Estonian Review 27 August - 2 September 2010

FOREIGN NEWS
DOMESTIC NEWS
DEFENCE NEWS
ECONOMIC NEWS
CULTURAL NEWS

FOREIGN NEWS

Nordic-Baltic Report Includes 38 Specific Co-operation Projects

27 August - Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said at the meeting of the foreign ministers of the Baltic states and the Nordic countries in Riga that the proposals contained in the Nordic-Baltic co-operation report provide a good foundation to make future co-operation even more effective. "The report offers specific proposals with regard to co-operation between the Nordic countries and the Baltics,“ said Paet.
Paet said that both Estonia and the other Baltic and Nordic countries wish to devote more attention to co-operation both in co-ordinating foreign policy positions and with regard to the foreign service, where examples include consular assistance or exchange of diplomats. "Every country should designate at least one foreign representation where it would be possible to engage the services of diplomats from other Nordic countries or Baltic states. We should also examine opportunities for the exchange of diplomats. We have such a practice in place with our Finnish colleagues. Next year an Estonian diplomat will be sent to the Finnish representation in Lusaka, Zambia," said Paet. Paet also said that better co-ordination of common positions would increase the visibility of the Nordic and Baltic countries in international organisations.
The report also offers a number of ideas for co-operation on energy issues and environmental and defense issues. Paet said Estonia supports the establishing of additional energy links between the Baltic and Nordic regions and Poland.
Nordic-Baltic co-operation - NB8 - is a regional co-operation format in which Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania further political dialogue and practical co-operation.

Estonian Rescuers to Help Residents of Flooded Pakistan

1 September - The Foreign Ministry is supporting two experts from the Rescue Board as they embark to help Pakistan, which has suffered from heavy flooding. As part of an international team, the Estonian experts will head to the city of Sukkur to erect a base camp for UN humanitarian aid workers.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that Pakistan is standing face to face with the greatest humanitarian and natural disaster in the country’s recent history. “The Estonian experts are heading to Pakistan within the framework of International Humanitarian Partnership upon the request of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs,” stated Foreign Minister Urmas Paet. “The regions affected by the floods are the poorest in the nation. Nearly 900 000 homes have been destroyed. Because of the floods, close to 15 million people have either lost their homes or been forced to leave their homes for the time being. Almost 1 500 have lost their lives,” said Foreign Minister Paet.
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued an appeal for help to the countries of the International Humanitarian Partnership (IHP) to build a base camp in the city of Sukkur in Pakistan for UN humanitarian aid workers. The erection and further servicing of the base camp will be the collective operation of the IHP and will include the participation of Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Finland. As of January 2010, Estonia has been participating along with other IHP countries in a similar operation in Haiti.
The region around the city of Sukkur is one of the regions that has suffered the most as a result of the flooding in Pakistan, and many UN humanitarian aid workers are going there to co-ordinate the distribution of aid.
Soon after the disaster began, Estonia provided food aid totalling one million kroons through the UN World Food Programme (UNWFP) for those suffering due to floods caused by heavy monsoon rains. The Estonian humanitarian aid for alleviating the situation of the Pakistani people was allocated from the Foreign Ministry’s development and humanitarian aid budget.
In addition, member of the Estonian Rescue Board Gert Teder went to Pakistan as part of the European Union assessment and co-ordination team. The goal of the EU assessment mission was to evaluate the most urgent needs of the residents and co-ordinate arriving aid.

Israel and Estonia to Foster Co-operation in IT Field

31 August - Prime Minister Andrus Ansip confirmed at his meeting with Israeli State Minister Michael Eitan that Estonia is prepared to work more closely with Israel in the field of information technology. “I really hope your visit reinforces co-operation between Estonia and Israel in the area of IT,” the prime minister said.
The Israeli state minister, who is visiting Estonia specifically to find out more about its IT achievements, was introduced to the e-government information system, which has now been in use in the country for ten years. “Not only are e-solutions convenient and economical in terms of the time they save you, but they also save taxpayers’ money,” Ansip explained.
State Minister Eitan says that there is a range of well-developed e-solutions in the private sector in Israel, but that their use in the public sector in the country is much more modest. “We hold Estonia’s experience in this field in great esteem,” he said. The issue of the security of Internet-based services was also raised at the meeting. The prime minister confirmed that people’s privacy is protected in Estonia and that any breach of it is considered a crime.
Prime Minister Ansip and State Minister Eitan stated that relations and co-operation between the two countries were at a very good level. Ansip reminded those present that on 10 May both Estonia and Israel were invited to join the OECD. “That’s a mark of quality for us both,” he said. “The OECD is a forum of democratic states where we can share our experiences and plan further co-operation.”
During his visit, which comes to an end today, the Israeli state minister also had meetings at the E-Government Academy, where he learned more about Estonia’s e-health project and e-elections. Eitan also met with Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts.

Estonian Embassy in Cairo Began Processing Visa Applications

2 September - As of the beginning of September, the Estonian Embassy in Cairo will begin accepting applications for visas to travel to Estonia.
Foreign Minister Urmas Paet emphasised that the embassy opened in Cairo this year is Estonia’s first embassy in Africa. “Cairo is one of the biggest centres of not only the Arab world, but of all Africa. The Estonian Embassy being active in Cairo provides a basis for intensifying ties with the region as well as for the development of business and cultural contacts,” he said. “Since Egypt is one of the most popular tourist destinations for Estonians, the existence of the embassy is also important for helping out our citizens in Egypt,” Paet added.
Previously Estonia was represented by the Latvian Embassy in Cairo for the issuing of Schengen visas in Egypt.

President of the Republic Accepts Credentials from Ambassadors of Vietnam, Ireland

25 August - President Toomas Hendrik Ilves met today in Kadriorg with the ambassadors of Vietnam and Ireland, who have presented their credentials to the head of state.
Credentials were presented by Ambassador of Vietnam Doan Ngoc Boi, who resides in Helsinki, and Ambassador of Ireland Peter McIvor, who resides in Tallinn.

Estonian Ambassador to Finland Presents Credentials

30 August - On Thursday, 26 August, Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Finland Mart Tarmak presented his credentials to Finnish President Tarja Halonen. In the conversation that followed the ceremony, Tarmak emphasised the very good, particularly close relations between the countries. In congratulating Estonia on its accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the imminent adoption of the euro, Finnish President Tarja Halonen mentioned that Finland has benefited greatly from membership in both structures.
In an exchange on defence policy, Tarmak alluded to the strong commitment to public defence in both countries, expressed in the high support for general compulsory military service in both countries. Tarmak said he felt the meeting was lent a very home-like atmosphere by the extraordinary opportunity to speak Estonian with the Finnish head of state, as the conversation took place in Estonian and Finnish by turns.
Ambassador Tarmak and President Halonen also spoke of co-operation between European Union member states in the field of development co-operation and civilian aspects of crisis control.
Mart Tarmak was born in 1955 in Tallinn. In 1978, he graduated from the University of Tartu with a degree in chemistry. From 1981-1986 he studied journalism through a correspondence program offered by Vilnius University followed by Portuguese at the University of Lisbon from 1991-1992. From 1990-1992, Tarmak was the Estonian chargé d'affaires ad interim in Vilnius, and in 1992-1993 adviser at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1995-1997 Tarmak served as adviser at the Ministry of Defence. From 1998-2003 Tarmak was a freelance interpreter. From 2003-2006, Tarmak was employed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs political department. From 2006–2010 Tarmak was Estonia's Ambassador to Portugal and from 2008, the non-resident Ambassador to Morocco.
Tarmak is married with a grown son. Tarmak speaks English, Lithuanian, Finnish, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese and Latvian.

DOMESTIC NEWS

Kõpu Lighthouse is Now Oldest Working Lighthouse in the World

27 August (BNS) - The lighthouse in Kõpu on Estonia's Hiiumaa Island, which used to hold third place among the world's oldest functioning lighthouses, has taken the top position as both of the older lighthouses have stopped performing their original function, the Estonian daily Eesti Päevaleht said, citing the structure's leaseholder. The Kõpu lighthouse will turn 480 on 1 August next year.
Jaan Puusepp, the leaseholder to the lighthouse, said he heard about Kõpu having taken the top place through experts of the field at the beginning of this holiday season. "Even being third was big enough honor, so becoming first was a very pleasant surprise indeed," he said.
The Estonian Maritime Administration still lists the Kõpu lighthouse as Aid to Navigation and the lighthouse continues to give out a white light signal. It did not emerge from the report what had happened to the classification of Kõpu's competition, most notably the Tower of Hercules situated about 1.5 miles outside the city of La Coruna in Galicia, Spain, that most sources still refer to as the world's oldest functioning lighthouse.
Previously known as Dagerort lighthouse, the lighthouse of Kõpu stands 32 meters tall on a hilltop in the middle of the Kõpu Peninsula in the western part of Hiiumaa and the elevation of its light from the sea level is 102 meters. Building of the lighthouse started in 1505 and a fire on the top of the tower was first lit on 1 August 1531.

Hundreds of Bonfires to be Lit on Estonian Coastline for Night of Ancient Bonfires

28 August (BNS) - For the second year in a row Estonia will be taking part in the Night of Ancient Bonfires initiative, during which people are invited to light a bonfire or a candle on the coast of the Baltic Sea on the night of the last Saturday of August.
The goal is to cover the coastline with bonfires in such way that from each place at least two other fires can be seen, spokespeople for the Rannarahva Koda (Chamber of Coastal Folk) nonprofit organisation told BNS. Organisers have called for the fires to be lit at 9:30 p.m. Estonian time.
Last year, when Estonia for the first time joined the tradition that got its start in Finland in 1992, hundreds of bonfires were lit along the country's coastline.
As of 2 p.m. on Saturday, 223 bonfires and 12 310 participants had been registered on the event's Estonian website. A map on the website shows the coastlines of Harju County, which includes the capital Tallinn, and of Pärnu County in southwestern Estonia as getting the greatest number of fires. Fires are also to be lit on lakesides in places situated as far from the sea as Kallaste, Põlva, Elva and Otepää.
A post on the website says that on the isle of Keri, which has no trees and to where transportation of firewood is complicated, a group of people will illuminate the local lighthouse, the oldest in the Gulf of Finland, with flashlights during the whole night.
The Night of Ancient Bonfires was originally an initiative to mark the 75th independence anniversary of Finland in 1992. In the years after that it lived on, especially in the archipelago of southwestern Finland, as a local and communal farewell to summer. By now the tradition has spread to all countries situated on the Baltic Sea and its goal is to show the unity of coastal people and pay tribute to history and cultural heritage.
In ancient times bonfires along the Baltic coast were lit to warn of dangers. The earliest written reports of conveying messages by means of bonfires date from the time of the Vikings, when a united system of warning extended from the sea to the inland. Each community was under obligation to make its contribution to the system by lighting and keeping a bonfire, and strict punishment was applied for not fulfilling the duty.

DEFENCE NEWS

US Aviators Taking Over Baltic Air Policing Mission

1 September (BNS) - A contingent of United States aviators and fighter jets will replace Polish airmen in the NATO-sanctioned air-policing mission to guard the Baltic skies in a ceremony at the Lithuanian air force base near Siauliai on Wednesday.
Four F-15C Eagle fighters of the US Air Force landed at the base last week. This will be the third shift served by the United States on the same mission. The previous shifts were served by US airmen in 2005 and 2008.
Due to start on Wednesday, the mission is manned by over 120 personnel including pilots, technicians, medical and support personnel as well as communications specialists. Poland performed the mission with four MiG-29 jets.
Since the Baltic nations Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania do not have aircraft suitable for patrolling their skies, planes and contingents from fellow NATO member states have been deployed in Lithuania on missions lasting a few months at a time since 2004 under a decision of the North Atlantic Council.
Since 2004, the missions have been performed by aviators from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the United States.
Last year, NATO decided to extend the air policing mission in the Baltic states until the end of 2014. However, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia want it continued until at least 2018.
Baltic experts this spring completed a study envisaging scenarios for guarding the Baltic skies after 2018.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Over 100 Companies Have Joined Euro Fair Pricing Agreement in Estonia

28 August (BNS) - By Saturday afternoon more than 100 companies in Estonia had joined the fair pricing agreement, committing themselves to follow good practice and refrain from ungrounded price increases in the switchover to the euro.
Among the companies that have acceded to the agreement are all the 11 commercial banks that are members of the Estonian Banking Association. An updated list of the companies is available from the website ahk.eesti.ee since Saturday. As of 5 p.m. on Saturday, the list had the names of 104 businesses on it.
The purpose of the fair pricing agreement is to prevent economically ungrounded price increases of goods and services during the switch to euro. The experience of many countries shows that similar agreements have helped to prevent unreasonable price increases and joining the agreement has given businesses the opportunity to assure the public that adoption of the euro in itself does not entail a price increase.
Enterprises joining the agreement give their consent that they will follow good practice and will not increase prices in the conversion to euro unless there is an economic justification to it. The businesses that join the agreement have the right to use a sticker with a corresponding logo and other visual materials.
The fair pricing agreement is supervised by the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and abidance by its terms is monitored by the Consumer Protection Board.

Estonian Air Passenger Numbers Grow 2.5 Percent On Year in July

27 August (BNS) - In July 59 359 passengers flew with the national carrier Estonian Air, which marks an increase of 2.5% against the same month last year. Regular flights carried 54 445 passengers, 0.8% more than a year earlier. The number of passengers on charter flights soared by 27.3%, the airline said.
In the January-July period, a total of 324 076 passengers used the services of Estonian Air, a decrease of 3.2% from last year. The number of passengers on regular flights declined by 4.6% to 290 920. Estonian Air flew 306 667 passengers out of Tallinn.
The company's market share at the Tallinn airport in the regular flights segment was 42.3%, or 3.9 percentage points smaller than at the same time last year.

July Most Successful Month for Estonia’s Retail Sector in 1.5 Years

31 August (BNS) - July was the best month for companies of the Estonian retail sector since the start of 2009, the Ministry of Economy and Communications said.
The decline in domestic retail sales in Estonia that has continued for a long time is starting to end. Unemployment has decreased and people's confidence regarding the future has increased. If thus far domestic demand held back economic growth to a large degree, then in the coming months an improvement can be expected in that too, Karel Lember, chief specialist at the ministry's economic analysis service, said in a press release.
SEB Bank analyst Hardo Pajula said in his remarks to BNS that Tuesday's data from Statistics Estonia showing an increase in industrial output and a slowdown in the decline in retail sales was another drop in the generally positive news flow of recent months.
"In what regards retail trade figures, the figures for August apparently will show us a slight increase already," said Pajula.
Also Swedbank economist Maris Lauri forecast positive annual growth to start in August or September. She described the month on month improvements in retail trade so far as perhaps a bit faster than one would have expected.
Nordea Pank chief economist Tõnu Palm told BNS the retail figures released by Statistics Estonia confirmed the earlier belief that a recovery was taking place, albeit with pain. "Private consumption will remain in a downtrend this year and only a slightly positive reading can be expected next year. There is no rapid improvement due. In this situation people are consuming more staple goods and purchases of durable goods are postponed until confidence, incomes and the overall economic situation have improved," said Palm.
Retail sales of goods by retail trade enterprises in Estonia in July decreased 1% compared to July 2009, measured in constant prices, Statistics Estonia said on Tuesday. The annual decline in retail sales in July was the smallest of the current year.
In January retail sales of goods decreased 13% compared to the same month a year ago, in February the rate of decline was 11%, in March 10%, in April 9%, in May 4% and in June 6%.

Estonian Development Fund to Invest Up To EUR 192 000 in Startup Companies

1 September (BNS) - The Estonian Development Fund will invest up to three million kroons (EUR 192 000) in startup information technology companies Sportlyzer and Inner Circle.
Sportlyzer and Inner Circle are seed-phase investments where the prototype or business model are still undergoing testing, head of the fund's investment division Heidi Kakko said.
Sportlyzer is developing a web environment for the international market to bring fitness enthusiasts together with training and motivation software. The company's aim is to link up training recommendations and feedback. Sportlyzer has passed the Development Fund's international business incubator where its business plan was polished. The company's leader is the founder of Vomax Tõnis Saag and it has Jüri Kaljundi, one of the founders of CV Online and Nagi, on board. Former manager of Playtech's Estonian unit Rein Lemberpuu has invested in it.
Inner Circle positions itself as a social network free from information noise. The company plans to create a private environment for groups to communicate and take it to foreign markets. The technology entrepreneur Allan Martinson is one of its founders and the team is led by Andrus Raudsalu, former CEO of the Delfi portal. In addition to the Development Fund the founding team brought in Regio and Live Nature Eesti headed by Raivo Vare as private-sector investors.

CULTURAL NEWS

Foreign Ministry Supports Film Market at Black Nights Film Festival

31 August - While meeting with director of the Black Nights Film Festival Tiina Lokk, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet talked about co-operation opportunities for introducing Estonian culture and film.
Foreign Minister Paet stated that the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF), which will take place for the 14th time this year, is expanding its scope, and in addition to the main programme and sub-festivals the “Black Market” film market will also take place. “The film market will be a suitable place for the Foreign Ministry’s development co-operation partners, for example Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, as well as other Eastern European, Southern Caucasian and Central Asian nations to have an opportunity to introduce their film productions more widely. For this reason the Foreign Ministry decided to provide support for the organisation of the event,” said Paet, adding that supporting the participation of films and filmmakers in the film market will provide an opportunity to intensify co-operation between developing film industries in Europe in the long run.
The foreign minister also spoke with Tiina Lokk about the 23rd European Film Awards ceremony, which will take place in Tallinn on 4 December. Foreign Minister Paet stated that we can also introduce Estonia when the major event for the film world takes place in Tallinn. “It is important that we use every opportunity for artists to show their creations and thereby show Estonia to the world,” he noted.

Estonia Sending Estonian Language Teachers to Universities in Vilnius, Beijing

1 September (BNS) – For the new academic year, teachers of the Estonian language have been sent by Estonia to work at Vilnius University and the Beijing Foreign Studies University.
The name of the lecturer to start work at the Beijing Foreign Studies University is Katrin Jänese and the name of the lecturer to work at Vilnius University is Elvira Küün, spokespeople for the Ministry of Education and Research said.
A teacher of Estonian has been working at Vilnius University since 2002. The lectorates of Estonian abroad opened most recently are the lectorate in Lviv, Ukraine, opened in February 2009, and the lectorate in Masaryk University in Brno, the Czech Republic, opened in September 2009.
The lector's position at the Beijing Foreign Studies University is new.
In all, Estonian is taught at nearly 30 universities all over the world. Nine of the lectorates are upheld by the foreign academic studies program financed by the Ministry of Education and Research and managed by the Estonian Institute.