Estonian Review 3 - 9 September 2010

FOREIGN MINISTER PAET VISITS GEORGIA
FOREIGN NEWS
DOMESTIC NEWS
DEFENCE NEWS
ECONOMIC NEWS
SPORTS NEWS

FOREIGN MINISTER PAET VISITS GEORGIA

Estonia Supports Territorial Integrity of Georgia

7 September - At his meeting with Georgian Foreign Minister Gregory Vashadze in Tbilisi, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet emphasised that Estonia supports Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Paet and Vashadze discussed the situation in Georgia and the future of the nation as well as its co-operation with NATO, the European Union, and Estonia.
Foreign Minister Paet said that it is essential for the European Union Monitoring Mission (EUMM) in Georgia to continue, since the security situation in the conflict zone has not improved. “The European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia is the only security mechanism functioning in the conflict zone near the occupied areas after the departure of other international organisations’ missions,” stated Foreign Minister Paet.
Foreign Minister Paet stated that the negotiations between the European Union and Georgia to conclude an Associations Agreement that includes a comprehensive free trade agreement are an important step in the development of relations. “The development of European Union-Georgia trade and economic relations is part of the broader integration with the union and also contains a security policy dimension,” said Paet. Estonia has offered to help Georgia prepare for negotiations and implement its reforms.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet confirmed that Georgia will remain Estonia’s development co-operation priority partner in the future. “Estonia’s aid thus far has focused first and foremost on increasing the capability of the Georgian state, for example in the interior security sector, the education sector, and in supporting economic development,” Paet stated.
The foreign ministers spoke about Estonia-Georgia co-operation within the context of EU Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership as well. “We will create an Eastern Partnership training centre, and young diplomats from Georgia are welcome to participate,” he added.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that Estonia and Georgia have good co-operation with the OSCE, Council of Europe, and UN. Estonia feels it is important to continue discussing the issue of Georgia in international organisations until the conflict has been resolved.
Today Paet spoke before Georgia’s ambassadors about matters related to the European Union, NATO-Georgia relations, Estonia’s experiences in these organisations, and bilateral relations.

Paet Met with Georgian President Saakashvili

8 September - Foreign Minister Urmas Paet emphasised to Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili that in the interest of alleviating the post-conflict situation, efforts must be continued to bring international observers back to the entire Georgian territory. “A long-term political solution must be based on respect for Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” Paet stressed. “Serious attention must also be given to alleviating the situation of the internally displaced persons and including the residents of the occupied territories in everyday life,” said Paet.
Foreign Minister Paet expressed to Saakashvili that Estonia supports Georgia’s integration with the European Union and NATO. “It is necessary for Georgia to persistently and patiently continue with domestic and economic reforms that bring it closer to the EU and NATO,” said Foreign Minister Paet. “Estonia supports rapid progress in bringing the visa facilitation agreement between the EU and Georgia into effect and in concluding a readmission agreement,” Paet added.
In talking about co-operation within the framework of EU Neighbourhood Policy and Eastern Partnership, Foreign Minister Paet emphasised that Georgia should take advantage of all the opportunities available to support its reform process. “Eastern Partnership offers Georgia and other Eastern Partnership countries a useful opportunity to grow closer to the EU,” Paet stated.
Georgia has been and will remain the greatest receiver of Estonia’s bilateral development aid, as well as one of Estonia’s development co-operation priority partners. “Estonia is ready to share its reform experiences through development co-operation projects. Many development co-operation projects have been or are currently being carried out – some examples are training programmes for Georgian police officers, state officials, young diplomats and university students, the reforming of vocational education, and projects for increasing the administrative capability of the state,” Paet listed.

Foreign Minister Visited Georgian IDPs, Border Areas of Conflict Zone

9 September - Foreign Minister Paet visited the Georgian IDP villages of Tserovani and Shavshvebi along with the deputy director of the European Union Monitoring Mission in Georgia General Gilles Janvier. The foreign minister also visited Odzisi and Ergneti, which lie close to the control lines and were damaged during the conflicts, and met in Gori with the governor of Shida Kartli, Zurab Arsoshvili.
By the end of 2008, dwellings had been built in the Tserovani refugee village for 2 200 families. The Russia-Georgia conflict triggered a tremendous flow of internally displaced persons (IDPs), in addition to earlier waves of refugees from Abkhazia and South Ossetia. “Over one hundred thousand people have been forced to leave their homes,” stated Paet. “The situation of IDPs remains very complicated. We want to help to improve their living conditions and currently we have many development aid projects aimed towards IDPs in Georgia,” the foreign minister said.
Estonia is sharing experiences with young Georgian IDPs on, for example, becoming involved in a business. “This knowledge provides the IDPs with a chance to find work and thereby start returning to their everyday lives,” stated Foreign Minister Paet.
At his meeting in the city of Gori with Governor of Shida Kartli Zurab Arsoshvili, Paet discussed Estonia’s co-operation opportunities for improving the living conditions of the IDPs. Governor Arsoshvili said that in the Gori region there are still 100 IDP families without dwellings that are forced to live in schoolhouses.
Foreign Minister Paet also visited the refugee village of Shavshvebi, which is one of several settlements of people who were forced to relocate and where Estonia established a children’s playground and sports field within the framework of a development aid project. Paet said that children and youth living in IDP settlements lack places to enjoyably spend their free time. “A dwelling is essential, but that is not the only thing that is necessary for a quality life,” he added.
In the summer of this year the Foreign Ministry also supported a summer camp in Estonia for 14- to 16-year-old Georgian IDPs.

FOREIGN NEWS

Ansip Discusses Oil Shale with Jordanian Energy Minister

3 September - Prime Minister Andrus Ansip met with Khalid Irani, Minister for Energy and Natural Resources of the Kingdom of Jordan, and the delegation accompanying him at Stenbock House today. The main aim of the Jordanian delegation’s visit to Estonia is to learn more about the country’s oil shale industry. Estonia and Jordan are working closely together in the field of oil shale. In May this year, during Prime Minister Ansip’s official visit to Jordan, an agreement was signed by the two countries granting Eesti Energia exclusive rights to investigate options for the production of oil and electricity from local oil shale. The Estonian prime minister stressed that Jordan is a key partner for Estonia in the Middle East.
“Working together the way we have has really borne fruit,” said Ansip. “The agreement we signed in spring is a really important partnership project for us, and I hope it proves beneficial to both Jordan and Estonia.”
Irani said that the Jordanian delegation’s visit to Estonia to learn more about the oil shale industry had proven very constructive and that they were highly optimistic about the future of the partnership between the two countries.
“We’ve now seen how your oil shale industry works and how big it really is,” Irani explained. “And there’s no reason for our co-operation in this field to be the only area we work together in as two nations. We can learn a lot from Estonia in building up our own e-government, for example, and we should definitely strengthen our intercultural and tourism ties.”
The Estonian prime minister and Jordanian energy minister also discussed foreign policy issues, in particular the peace talks that have launched between Israel and Palestine in Washington. Jordanian King Abdullah II has been invited to Washington for the event. Irani says it is crucial that the talks produce concrete results, since the fate of Palestine is of key importance to the entire region. “I hope the talks produce a solution that satisfies both sides,” Ansip said. “Estonia’s position is that regulation of the conflict must be based on a two-state solution.”

Estonia Shares Schengen Experiences with Ukraine, Moldova

5 September - Within the framework of a development co-operation project, the Foreign Ministry is supporting the Ukrainian and Moldovan border guards’ capability to prevent the illegal entrance of people and goods and is also helping them to use more modern border guard technology.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that modernising the border guard will help Ukraine and Moldova’s co-operation with the EU as well as improve the standard of living for people in both countries. “Limiting human trade and smuggling will support the nations’ stability and economic development and also create circumstances for greater trustworthiness in international co-operation. This in turn will create opportunities for improving the human rights and economic situation in Ukraine and Moldova,” said Paet, talking about the long-term goals of the project. “Through this development co-operation project supported by Estonia, the use of contemporary information technology solutions in border controls will speed up the development of an e-state and thereby decrease corruption,” stressed the Estonian foreign minister. Within the framework of the project, Ukrainian and Moldovan border guard officials will be trained in guarding the land border, or “green border”, and Estonia will share its experiences in acceding to the European Union, NATO, and the Schengen visa space. The Ukrainian and Moldovan border guards will adopt the use of the most modern border guard technology, the usage of which will be practiced for one month with instruction by the Estonian side. The project is being carried out with the support of the Foreign Ministry by the NPO SmartDust Solutions OÜ in co-operation with the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, the Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, and the Ukrainian and Moldovan border guards. After the end of the project, the tools and hardware used will remain in the possession of the Moldovan and Ukrainian border guards.
Based on the co-operation between the European Union, Moldova and Ukraine, solving border issues is vital for the development of Ukraine and Moldova. Ukraine’s European Union action plan prescribes Ukraine-Moldova co-operation along their entire shared border.
In accordance with the European Union and Ukraine’s association agreement, Ukraine is developing its border protection strategy, legal bases and procedures. Moldova has joined the UN Millennium Development Goals and within the framework of those as well as Moldova’s EU action plan, it is endeavouring to make border control more effective and bring it into accordance with Schengen regulations in order to decrease the underground economy and thereby improve the nation’s economic situation.

Estonian Ambassador to Latvia Presents Credentials

7 September - Today the new Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Latvia Mati Vaarmann presented his credentials to Latvian President Valdis Zatlers. In the conversation that followed the credentials-presenting ceremony, Ambassador Mati Vaarmann and President Valdis Zatlers discussed Estonia-Latvia bilateral relations and opportunities to develop them further. Both sides emphasised the good relations and close co-operation between the countries in all areas, which were recently given an added impulse by the publication of the Latvia-Estonia Future Co-operation Report. President Zatlers expressed interest in the current status of the Estonian economy and preparations for the adoption of the euro. Another topic discussed was one that demands tremendous attention both bilaterally and regionally – energy security. Ambassador Vaarmann and President Zatlers also talked about Latvia’s domestic political developments, since there are parliamentary elections coming up soon in Latvia.
Mati Vaarmann was born in 1951. In 1973 he graduated from the Tallinn University of Technology with a degree in economics. Mati Vaarmann began working in the diplomatic field in 1992 as the economic advisor for the Estonian Embassy in Helsinki. From 1995-1997 Mati Vaarmann was the secretary general of the Foreign Ministry. Following that he was the Estonian Ambassador to Finland from 1997-2001. Starting in 2001 Mati Vaarmann worked as the director general of the Foreign Ministry’s internal audit department, and from 2002-2006 he was an undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry. Before assuming his current post, Vaarmann was the Estonian Ambassador to the Czech Republic. Ambassador Vaarmann speaks Estonian, Russian, Finnish, English, and German.

DOMESTIC NEWS

Estonia Rises Two Notches in Global Competitiveness Rankings

9 September (BNS) - Estonia has climbed to 33rd from 35th in the fresh Global Competitiveness Report released by the World Economic Forum. Lithuania rose six places to 47th, whereas Latvia dropped two places to 70th.
The scoreboard was once again topped by Switzerland, followed by Sweden, Singapore and the United States. Germany rounded out the top five, next came Japan and Finland. Compared with last year, some of the top ten have changed places but there are no dropouts or newcomers among them. Russia stayed in 63rd place.
In the rankings for 2009-2010, Estonia fell from 32nd to 35th. Lithuania placed 53rd and Latvia 68th, down respectively by nine and 14 places.
Estonia again leads new member states of the European Union in terms of competitiveness, the Estonian Development Fund said in its news release. "This has happened above all thanks to the improvement in base factors of competitiveness such as macroeconomic stability but at the cost of dropping out from among innovation-driven economies," the fund's monitoring manager Kitty Kubo said.
The fund said Estonia's rise in rankings was mostly due to the measures the government took to improve the budget position, and changes in labour laws also had a positive impact. Dropping out of the group of innovation-driven economies into that of transition economies has reduced the weight of higher value added factors like innovation and business sophistication in the overall score, it said in the release.
"If such developments continue, Estonia will find it very difficult to compete for the new, more knowledge-intensive foreign investments necessary for restructuring the economy. We are competing for investments, markets and labour above all with other Central and East European countries, and here both Poland, which has shown strong growth in the WEF report for several years already, as well as Lithuania, which has significantly improved its position, are hard on our heels," the Development Fund's economic expert Heido Vitsur said.
WEF's 31st Global Competitiveness Report reflecting countries' economic situation in a world emerging from the economic crisis covers 139 countries of the world. The Development Fund is WEF's official partner in Estonia.

Past Summer Sets New Heat Record in Estonia

8 September (BNS) - The summer of 2010 set heat records in Estonia the likes of which the country has not seen for at least 150 years, from the time reliable records started to be taken. The average temperature in Estonia in the three summer months of June, July and August this year was 18.1 degrees Celsius, the Estonian Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology, EMHI, said. The long-term average for same three months is 15.5 degrees.
"The period of summer heat this year was remarkable also for its duration. First there was a warm spell of a couple of weeks in the middle of May. After that came 'real' summer, which started on May 31 and ended in Tartu County on August 27," EMHI senior specialist Ain Kallis told BNS.
The scoreboard of the warmest meteorological summers in Estonia now runs as follows: summer of 2010 with 18.1 degrees, 2002 with 17.9 degrees, 1972 with 17.8 degrees, 2005 with 17.4 degrees, and the summer of 1992 with 16.3 degrees.
Estonia received a relatively large amount of rain during the three months – 254 millimeters – compared with the long-term average of 208 millimeters. Kallis observed that the dry, hot summers of 1992 and 1999 were followed by very warm winters. The summer of 1939 also was dry and hot, but after it came a very cold winter. "The summer of 1870 was in every way normal, but the winter of 1870/71 saw record low temperatures," he said.

DEFENCE NEWS

Defence Ministers of Estonia, Poland Discuss NATO’s New Strategy

6 September (BNS) - Estonian Defence Minister Jaak Aaviksoo and his Polish counterpart Bogdan Klich, in their meeting in the town of Kielce on Monday, discussed the agenda of the next NATO summit in November, where the alliance is expected to endorse its new strategic concept that will also embrace the defence plans of the Baltic countries. Aaviksoo said after the meeting that the interests of Estonia and Poland as regards the new strategic concept of the alliance overlap, spokespeople for the Defence Ministry in Tallinn said.
"For both countries it is important that the new fundamental paper of the alliance would definitely emphasise collective defence as the main task of NATO, and attach importance to the defence of member states' own territory," said Aaviksoo. "Likewise, it is our common position that collective defence is not just one line on paper, but also consistent planning, holding of joint exercises and developing of infrastructure. Cooperation in those areas has to be deepened in the coming years," he said.
In addition, the two ministers spoke about defence co-operation between Estonia and Poland.
On Tuesday morning Aaviksoo is scheduled to lay a wreath to the grave of Poland's Chief of Staff Gen. Franciszek Gagor, killed in the air crash in Smolensk together with Polish President Lech Kaczynski and many other high-ranking officials in April, and visit the Polish National Defence Academy where he will give a lecture on cyber defence.
Polish air force jets and crews have since 2004 performed the Baltic air policing mission on three occasions. Poland is also contributing to the development of the Baltic Defence College based in the Estonian city of Tartu and three senior officers from Estonia permanently serve at the headquarters of NATO's Multinational Corps Northeast in Szczecin, Poland.

Commander of US Fleet Cyber Command Visits Estonia

8 September (BNS) - Barry McCullough, commander of the US Fleet Cyber Command, is on a visit in Estonia from Tuesday till Thursday. On Wednesday Vice Adm. McCullough visited the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCD COE) in Tallinn, the Estonian Informatics Centre and the Estonian office of Skype, as well as met with the secretary general of the Estonian Ministry of Defence, Riho Terras. On Tuesday evening he met with the commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, Lt. Gen. Ants Laaneots.
"There's a lot to learn from Estonia's cyber defence," McCullough was quoted by spokespeople for the Estonian General Staff as saying. The vice admiral said that what he saw both at the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and the Estonian Informatics Centre was impressive and allies definitely should use Estonia's know-how.
McCullogh also spoke highly of what he saw at the office of Skype in Tallinn, where 40% of the employees of Skype worldwide are based, the spokespeople said.
Reserve Lt. Gen. Johannes Kert, who accompanied McCullough, said Estonia was contributing to NATO's cyber defence capability hoping to receive support from NATO too. Right now eight countries are involved in the activity of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn and the accession process is under way for two more countries, one of them being the United States, Kert said.
Kert said the USA will remain the most important partner for Estonia in ensuring security and co-operation in the form of various exercises in cyber defence is set to intensify remarkably in the coming years. "The visit by Admiral McCullough is a landmark in co-operation between our countries in the field of cyber defence," he said.
Vice Adm. McCullough assumed his current responsibilities as commander, US Fleet Cyber Command/Commander, US 10th Fleet in December 2009. US Fleet Cyber Command is one of the four cyber commands representing the four main branches of the US armed forces.

Three Estonian Ships to Take Part in Exercise in Finland

8 September (BNS) - Three vessels of the Estonian Navy will take part in the multinational naval exercise that is set to start in Finnish waters next week.
To take part in the exercise as a member of the NATO mine countermeasures group is the Estonian minehunter Admiral Cowan, while the staff and support Tasuja will go to the exercise as part of the joint Baltic mine countermeasures unit BALTRON. In addition the Estonian minehunter Ugandi will take part.
Fifty ships from 13 countries are gathering in Finnish waters ahead of the country's largest ever multinational naval exercise, the goal of which is to simulate large-scale marine crisis management, AFP news agency reported on Tuesday.
"The participants will face as many authentic situations as possible, dealing with various modern threats such as international conflict, terrorism, smuggling, and piracy," navy spokeswoman Annele Apajakari told the agency.
She said this exercise, taking place from Sept. 13-24, will test how well an international naval force cooperates in a post-conflict peacekeeping zone, as opposed to rehearsing actual naval warfare.
The vessels hail from Finland, Germany, France, Britain, the United States, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
This is the fourth year that the so-called Northern Coast naval exercise has been organsed, but Germany has hosted the previous editions.
Finland was chosen to lead this year's event because its shallow waters, rocky sea bottom and numerous islands are like an obstacle course for ships more comfortable on the open seas, said Apajakari.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Productivity Grows Nearly 28 Pct on Year in Q2

7 September (BNS) - Productivity based on industrial output reached 333 000 kroons (EUR 21 300) in Estonia in the second quarter of this year, up by 27.7% at constant prices compared to the year-earlier figure, data of the national statistics office show.
In the first half of 2009 a productivity decline of around 20% was recorded. The trend was reversed in the final quarter when growth of close to 4% was registered. In the first quarter of this year productivity growth accelerated to 19%.
In manufacturing the year-on-year growth in productivity at constant prices was 28.9% in the second quarter. In the energy sector growth of 41.4% and in mining, 2.1% was recorded.
The rise in productivity was due to an increase in output combined with a decrease in the number of workers, Statistics Estonia said.

US Army Looking For Opportunities to Buy Food From Estonia

6 September (BNS) - Representatives of the USA Army are soon going to pay a visit to Estonia in order to look for opportunities to supply food and drinking water and if possible also building materials to its soldiers in Afghanistan, the daily Postimees reported.
Representatives of US Defence Logistics Agency will be looking for three kinds of goods from Estonia: food (mainly vegetables), water, and building materials. Initially the visit was to take place from 20-24 September but according to recent information it will be postponed.
The Estonian Defence Industry Association, which has passed on the information to local companies, is working with the issue. According to the board of the association and Jüri Ilves, member of the supervisory board of Viking Security, the business was being done at a fast pace. If the Americans like what they see, the contract will be signed at the first opportunity and trade can be launched. Buying goods in Estonia would be profitable for the US, as some of the equipment to Afghanistan is already dispatched via Estonian ports at present.
Before Tallinn the Americans will visit Riga, where they will be looking for the same goods.
At present the output of one Estonian company, dwelling cabins, can be see in Afghanistan now. They are made by S3 Estonia, and the last consignment was dispatched there a few weeks ago.

Container Handling by Muuga Up 14 Percent Year-on-year

3 September (BNS) - The container terminal company Muuga CT handled more than 100 000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units) of container goods during the first eight months of this year, which marks an annual increase of 14%.
In August it handled 12 680 TEUs of container cargoes, 32% more than in the corresponding month in 2009, said Transiidikeskuse AS, parent company of the container terminal operator. "We have grounds to believe that the growth trend will continue, first and foremost as a result of increased demand from Russia," the CEO of Transiidikeskuse AS, Erik Laidvee, said.
He said Muuga CT was already experiencing a need for additional storage space and expected to lay out new storage area in collaboration with the state company Port of Tallinn in the near future.

Tallink Served Record Number of Passengers During Business Year

9 September (BNS) - The listed Estonian shipper Tallink Grupp served a record 8.4 million passengers during the business year that ended on 31 August, which marks a year-on-year increase of 4%.
The number of vehicles carried by Tallink's ships grew by more than 100 000, reaching 964 876. Cargo carriage increased by 3% against the previous business year, to 258 773 units.
For the second year running July turned out the record calendar month with passenger numbers exceeding one million.
The biggest growth was recorded on the Latvia-Sweden line where passenger numbers increased by 16% year-on-year to 605 837. The Estonia-Finland route showed the biggest number of passengers - 3.8 million, up by 9% on annual comparison.
Ships plying between Finland and Sweden carried 3.1 million passengers, 1% less than in the previous business year. The number of passengers also declined by 1% on the Estonia-Sweden route, reaching 837 935.
Passenger numbers on the Germany-Finland line contracted by 42% to 57 893 as the boats operating this route were undergoing maintenance in winter months.
Tallink served 926 542 passengers in August, nearly 9% more than in the same month a year ago. The number of passenger cars grew by more than 14% to 121 105 and that of trucks by more than 15% to 22 354 units.

SPORTS NEWS

Kanepi Beat Wickmayer and Moved to Quarter-Finals

6 September (BNS) - In their fourth round encounter at the UP Open tennis tournament on Monday, 31st-seeded Kaia Kanepi beat 15th-seeded Belgian Yanina Wickmayer 0-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-1. The game lasted 2 hours, 21 minutes.
Wickmayer, who served well and played aggressively, played powerfully in the first set and for a while led the second set 4-2, but Kanepi fought her way out of the losing position and eventual turned the whole game in her favour.
Kanepi’s next opponent will be decided in the match between Andrea Petkovic and Vera Zvonarjova.