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Estonian Review: 11-17 June, 2008
19.06.2008
FOREIGN NEWS
DEFENCE NEWS
DOMESTIC NEWS
ECONOMIC NEWS
FOREIGN NEWS
Starting in Mid-July, Estonian Citizens can Travel to Turkey Visa-Free
June 13 - Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet met with his Turkish colleague Ali Babacan, in Estonia for a visit. The two discussed bilateral relations, including the implementation of visa freedom for Estonian citizens, and Turkey's accession negotiations with the European Union.
In accordance with an agreement between Estonia and Turkey, Estonian citizens will be able to travel to Turkey visa-free starting from the middle of July. Foreign Minister Urmas Paet noted that Turkey's popularity among Estonians is increasing with each year. Considering the great number of charter planes flying from Estonia to Turkey, one can assume that Turkey is currently one of Estonians' favourite destinations, Paet said. In 2006, the number of Estonians who went to Turkey on vacation was 16,000, and last year the sum was 25,000.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan confirmed that at the moment Turkey still needs to complete some legal procedures necessary for visa freedom and that, beginning in mid-July, Estonian citizens will no longer need visas to travel to Turkey.
The foreign ministers also discussed Turkey's accession negotiations with the European Union, and Paet expressed his pleasure over the fact that, next week, two new chapters of negotiations will begin. Turkey needs to be given a fair chance in negotiations, and we hope that reforms in Turkey will continue at the same pace, Paet emphasised.
Estonian Foreign Minister and his Turkish colleague Ali Babacan also unveiled a memorial plaque at the location where the former Turkish embassy in Tallinn was situated from 1935-1938. Paet stressed the historically good relations between Estonia and Turkey, noting that Turkey was one of the few nations to open its embassy in Estonia before World War II. He also voiced appreciation of Turkey's non-recognition of the Soviet annexation of Estonia.
During his visit, Ali Babacan also met with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and The chairman of the Estonian parliament's foreign affairs committee, Sven Mikser.
Ansip: EU must Continue Ratifying Lisbon Treaty
Jun 16 - Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said Estonia was in favour of continuing ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, although Ireland rejected it at a referendum.
Ansip made the statement in the European Union affairs committee of the Estonian parliament when he informed the committee of Estonia's positions at the European Council.
The prime minister said that, although the result of the referendum was a disappointment, the decision of the Irish should be respected.
He added that, although the answer to the question how to continue was being expected above all from the Irish, it was not a problem for Ireland alone but for the whole European Union.
"We cannot agree with appeals that Ireland must now drop out from the European Union or freeze its membership," Ansip said.
The prime minister said that Estonia was in favour of all the countries continuing ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.
"All the member countries must have the opportunity of stating their opinions concerning the Lisbon Treaty," he underlined.
Due to its constitution Ireland was the only member country of the union obliged to put the Lisbon Treaty to a referendum with the result that 53.4 percent were against it and 46.6 percent in favour.
Before Ireland's referendum the treaty was ratified by 18 countries. The Estonian parliament did it last Wednesday, and also Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia have ratified the treaty.
Within Next Three Years Estonia Will Support Afghanistan with Almost 20 Million Kroons
June 12 - Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participated in the International Conference in Support of Afghanistan in Paris. The focus of the conference was building up the civil society in Afghanistan.
In talking about the effectiveness of development aid for Afghanistan, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet emphasized the importance of the role of Kai Eide, the UN's Special Envoy to Afghanistan, in coordinating the co-operation of international organizations. Afghanistan has many donors, and in order to achieve more successful results, the Afghan government and the international community must work together, said Paet. He added that Estonia is prepared to contribute to the reconstruction of Afghanistan for as long as the country needs aid. Within the next three years, we plan to increase our contribution to Afghanistan to equal 15 to 20 million kroons, Paet stated.
In his speech, Paet also spent time talking about the most important issues in Afghanistan's reconstruction-the country's economic development, reforming the legal sector, and battling corruption.
Paet feels that in order for Afghanistan to develop, attention must be paid to promoting an enterprise-friendly business environment and a transparent tax system. This would help with both advancing the economy and increasing the employment rate, Paet said. It is very important to involve local Afghan businesses in this process and to listen to their suggestions, he added. The Estonian foreign minister also noted that the entire legal system in Afghanistan must be reformed, as this will help bring investments into the nation.
Paet also spoke in his speech about how corruption in Afghanistan is directly tied to narcotics trade, which is extremely dangerous to the country's security. In battling corruption, we must show the population that even the highest state officials will not be granted impunity, Paet emphasized. He added that a special tribunal could be created to combat against corruption and narcotics trade.
US Ambassador Presents Medals to Estonian Soldiers for Service in Iraq
June 11 - US Ambassador Stanley Davis Phillips presented medals to Estonian soldiers for service in Iraq.
The ambassador handed Bronze Stars and Army Commendation Medals to Estonian military who served in Iraq in 2006 and 2007. The list of recipients contained 56 names four of whom were awarded Bronze Stars.
The ambassador said it was a great honour to present the decorations to Estonian defence personnel and thank them for their service in Iraq. Estonian soldiers in Iraq are held in high regard and these decorations show US army leaders' respect for their achievements, he said.
Chief of staff Col. Neeme Väli said Estonian troops earned the medals with hard service.
"The soldiers who have served and fought in Iraq, those who are returning home from there today and those who are about to go there, are directly defending Estonia's security interests," he observed.
Bronze Stars were presented to Maj. Eduard Nikkari, chief of the Tallinn Company of the Kaitseliit (Defence League) voluntary corps, Maj. Artur Lillenurm, professor of the National Defence College, commander of the ESTPLA-13 infantry platoon Lt. Meelis Jõemaa and Sgt. Maj. Rauno Koivistoinen from the same unit.
Army Commendation Medals were handed to members of ESTPLA-12, 13 and 14 and to staff officers who served in Iraq side by side with US military.
The Estonian defence forces have been participating in the US-led operation Iraqi Freedom since June 2003.
Outgoing Czech Ambassador Awarded Terra Mariana Cross
Jun 17 - Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves conferred Class One Order of the Terra Mariana Cross on the outgoing Czech Ambassador, Milos Lexa.
Lexa handed over his credentials on 30 September 2004.
Pre-war diplomatic relations between Estonia and Czechoslovakia were interrupted in connection with the occupation of Czechoslovakia in March 1939.
The relations were restored on 9 September 1991 and as of 1 January 1993 were automatically transferred to Czechoslovakia's successor countries.
A Czech embassy in Tallinn was opened in May 2000.
Estonian President Appoints Three Ambassadors
Jun 16 - Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves signed a decision on the appointment of ambassadors to Russia, Germany and Belgium.
Simmu Tiik will become the ambassador to Russia, William Mart Laanemäe the ambassador to Germany and Karin Jaani the ambassador to Belgium.
Ilves recalled the present ambassador to Russia Marina Kaljurand, to Germany Clyde Kull and to Belgium Malle-Talvet Mustonen.
DEFENCE NEWS
NATO General: All Member Countries should Accede to Cyberdefence Center
Jun 16 - Gen. James N. Mattis, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, said all member countries of the alliance should accede to the NATO cyberdefence centre now being established in Estonia.
Now on a visit to Estonia, Mattis told reporters after meeting with commander of the Estonian defence forces Lt. Gen. Ants Laaneots that he found all the NATO countries should accede to the cyberdefence centre.
"If you are not interested in cyberattacks, you can be sure cyberattacks are interested in you," Mattis said. Also Laaneots found that all NATO member countries, as well as partner countries of the alliance, should accede to the cyberdefence centre.
Laaneots said that in addition to the seven founder countries also Romania and Turkey had expressed readiness to accede to the centre. The document on the establishment of the cyberdefence centre was signed on May 14 by the defence forces commanders of Germany, Slovakia, Spain, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. France, too, has displayed interest in acceding to the centre.
General Mattis remarked that NATO had a lot to learn from Estonia in the cyberdefence sphere as Estonia received invaluable experience due to the cyberattacks launched against it starting with last April. "We live in an age of cyberattacks and defence of our information space is extremely important," James N. Mattis said.
Aaviksoo: Ukraine Needs the Support of its People and Politicians to Join NATO
Jun 13 - The NATO ministers of defence met in Brussels the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, Mr. Juri Jehhanurov, within the ministerial discussing Ukraine's movement towards the NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP).
At the NATO Bucharest summit in April, the NATO heads of state and government declared that Ukraine, like Georgia, will became a member of NATO in the future and decided to launch active discussions to progress in this direction.
The NATO ministers of defence acknowledged Ukraine's contributions to NATO operations - as the first NATO partner state, Ukraine is ready to contribute to the NATO Response Force (NRF). Also, Ukraine was invited to continue defence and security sector reforms.
The Estonian Minister of Defence, Mr. Jaak Aaviksoo, confirmed Estonia's support for Ukraine's NATO Integration, stressing the need to increase public awareness of NATO in the Ukraine. Based on its own experiences, Estonia knows that the presence of domestic consensus significantly influences the speed of NATO integration, said the minister.
Mr. Aaviksoo also invited his NATO counterparts to take part in the high-level NATO-Ukraine defence co-operation consultation, taking place, which is being organised by the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Estonia in co-operation with the International Centre for Defence Studies and takes place in Tallinn on 12th to 13th November.
A bilateral meeting of the Estonian and Ukrainian ministers of defence also took place within the NATO ministerial; the co-operation between the ministries of defence of two countries and preparations for the meeting in November were discussed at the meeting.
The operation in Afghanistan, including the support to the development of the Afghan security forces and NATO's activities and the security situation in Kosovo were discussed at the meeting of NATO defence ministers. The development of NATO's military capabilities and defence-related transformation, including the development of air transport capabilities and the more extensive use of helicopters in the areas of operations were also discussed.
Defence Forces to Get two Exercise Fields
Jun 12 - The Government passed a resolution establishing the Sirgala and Kikepera Defence Force exercise fields and decided to transfer the land of the exercise fields to the Ministry of Defence.
The 2,790-hectare Sirgala exercise field, established in Vaivara rural municipality, Ida-Virumaa, will be mostly used by the Viru Single Infantry Battalion, Scoutsbattalion, Estonian National Defence College and the Alutaguse Unit of the Defence League and to a smaller extent also by Viru, Jõgeva and Järva units of the Defence League and the Rescue Board, police and border guards. Being a former mining territory, the Sirgala exercise field is not forested and is thus ideal for live firing exercises with both artillery and anti-tank missile systems. It can be also used for exercises involving the use of anti-tank grenade launchers, mortars and anti-tank cannons.
The 846 hectare Kikepera exercise field, established in the Surju rural municipality, Pärnu county, will be used for training, mainly by the units of Western Defence District and Pärnu county, Lääne county, Sakala and the Rapla units of the Defence League and to a smaller extent, also by the youth organisations of the Defence League and the Rescue Board, police and border guards. The Kikepera exercise field will be used for live firing exercises, involving up to 12.7mm calibre handguns, anti-tank grenade launchers and mortars.
DOMESTIC NEWS
Estonian Leaders Call to Remember Price of Freedom
June 14 - In a joint statement on the Day of Mourning, Estonian leaders called on people to not forget the price Estonians have paid for the freedom of their country and to remember the sacrifices the nation has had to make because of the freedom lost.
President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Speaker Ene Ergma and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip recalled that during the night of June 14, 1941, thousands of Estonian families were forcibly removed from their homes and sent to Siberia in cattle wagons.
The deporters took no notice of the age, health or gender of the deportees. This was the way of the occupation regime to eliminate the 'socially dangerous element,' which amounted to nothing but violence against the ordinary, active citizens of Estonia and their family members," they said.
Estonian leaders noted that scarcely a year had passed since the Soviet occupation of the young Republic of Estonia during which the president of the republic, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and members of the government and the parliament had already been repressed. Now it was the turn of the rest: the tag of "dangerous element" was attached to babies and octogenarians, pregnant mothers and little boys alike.
"Words cannot express the despair felt by the people sent off towards an unknown destination, with nothing but ephemeral hope of surviving and returning to homeland. What must the mothers and fathers have felt, seeing their children crammed in cattle wagons alongside themselves? These mothers and fathers, women and men had little chance of seeing their loved ones again," Ilves, Ergma and Ansip said.
More than half of the 10,000 people deported in June 1941 perished or were executed, and of the 3,500 men who were separated from their families and interned in prison camps, only 200 or so survived, Estonian leaders stated. "Numbers are just numbers; even numbers as eloquent as these can never convey the emotions and heart-wrenching pain behind them," they said.
More than 10,000 Estonians were deported to Siberia in June 1941. Of them around 6,000 perished through frost, hard labour, hunger and illness or were executed, including almost all of the 3,500 men sent directly to prison camps. Of the women and children deported to the Kirov and Novosibirsk regions, nearly half did not survive.
Government Gives Nod to Employment Contracts Bill
June 12 - The Estonian government approved a much-debated employment contracts bill whose underlying principle is safe flexibility for both employees and employers.
The concept of safe flexibility means that regulations enable involved parties to create an employment relationship which in the best possible way takes into consideration the parties' needs and interests.
The bill regulates the relations between an employer and an employee in areas like concluding, altering and terminating an employment contract, the parties' rights and obligations, time of work and rest, and leave.
The existing labour law is essentially a development of Soviet labour law, the initiators of the bill found. The Employment Contracts Act was passed as a transition law in 1992. As the economic, legal and social environments have significantly changed since then, the effective legislation needs to be completely modernized.
Ilves Calls to Hold Next Independence Day Reception in Jõhvi
June 13 - President Toomas Hendrik Ilves would like to hold the traditional Independence Day concert and presidential reception on the 91st anniversary of the Republic of Estonia next February 24 in the north-eastern regional capital Jõhvi.
According to the president's proposal, Narva, the region's largest city, would host the military parade.
The urban population of the north-eastern county is made up mostly of Russian-speakers, with Narva having only a few percent of ethnic Estonians among its residents.
In the view of the head of state, East-Viru County is a region that many people of Estonia are not familiar with.
"East-Viru County is a region important for Estonia and hard-working residents of East-Viru County are worthy to host our state's anniversary," Ilves said.
With steps like this the state will show that it is coming closer to the people, is caring equally for all regions, and will show that Estonia is not limited to Tallinn alone, the president said. "It must be our duty to continuously make Estonia bigger," he said.
ECONOMIC NEWS
Currency Rates in Kroons
(Bank of Estonia)
Current Account Deficit Contracts by One Third in April
Jun 13 - This April the Estonian current account shortfall was more than a third lower than in the same month last year, totalling 2.2 billion kroons (EUR 140.6 mln).
Compared with the previous month the shortfall contracted by 15 percent, the Bank of Estonia said.
The contraction of the deficit in April was influenced mostly by the account of goods with the biggest turnover, the shortfall of which fell by 40 percent.
The shortfall in the goods account was higher than that of the current account deficit, totalling 2.5 billion kroons.
Compared with the same period last year the contraction of the shortfall was due to significantly faster growth in exports compared with imports - the respective growth figures being 18 and 2 percent.
Tartu Science Park Planning Nanolab at EUR 3.2-6.4 mln
Jun 11 - Tartu Teaduspark, (the Tartu Science Park Foundation) in cooperation with local businessmen, universities and the Education and the Economic Affairs Ministries, is planning the construction of a nanolab which should cost approximately 50-100 million kroons (EUR 3.2-6.4 mln).
Toomas Noorem, managing director and board member of Tartu Teaduspark, said that the project was intended for the development of nanotechnology. "In cooperation with the Tartu University Institute of Physics and development companies in our own house we would like to create a new, so-called clean room environment," Noorem said.
Noorem said the idea of the lab was at the preliminary design level at present. "We will start with making drawings for a concrete building very soon. If everything goes well, the first phase could be completed next year," he added.
Marika Priske, secretary general of the Economic Affairs Ministry said the intended joint use lab would make it possible to set up a common experimental base for businessmen. "It will have technology they would certainly not be able to purchase on their own and which also the university faculties could use in their scientific and study work," Priske said. "This could create new business ideas or products," she added.
Priske said that the lab could probably be supported also by Education and Economic Affairs Ministry measures.
Estonian Air Sees Passenger Numbers Go Up 15 Pct in May
June 11 - Estonian Air carried a total of 72,544 passengers in May, of this 667,656 on regular flights.
The total number of passengers increased by 15.3 percent compared with May, while the number of passengers passing through Tallinn Airport grew by 14 percent.
The number of Estonian Air passengers on regular flights grew by 16.4 percent and on chartered flights 2.5 percent.
In the first five months Estonian Air had 300,811 passengers, 16.8 percent more than in the same period last year.
In May the market share of Estonian Air in Tallinn Airport accounted for 46.7 percent of regular flights, 2.2 percentage points higher than last May.
"Regardless of the very positive trends in the previous months we are feeling the effects of cooling of the global and local economies and will apparently face fall in demand for air travel already in the next few months. Many aviation companies are already feeling a slow-down of the growth on our neighbouring markets," said Andrus Aljas, board chairman of Estonian Air.
Estonia's Forticom Buys Polish Internet Portal with Nearly EUR 60 Mln
June 12 - The Estonian company AS Forticom bought 70 percent of the leading Polish social internet network Nasza Klasa with nearly EUR 60 mln.
The price of the deal was 200 million zloty or EUR 59.3 million. The transaction took place half a year ago but became public only now.
Nasza-klasa.pl is one of the most popular Polish web sites that has 7.5 million constant users. In all 14 million people are registered users of the portal.
Late Night Tallinn-Stockholm Flights to Be Continued
June 13 - Estonian Air is planning to continue late night flights on the Tallinn-Stockholm route.
Ilona Eskelinen, PR-director of Estonian Air, said that the flights would not be scrapped after the test period.
The test period of the flights lasted from April 14 to June 13, and on the basis of its results Estonian Air was to consider whether it would continue the flights later.
The late night extra flights are flown on three days a week on a 33-seater SAAB 340 aircraft on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Owners of the Estonian national aviation company Estonian Air are the Estonian state, SAS Group and the Cresco investment bank.
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