 - We have gradually anchored ourselves to the common values of the West. Take, for example, Estonia's European Council and World Trade Organisation memberships, success at the European Union negotiations and alliance relations with the USA, which were confirmed at the meeting of Prime Minister Mart Laar with US Vice-President Richard Cheney. If we indeed want to receive the invitation to NATO at the Prague summit of the alliance next year, we have to understand that it is not just a foreign political, but also a domestic political issue. /---/ We have to openly plan our resources for the next decade, and build up a structure that enables us to carry out the national defence of Estonia and fulfil international missions. /---/ The Defence Ministry and the Defence Forces commander are lucky to have many young men and women in their teams who are familiar with international and NATO documents and who are able to compile long-term projects and plan the financing. It is not that NATO needs it. In the first place, it is important for ourselves if we want to use our scanty resources reasonably. /---/ Estonia's defence budget - two per cent of GDP. The "Basics of security policy for the Republic of Estonia", which was approved by the Parliament, proves the importance of the task. In each state budget, some politicians would like to eat their cake and have it too. This, however, is impossible. Unless we raise the national defence costs to two per cent of GDP, we have no business in NATO. Of course we can then finance other priorities, yet let us remember that security is still the greatest problem of Estonia. Those who disagree have learned nothing from our history. Not to mention the fact that it would be especially stupid to give up our NATO aspirations now that we are so close to the alliance. /---/ NATO is no European Union. Here we are not going to accede to a detailed pact which prescribes hundreds of thousands of details. Rather, NATO is an alliance of states that share each others' views, where the goals set have to be attained, yet where many decisions have to be made independently. At the same time, we must not be deceived by this freedom: if we admit that our battalion is not up to NATO standards for training and armament, yet still claim that it is mightier in the military sense, nobody would believe us. Even if we are eventually right, and the heroism of the boys defending their own country compensates for all the technical shortcomings. NATO is built on common sense, and heroism is but an extra asset. So let us take advantage of the experience of the democratic countries of the West in national defence. It is not a shortcoming that we haven't invented everything on our own, because our national defence is part of Europe, and the spirit of our national defence has to belong to Europe, too. /---/ The Defence Forces of Estonia are ten years old now, a grown-up and dignified institution. Major difficulties and problems are things of the past. However, we must also understand that we lack a certain military capacity against a superior enemy, which we simply cannot afford. Estonia needs international military co-operation, it is an important pledge of our security. So let us use our chance.
EESTI RINGVAADE is compiled from local news services, including BNS and ETA, and is issued by the Press and Information Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Estonian Review does not reflect the official policy of the MFA.
Eesti Ringvaade is also available through the Internet at http://www.vm.ee
To subscribe please contact: vmpress@vm.ee
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