Estonian Review
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EESTI RINGVAADE VOLUME 16 NO 43 NOV 1 - 7, 2006 |
At both the meetings the focus was on the security situation in Iraq and the possibledevelopment scenarios. Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki saidEstonia's military contribution to the improvement of the security situation in Iraq wasimportant and expressed the hope that it was thefirst step on the path of the development of political and economic relations. Paet said that Estonia wanted to have closer relations with Iraq and extended to the Iraqi prime minister and foreign minister invitations to visit Estonia. The Estonian foreign minister said that Estonia wanted Iraq to become a politically and economically stable, democratic and successful country. "We understand that the Iraqi government is facing a task of great complexity," Paet said. "We support the efforts of the Iraqi government to resolve the conflicts between the various ethnic and religious groups and to involve them in a common national development process," he added. The Estonian foreign minister said that it was important that talks between the European Union and Iraq over a trade and economic cooperation agreement should open soon. "International trade and economic cooperation makes it possible to stabilize the situation in Iraq, as this would improve the living standards of the people," Paet said. "That in turn would increase support among the people to a democratic path of development," he added. The two officials also discussed transfer of the guaranteeing of security to the Iraqi security forces and extension of the international coalition forces' mandate by the UN Security Council. US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad also thanked Estonia for its contribution to Iraq. The parties discussed Iraq's outlook for the future and agreed that a strong Iraq government that is sustainable and capable of taking more and more responsibility for guaranteeing security and organization of domestic life was in the interests of both Iraq and the international public.
Nov 6 - Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said the country’s problems could not be solved by military action alone.
Paet said military action and political will would have to go hand in hand in Iraq in order to achieve a stable and normal situation. "A solution will not be found through military action alone," said Paet. "Much depends on the nature of the political decisions and choices made by the Iraqi government." Paet met with Gen. George Casey, commander-in-chief of the international coalition forces in Iraq, who gave him a thorough overview of the security situation in Iraq. Casey expressed support for Estonia's political decision to help the international coalition provide security and stability, and expressed his high opinion of Estonian soldiers' contribution. Casey said that in 12-18 months, leadership in the country could be handed over to the Iraqi government supported by the presence of the coalition forces. The foreign minister also visited the NATO training mission and met with deputy commander of the mission, Maj. Gen. Ernesto Alviano, who gave an overview of the activities of the training mission. "As a NATO member state, Estonia supports the decision of the alliance to take responsibility incritical areas such as the training and supplying of Iraqi security forces," Paet said. The minister said Estonia supported the proposal to give the NATO training mission some civilian duties, such as the training of policemen and border guards. Paet thanked the US and British coalition partners, to whom Maj. Sten Reimann of the Estonian defence forces handed over Defence Forces Special Service Crosses to thank them for support for the Estonian defence forces' operations in Iraq.
National contingent commander Major Aron Kalmus
At the dining facility Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Major Sten Reimann
Estonian soldiers at the combat break at Camp Taji
Nov 6 - Estonian Economic Affairs and Communications Minister Edgar Savisaar, who met with Royal Court Chief Salem Turk during his visit to Jordan, handed over to him an invitation from President Toomas Hendrik Ilves to King Abdullah II to visit Estonia. Ilves invited Abdullah II to visit Estonia next year. Savisaar mentioned President Lennart Meri's visit to Jordan and expressed the hope that the two countries' relations could become closer in the future. Savisaar praised Jordan as one of the most stable and pro-reform countries in the Middle East, which has successfully cooperated with the European Union. The royal court chief on his part promised to take steps that the Estonians' aspirations would be correctly understood and said there could be a favourable atmosphere in the cooperation between the two countries. During the meeting at the royal court Turk informed Savisaar of the principles from which Jordan proceeded in the organization of its economic and public life. The royal court chief said that not all Arabs thought the same way as Osama bin Laden and such individuals. Turk underlined that it was necessary to make a difference between the pragmatically biased and the extremist Arab worlds. The minister and the royal court chief discussed opportunities of cooperation in the modern world, particularly bearing in mind that countries would better understand each other's positions, try to find a common language and avoid conflicts. As an important aspect they underlined cooperation between business circles and expressed the conviction that the mining and processing of oil shale in Jordan with Estonian assistance could have a great potential.
Nov 1 - Ministers of social affairs from Nordic and Baltic countries decided at a meeting in Copenhagen to step up the fight against human trafficking. The countries will help one another eliminate the social problems behind human trafficking, map out two-way and multilateral projects to combat the illegal trade and engage in cooperation with nongovernmental organizations. As the ministers see it, the main problem with human trafficking is that people taken into a strange country are deceived and not aware of their rights. In addition, human trafficking diminishes the stability of the country where the victims are taken. The human trafficking roundtable initiated by the Danish minister for social affairs, Eva Kjaer Hansen, was attended by Estonia's Social Affairs Minister Jaak Aab. This was the first time Nordic social affairs ministers discussed the fight against human trafficking with their Baltic colleagues. Estonia has been cooperating with the Nordic Council of Ministers to combat human trafficking since 2002.
Nov 2 - Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves received Vietnamese Ambassador Tran Ngoc An who presented his credentials and forwarded an invitation from the Vietnamese head of state for Ilves to visit his country. The Estonian-Vietnamese relations have developed in a spirit of friendship and mutual respect for each other's interests both bilaterally and in the framework of the Asia-Europe Meeting, Ilves noted. According to the President, Estonia wishes to intensify cooperation with Vietnam. "We are interested in forging closer economic ties, in our view development of tourism has especially good prospects," he said. The head of state said he is certain that as the Vietnamese ambassador resides in Helsinki, exchange of information between Estonia and Vietnam will improve which is bound to broaden opportunities for intercommunication. The ambassador said he aims to do his best to bring value added into the Vietnamese-Estonian relationship. "Vietnam has watched with admiration Estonia's remarkable achievements in all spheres of life, especially economy," he said. |
 Meeting of Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki in Bagdhad, Nov 6, 2006
Meeting of Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and US ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad in Bagdhad,Nov 6, 2006
Nov 6 - Estonia has a high opinion of the soldiers serving in Iraq as well as the experience they have acquired there, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said in Iraq. "Thanks to that mission we have considerably improved our combat tactics, defence forces training and capacity for logistical support," Paet said. Paet met with Col. James Pasquarette, commander of the 1st Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division of the coalition forces as well as Estonian soldiers serving in Iraq. Col. Pasquarette said the cooperation with Estonians was excellent and the Estonian platoon was an invaluable ally to the US battle group. "The Estonians are professional soldiers who respect the local population," the colonel said. "Thanks to this they have been well accepted also by the local population," he added. Paet said that Estonia knew very well that the work of the international coalition in Iraq was not yet over. “We have to keep on working side by side with coalition partners and Iraqi authorities to improve the security situation in Iraq,” Paet said. He added that the government had decided to support extension of the mission and to present the issue for discussion to parliament. Paet met with the Estonian infantry platoon at the Tadji base 40 kilometres north of Baghdad. The minister thanked the soldiers for their good service. “It was gratifying to hear that the Estonian unit is highly respected,” he said. "According to the brigade commander, any task can be entrusted to you and you will do a fine job carrying it out," Paet told the Estonian soldiers. The delegation also included chairman of the parliament's state defence committee Toivo Tootsen and deputy chairman of the foreign affairs committee Marko Mihkelson, the first Estonian MPs to visit Iraq. According to the legislators, first-hand impressions of the local situation will help them better understand the role and activities of Estonian soldiers as well as deeper perception of the security situation in Iraq. Mihkelson said the visit would certainly help the parliament make the decision on extending the Iraqi mission.
Nov 7 - Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paetsaid the death penalty handed down to Saddam Hussein, ex-president of Iraq, is important because it means the end of the Saddam era. "Estonia like all other European countries does not resort to capital punishment and believes that also other countries should revise the suitability of the death penalty as a type of punishment," Paet said. "But in Iraq the death penalty is one of the possible options and the Iraqi court found that it is suitable for the crimes Saddam has committed," the foreign minister added.
Nov 3 - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in Brussels that he could see no serious obstacles for the complete normalization of relations with Estonia and Latvia. "There are no particular obstacles for our relations with Latvia and Estonia to fully normalize," Lavrov said at a meeting of the Russian-EU partnership council. The minister added that trade and economic relations with Latvia and Estonia were developing consistently. He pointed out that in the past several days Russia had been coordinating agreements with Latvia and Estonia to promote trade and economic cooperation and set up bilateral intergovernmental commissions.
Nov 1 - Estonian parliament delegation to Moscow raised the issue of the return of prewar President Konstantin Pats' badge of office at the Russian Culture Ministry where officials expressed support for returning the badge. Russia has no reason to delay the restitution of the presidential badge of office because it is not Russian but Estonian property, the chairman of the parliamentary group for ties with Russia, Sergei Ivanov from the ruling Reform Party, said. Ivanov said the question was raised both at the meetings at the Russian State Duma – the lower house of parliament – and at the Culture Ministry where the lawmakers asked that everything possible be done to speed up the return of the badge. Russian Culture Ministry officials told the group that the restitution of the badge is being held up in the Foreign Ministry. Ivanov said this was a case of shifting responsibility. "It's not nice to play such games of hideand- seek in relations between countries, especially when there are no substantive obstacles to returning the badge of office. It's a political decision," Ivanov said. In the meeting at the Culture Ministry also the situation of Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia and Old Believers whom Estonian lawmakers believe Russia should support were under discussion. "The Estonian state is supporting Old Believers with bigger sums both this year and the next to help preserve their culture and way of life. In our opinion the question of the Old Believers should be included in the treaty between the ministries," Ivanov said. Communications and the construction of a new bridge across the Narva River on the Estonian- Russian border were discussed with the deputy transport minister. "This concerns a highway between the European Union and north-western Russia," Ivanov noted. "We found out the Russian position on developing arteries to the EU. This enables Estonia, too, to find a place in it." The visit of the parliamentary group continued in St. Petersburg.
Nov 1 - Vice-chairman of the Estonian parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee Marko Mihkelson, who is preparing an energy security resolution for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, met Russia's First Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Denisov. Denisov confirmed Moscow's interest in developing a mutually beneficial energy dialogue with the European Union which he said should be based on reliable, future-oriented cooperation, Mihkelson said. "But Denisov did not deny the dialogue is full of problems and there are quite a few questions that lack answers at the moment," the lawmaker from the opposition Pro Patria and Res Publica Union noted. During his two-day working visit, Mihkelson had meetings with member of the management board of Russia's Unified Energy System Leonid Gozman, departmental head at the Ministry of Industry and Energy Anatoly Yankovsky, chairman of the State Duma committee for energy, transport and communications Valeri Yazev, and the president of the Russian Institute of Energy and Finance, Leonid Grigoryev. The document drafted by Mihkelson will be first discussed at the November session of PACE's Political Affairs Committee in Paris.
Nov 1 - Estonian Ambassador to the Netherlands Gita Kalmet, who was appointed Estonia’s permanent representative at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, presented her credentials to the director general of the organization, Rogelio Pfirter. In the conversation that followed the ceremony, Pfirter acknowledged Estonia was a responsible member of the OPCW and said the organization's relations with Estonia are “cloudless”. Kalmet confirmed the Baltic state's continued readiness for cooperation. She thanked the OPCW for providing Estonian experts with training opportunities and informed the director general about the annual meeting of Nordic and Baltic experts scheduled to take place in Tallinn later this month. The OPCW was established on the basis of the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997. It is headquartered in The Hague. The aim of the convention is to eliminate the development, production, use, stockpiling and transfer of chemical weapons. Estonia ratified the convention in June 1999 and became a member of the organization at the same time. |
Nov 6 - Speaking in the parliament's foreign affairs committee, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that Estonia was in favour of NATO's continued open doors policy.
"As recently as ten years ago it was said that the Baltic countries would not become members of NATO," Ansip said in outlining Estonian positions to be presented at the NATO summit to take place on November 28 and 29 in Riga. "But now, by our being among the organizers of the summit, a strong signal has been given to those still aspiring to become members of NATO." The prime minister said the Riga summit would be a historic event where also Estonia would be among the organizers for the first time, and as such that event was a vivid example of the success and usefulness of the enlargement policy until the present. Ansip underlined that Estonia was in favour of NATO's continued open doors policy. In this context the issues of Georgia and Ukraine were discussed in the foreign affairs committee. Chairman of the committee Enn Eesmaa underlined that it was in Estonia's interests to continue to support Georgia and Ukraine, countries holding an intensive dialogue with NATO. It was found in the case of Kosovo that NATO units should take part in maintaining a stable security environment in the region also in the future, after the definition of Kosovo's status.
Nov 7 - President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said collective defence was the cornerstone of the Estonian state defence system. Speaking at the higher state defence courses, Ilves said he had often been asked why Estonian young men had to fight somewhere in Iraq or Afghanistan. "But exactly in the same way an Oklahoma farmer may ask why his son should fight, if necessary, somewhere in Estonia or Latvia," the president said. "So if we want to be helped when we need help we must be ready to help our allies. This is the foundation of mutual trust." But Ilves added that collective defence did not mean that Estonia could be absent or passive ourselves and hope that the allies would save us from the worst in case of trouble. "The principle will always apply that help will be given to those who are ready to help themselves," he said. "Or putting it the other way round, if the Estonian state is not ready to defend itself, if only to a limited degree, no one will want to help us seriously." Speaking of civilian control or civilian management, Ilves said that he would not dramatize the contradictions that had recently become apparent between the defence forces general staff and the Defence Ministry. "There are certain tensions between politicians and civilian officials on the on hand and the military on the other hand not just in Estonia but in all democratic countries," the President said. "This is natural, because a general with a service record of thirty years certainly knows more about warfare than civilian defence ministers who are inevitably replaced more frequently in a democratic society." The head of state said that in a democratic society servicemen simply will have to understand that representatives of the elected legislative power and appointed representatives of executive power decide over the use of the defence forces, organize their financing and control their management. "This way the defence forces follow the security and defence policy guidelines of representatives elected by the people, and in working out the guidelines these representatives take into consideration the expert advice of the defence forces," Ilves said. "Civilian control is a system introducing a clearly defined control mechanism that presumes mutual respect."
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Nov 2 - Estonian Defence Minister Jürgen Ligi emphasized the importance of NATO's collective defence at his meetings with US officials during a working visit to the United States. "NATO must ensure collective defence of its members and be capable of carrying out operations in crisis areas affecting our security," the minister said after talks with high-ranking US officials. Ligi met with Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld, Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried and officials of the National Security Council. The meetings focused on international operations, NATO transformation and energy security. facilities including hangars and warehouses, and to build a fuel depot, backup power system and new control centre. By the end of 2009 the airfield infrastructure should be in a condition allowing Ämari to receive NATO fighters guarding the Baltic airspace which are at present based at Zokniai, Lithuania. As the Lilvarde airfield in Latvia is also to be upgraded, the NATO airspace policing mission will probably in the future be rotated among the three Baltic States. By current plans, international tenders for the reconstruction will be announced next year and the construction work is to begin in 2008. By the end of 2011 Ämari must be ready to operate as a NATO airfield, head of planning at the operational department of the air force, Lt. Col. Serkki Niitsoo, said. The airfield should be capable of handling up to 20 transport aircraft and 14-16 fighters, 2,000 tons of cargo and 1,000 personnel in 24 hours in an emergency.
Nov 2 - Lecturer of the Estonian Public Service Academy Aivar Rosko has left for Jordan to join the staff of the international Iraqi police training centre based in that country. Estonian police experts have been working in Jordan for a number of years and Rosko will relieve another Estonian, Hannes Perk, whose stint ended. Rosko will stay in Jordan until the end of December, when the international mission there ends its work. More than 15,000 Iraqi police officers and 4,000 border guards have completed courses at the training centre.
Nov 7 - The state defence committee of the Estonian parliament decided to introduce a bill relieving the commander of the defence forces, Vice Adm. Tarmo Kõuts, from duty. The bill initiated by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves will come to the full house of parliament on November 14 when it will also have its final voting. Trivimi Velliste, deputy chairman of the committee from the Pro Patria Union said that all members of the committee were unanimously in favour of passing the bill. The president has earlier said that in the interests of stability of the defence forces, the commander of the defence forces should be replaced as soon as possible. Last week Ilves opened consultations with the parliamentary parties for the nomination of a new candidate to the post. Ilves is also planning to meet with three senior servicemen, Brig. Gen. Alar Laneman, the defence forces chief of staff, Maj. Gen. Ants Laaneots, commander of the defence forces united educational establishments, and Brig. Gen. Vello Loemaa, the Estonian defence attaché to the United States and Canada. Ilves will present the candidate of the new defence forces commander to the parliament after consultations with the prime minister and the state defence council. By law the defence forces commander has to be discharged within four months since he hands in his resignation. |
Nov 6 - Estonia climbed three notches to 24thon the International Corruption Perception Index , the all-time best position of the country in the list. In the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index Estonia climbed to 24th place among 163 countries with the result of 6.7 points, Agu Laius from the Corruption-Free Estonia society said. A country is free of corruption when it is awarded ten points, 0 points means the country is thoroughly corrupt. Last year more corruption was perceived in Estonia, putting Estonia in 27th place with 6.4 points. Then the list had 159 countries. Tammu Tammerk, co-chairman of Corruption-Free Estonia, said the country's position was the best during the nine years that Estonia has been included in the international, Corruption Perception Index (CPI) listings. Estonia is the most corruption-free among other former socialist countries. One of the most successful countries in the Western Hemisphere, Barbados, received a result equal with Estonia. According to this year's CPI the least corrupt world countries are Finland, Iceland and New Zealand, all of which gained 9.6 points in the list. The same countries stood at the top of the list also last year. Denmark, Singapore and Sweden follow the top three. Of the countries studied corruption is at its worst in Haiti, Iraq, Guinea and Myanmar. Lithuania is listed 46th with 4.8 points. Latvia has climbed four seats and is placed 47th with 4.7 points. The year before the country's CPI was assessed with 4.2 points, which left it 51st in the list. The corruption level of Russia was assessed with 2.5 points in the list, leaving it in 121st place, which it shares with Rwanda, Gambia and Honduras. Of countries of the former Soviet Union, Belarus and Uzbekistan stand at the bottom of the list. The place of Estonia in this year's listings depended on information received from eight independent international sources. Local organizations of Transparency International did not take part in calculating the index.
Nov 7 - Machiko Kondo, regional representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said he placed a high value on the Estonian integration and citizenship policy. Kondo, on a visit to Estonia, met with Population Minister Paul-Eerik Rummo who informed him about the Estonian integration and refugee policy. Energy security was dealt with at greater length at the Department of State. Fried noted Estonia's opportunities to render assistance to Ukraine and Georgia in reforming their defence structures. Questions of the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan were touched upon at the National Security University. Ligi also met with Zbigniew Brzezinski, former chairman of the National Security Council and influential political analyst.
Oct 31 - At a meeting with visiting Defence Minister Jürgen Ligi, US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld thanked Estonia for participating in the Iraqi and Afghan operations Withdrawal of allied forces from Iraq would be a great misfortune for the unstable country, Rumsfeld emphasized in the meeting. The Estonian minister noted that for extending the mandate in Iraq the resolution of the UN Security Council has to be awaited. Rumsfeld highlighted the considerable growth of Estonia's defence spending which he said is an imperative measure to develop the country's defence capabilities. He also said he appreciates Estonia's contribution to NATO's strategic air transport solution. In the context of NATO transformation it is essential for Estonia to develop and increase the capabilities of its defence forces and build up the capacity to rapidly reach international crisis areas, the ministers agreed. Ligi observed that strengthening of the Estonian armed forces is important to NATO as well and because of that the rise in the defence budget met with a positive response. "By strengthening the Estonian defence forces, we support both Estonia's security and stability outside Estonian borders," Ligi said. "To bolster Estonia's security we help ensure world security and in view of this NATO's concerns are our concerns." The purpose of the meeting was to discuss, besides key defence questions, the preparations for NATO's upcoming summit in the Latvian capital Riga. The ministers also talked about several cooperation projects such as a cyber-protection centre to be set up in Estonia and the Baltic Defence College based in Estonia's second-largest city Tartu, and defencerelated development cooperation.
Nov 3 - Estonia's Chief of Staff Brig. Gen. Alar Laneman met with Adm. Edmund P. Giambastiani, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who praised the development of the Estonian defence forces and the balanced model of national defence chosen by Estonia. During the meeting in Washington Laneman and Giambastiani spoke about matters related to reform of the armed forces. They primarily looked at the US experience, which according to the Estonian General Staff offers a lot to learn for Estonia. Talked about were possible steps to stage operations involving all branches of the military and cooperation between the authorities of the two countries on the international arena. Laneman and Giambastiani also spoke about Estonia's balanced model of national defence, which is based on a reservist army and conscript service and also contains fully professional units. Giambastiani, the second highest ranking officer in the US military, spoke highly of the Estonian contribution in Iraq and Afghanistan. "Estonia is doing surprisingly much and is doing it in the right places," he said. Laneman paid a visit to a centre for the fight against improvised explosive devices, where joint steps in the training of mission units and ways to improve cooperation in the mission area were spoken about.
Nov 1 - The Estonian minehunter Sulev, which served for two months in NATO’s mine countermeasures squadron, will end service. The Sulev was the first minehunter from the Baltic States to serve in the NATO squadron. The flagship of the Estonian Navy, Admiral Pitka, served as staff and support vessel for the same unit from May 2005 till March this year. Participation in the alliance's mine countermeasures unit is one of the priorities of the navy, acting chief of staff Lt. Cmdr. Peeter Ivask said. "It's been a very tough period for the crew as the ship has been on various manoeuvres almost since the beginning of the year and in addition it had to undergo a testing process at the Belgium-based NATO minehunter testing centre to be included in the squadron," he said. The squadron took part in a mine clearance operation in Estonian waters, Open Spirit, from Sept. 1 through 13. The Sulev, which found eight explosive devices, was one of the most successful participants. The minehunter participated also in joint trainings in Finnish, Swedish, Lithuanian, German and Polish waters. |
Nov 2 - According to a plan for the renovation of the Ämari air base, Estonia must be ready to receive NATO fighters policing the Baltic airspace in three years' time. At present only lighter aircraft can land at the Ämari airfield some 40 kilometres southwest of Tallinn provided the visibility is good. But Estonia is to get a 580 million kroon (EUR 37 mln) subsidy from NATO's security investment program aimed at turning Ämari by the end of 2011 into an airfield meeting the alliance's requirements. Estonia will apparently have to come up with extra money to finance some of the construction work as the alliance puts the emphasis strictly on structures necessary for fulfilling obligations to the alliance, said the head of the NATO investment department at the Defence Ministry, Priit Parktal. The funds will be used to renovate and expand the traffic area and runways, maintenance Kondo highly appreciated the Estonian integration and citizenship policy and wished the country success in the framework of a new state integration program now being worked out. The regional representative said that the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was satisfied with progress both in the development of an asylum policy in Estonia and well as in the creation of conditions for reception. Kondo also thanked Estonia for its financial contribution to the assistance of Balkan and Afghanistan refugees. Estonia accepted from the regional representative an offer for cooperation in the development of the country's refugee policy and mediation of international contacts in that sphere. The population minister's adviser said Estonia was hoping that the UN high commissioner for refugees would soon pay a visit to the country.
Nov 2 - The Estonian government granted at the Interior Ministry's proposal citizenship to 281 people who had met the requirements for Estonian citizenship and regarding whom there were no grounds to turn down their application. Among the newly-naturalized citizens are nationals of other countries. The decision on granting them citizenship will take effect after they present proof that they have surrendered their previous citizenship. Six applicants who wished to obtain the citizenship of other countries gave up their Estonian citizenship. Last year Estonia granted citizenship by naturalization to 7,072 people. All told, more than 138,000 people have naturalized in Estonia over the years 1992-2005. In last November the number of naturalized citizens for the first time exceeded the number of residents with undetermined citizenship. Action plans of the national integration program for 2004-2007 call for Estonia to naturalize at least 5,000 people annually.
Nov 6 - Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip expressed the hope that the parliament would pass a bill giving a green light to removal of a Red Army monument from central Tallinn. "I very much hope that … parliament passes the war graves act and that on its basis the Red Army monument will be removed, and those buried there, if anyone is buried there, will be reburied where the dead belong, in the cemetery," Ansip, chairman of the Reform Party, said in parliament in answer to an interpellation. The bills on forbidden structures and the protection of war graves initiated by the Reform Party, the Pro Patria Union, Reform Party and Social Democratic Party factions, have caused differences in the government, with the Centre Party taking a sceptical stance. The government discussed the bills at a Cabinet meeting last week but failed to reach an agreement and refrained from giving an assessment to the bills. In the initiators' opinion the bill on the removal of forbidden structures makes it possible for the state to remove a monument, work of monumental art or other structure if it threatens public order, Estonia's foreign relations or international reputation. Ansip has said that the bill would help prevent the erection of a monument to Peter the Great in Narva and would have prevented the erection of a World War II monument in Lihula. The bill on the protection of war graves gives the opportunity of reburying remains of those killed in the war and remove the respective grave markers if the graves are situated in unsuitable places and if the reburial of the remains is necessary in the public interest for other reasons.
Nov 3 - The synagogue being built next to the Jewish school and community centre in Karu Street in central Tallinn is expected to be completed by February 2007. Estonia's chief rabbi Shmuel Kot said that construction of the synagogue has reached the final stages and the building should be inaugurated in February. Construction of the synagogue meant for 200 worshippers started in August last year. The building was designed by architects Tõnis Kimmel and Kaur Stoor from the KOKO office. Aside from premises for religious ceremonies the synagogue will have facilities for making kosher food, a mikvah ritual pool and a library. The old Tallinn synagogue in Maakri Street was destroyed during the Soviet bombing of Tallinn in March 1944. Also the synagogue of Tartu, the second largest city of Estonia, was destroyed in World War II. Today, Estonia's Jewish community numbers around 3,000.
Nov 2 - Estonia's ruling Reform Party has launched a campaign to publicize its political vision under the tagline, of making Estonia one of five most prosperous countries in Europe. The ambitious goal of Estonia becoming in 15 years one of five most prosperous European countries can be reached with the right policy, Reformist leader and Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said. In his words, what it takes is consistent and tenacious lowering of taxes, improvement of the enterprise environment and investment in children, education, research-intensive economy and rule of law. Only a prosperous state can pay salaries and pensions at the top European level and create for families better opportunities to raise children, Ansip added. The Reform Party has published its programme to bring this goal closer over the next four years. For instance, the party wishes to lower the personal income tax to 18 percent, boost investment in research and development, retain the present corporate income tax system under which reinvested profit is exempt from tax, eliminate tax on reinvested proceeds from securities, and speed up the procedure of founding companies. The party has also put forward a more than billion kroon family policy package. Among the measures proposed are securing a place in day care for every child, extending the period of payment of parental benefit, and compensating a part of the cost of artificial impregnation.
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Nov 3 - A survey carried out by the pollster Emor in October shows that the Reform Party is the most popular political party in Estonia with a voter approval rating of 20 percent. Next comes the Centre Party with 19 percent, Pro Patria and Res Publica Union with 11 percent, People's Union with six percent, and the Social Democratic Party with five percent, the outcome of the survey shows. The Reform's secretary general, Kristen Michal, said that being the most trusted political party was not a one-off phenomenon for the Reform Party but a trend which soon had lasted for six months. Socialist MEP Toomas Hendrik Ilves' becoming the president of Estonia did not help the Social Democrats to improve their rating, nor did the nomination of two-time former prime minister Mart Laar as the prime minister candidate of the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union have any tangible effect on the merged party's ratings, according to the survey carried out between Oct. 4 and 25. The leader of Social Democrats, Ivari Padar, suggested that the Social Democrats are now aiming to win the approval of the more than one-third of the electorate who have not made up their mind yet. In the wake of the previous Emor survey in September sociologist Jaanika Hammal attributed the record low 10 percent approval rating of the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union to the lack of a concrete leader. Now she observed that the nomination of a prime ministerial candidate has not changed the public perception of the merged party in any way. Secretary general of the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, Margus Tsahkna, said that people saw some potential in the party and that now the party has to bring its platform to voters' awareness and let the people decide on its merits. The survey was based on interviews with 776 Estonian citizens aged from 18-74.
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Nov 4 - The Faktum & Ariko pollster asked people to list the most influential women in Estonia but more than one in three residents of the country could not name any. In the poll carried out throughout Estonia in October, a thousand people picked by random choice were asked whether they could name any influential Estonian women, and as many as 26 percent of respondents could not remember any. There was no difference in the answers of male and female interviewees. Of ethnic Estonians slightly more than a quarter, 27 percent of those interviewed, could not provide an answer, but among non-Estonian speakers the figure was 56%. However, at least two people named more than twenty women, unaided. After the first question the interviewers gave the respondents a list of women who could have influence in Estonia and only 12% of the people were unable to answer. But the general picture was as fragmented as before. "To roughly sum up the conclusions of the poll, it appeared that there were no influential women in Estonia, as the picture was very diffusive," said Kalev Petti from Faktum & Ariko. The name of the present deputy speaker of the parliament, Ene Ergma, clearly rose to the fore in both the lists, mentioned by 18 and 22 percent of the people respectively without and with the assistance of a list. As the poll took place in October, it was quite apparently connected with the presidential campaign that culminated in September and it therefore does not very accurately reflect Ergma's position. To a considerable degree (at least 4 percent of spontaneous answers and 6 percent of those based on the list) the persons mentioned were Ergma, MEP Siiri Oviir, Tartu University Professor Marju Lauristin, Centrist politician Vilja Savisaar, Reformist MP Kristiina Ojuland and Ingrid Rüütel, wife of the former president Arnold Rüütel. Also most of the other women were mentioned because of their involvement in politics, but by considerably fewer people than the first six. These included Education Minister Mailis Reps, Agriculture Minister Ester Tuiksoo, ex-minister Liina Tõnisson, Mayor of Tartu Laine Jänes and MEP Marianne Mikko. Of women not involved in politics the people regard businesswoman Tiina Mõis and head of the Open Estonia Foundation Mall Hellam as the most influential. |
Currency rates in kroons (Bank of Estonia)
Nov 5 - Estonia's Minister of Economy and Communications Edgar Savisaar signed a memorandum of understanding with the Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources. The purpose of the memorandum is to promote economic and trade relations and engage in cooperation to develop energy resources. The document was signed by Savisaar and the Jordanian minister, Azmi Al-Said Khreisat. Savisaar observed that Estonia has 80 years of experience of oil shale extraction and processing which the country is ready to share. Under the agreement, Estonia is going to share with Jordan its traditions and experience of oil shale mining and shale oil production. Jordan possesses the world's fourth-largest deposits of oil shale, estimated at 40 billion tons and unused to date. Thanks to close cooperation with Jordanian investors, Estonia's largest oil shale energy company Eesti Energia (Estonian Energy) has reached mutual understanding with the Jordanian authorities about preparations concerning a feasibility study into the production of shale oil in Jordan's El Lajjun area. Estonia's relations with the Middle East country are good even if not very deep so far. A number of high-level visits took place several years ago.
Nov 5 - Estonia's state-owned power utility Eesti Energia acquired from the Jordanian company Near East Group a stake in the firm Oil Shale Energy of Jordan. The cost of the 76 percent holding was 250,000 US dollars. The subsidiary of Eesti Energia was granted the right to explore one-third or 300 million tons of Jordan's El Lajun oil shale reserves. Eesti Energia will use the OSEJ subsidiary to conduct a feasibility study into establishing an oil shale factory in Jordan. The study is expected to take up to 18 months to carry out. Experts will thereafter decide whether a possible investment in Jordan would benefit Eesti Energia. "The agreement concluded with the Jordanian government gives our subsidiary an excellent opportunity to explore Jordan's unused oil shale reserves and invest in Jordan should the conditions turn out to be suitable," Eesti Energia CEO Sandor Liive said. Jordan has a population of 5.5 million and unlike most of its neighbours lacks oil and gas reserves. The country is at the same time a world leader in the production of phosphorite and has large reserves of potassium carbonate as well as the world's fourth-largest reserves of oil shale.
Nov 2 - Chairman of the Council of the Confederation of Estonian Employers Enn Veskimägi and President of the Bulgarian Industrial Association have signed a cooperation agreement for the development of enterprise. "Many problems in Bulgaria are the same as in Estonia," Veskimägi said. "More than 700,000 workers have left the country -- 10 percent of the population. The average wages are comparable with our minimum wages and there is no source of additional labour." Veskimägi said Bulgarian employers could see a solution in the introduction of skilled workers from third countries. Veskimägi, President of the Council of the Confederation of Estonian Employers and Chairman Tarmo Kriis were on the visit until November 3. In addition to Bulgaria they will also visit Romania and the central employers' organization of that country.
Nov 1 - The European Commission has given a negative first opinion of the Estonian EU subsidies strategy and implementation plan. The 41-page document, it is argued, has been drawn up in a too general wording, stating the priorities but not offering solutions. The Commission also found that the government had made several miscalculations -- it hopes to have 8-9 percent economic growth also in the future, disregards the large number of people threatened by poverty as well as the chronic low labour productivity. So the government finds it is necessary to increase productivity, educate workers and strengthen the labour market, but, the Commission found, mo measures to achieve it have been suggested. For example, the government has no strategy for curbing the outflow of high-level specialists and skilled workers or bringing in foreign labour. Most of the problems, in fact, are directly or indirectly connected with entrepreneurship. So Brussels recommends that Estonia speed up and increase investments into machinery and infrastructure in order to cut the country's dangerously high current account shortfall. At the same time the Commission warns that there are certain signs of overheating, particularly in the construction sphere, which means that investments into roads and structures will speed up inflation. The Commission also noted problems in the application for and handling of subsidies. So the rule applies in Estonia that a subsidy goes to who applies for it earlier, with no consideration of the importance of the subsidy. Both the applicants and officials have a shortage of skills and knowledge. In 2007-2013 Estonia will receive from the European Union 53.2 billion kroons (EUR 3.4bn) in subsidies.
Nov 6 - The European Union's executive Commission predicted in its economic survey that consumer prices will continue growing at a high rate in Estonia both next year and in 2008. The Commission forecast consumer price index growth at 4.2 percent in 2007 and 4.6 percent in 2008, naming continued rise in energy prices as the main engine of inflation. The EU executive reaffirmed that rapid growth of the Estonian economy last year intensified competition on the labour market and reduced the level of unemployment this year. Incomes are however expected to continue growing at a much slower pace in the coming years as the ratio of highly-qualified labour is diminishing, one of the reasons being outflow of skilled labour, and more and more sectors of the economy are feeling a shortage of workers.
Estonian export growth is predicted to slow down to 13.6 percent in 2007 from 16.6 percent this year and diminish further to 12.7 percent in 2008. The pace of growth of import is at the same time expected to outstrip export growth rates, reaching 15.4 percent next year and 13.9 percent in 2008. The European Commission forecast 9.5 percent growth for the Estonian economy next year in which domestic demand continues to play the leading role.
Nov 7 - The consumer price index in Estonia in October was 3.7 percent higher than in October 2005. In comparison with September, consumer prices were 0.1 percent lower on the average. During the year, administered prices declined 0.1 percent while non administered prices went up 5.1 percent. Prices of goods dropped 0.7 percent last month, including food prices 0.2 percent and manufactured goods 1.1 percent. The prices of services were 0.9 percent higher on the average. In month-on-month comparison the consumer price index was mainly influenced by a decrease in the prices of motor fuel, an increase in expenditures on housing and a decrease in the prices of fruits, but also a seasonal increase in the prices of clothing and footwear.
Nov 7 - Whether or not the Estonian economy is able to adapt to the shortage of production capacities will have an important effect on the health of the economy in the future, Hansabank Markets said in its fresh Baltic economic survey. The forecast by Hansapank Markets brings out two potential scenarios, one of which is negative and the other positive. In case of positive developments Estonia's economic growth will slow down from the estimated 2006 rate of close to 11 percent to nine percent next year and to 7-8 percent from then onwards. The negative scenario suggests that after an economic growth of 12 percent this year a sudden slowdown will occur to annual growth rates of 5- percent or slower. In the estimate of Hansabank Markets the likelihood of the positive scenario is bigger than that of the negative one, yet shortage of production capacities is referring to increased likelihood of negative developments. The difference between the two outlooks lies primarily in how the economy will adapt to the shortage of production capacities, first of all of work force. The problem can be overcome only through reorganizing the economy and carrying out a technological shift. The Baltic economies must start to produce goods and services with higher value, Hansapank Markets said. Aside from problems regarding production capacities the additional risks for Estonia are rapid loan growth, possibility of unstable developments in the real estate sector, relatively high inflation and external imbalance. Hansapank Markets expects the Estonian economy to grow 11.0 percent this year, 9.0 percent in 2007 and 8.0 percent in 2008. The forecast growth rates for Latvia are respectively 11.0, 9.0 and 7.5 percent, and for Lithuania 7.5, 6.5 and 6.5 percent.
Nov 1 - The second biggest mobile communication operator in Estonia, Tele2, launched its 3G mobile communication network permitting fast data communication in Tallinn, and in this connection lowered its mobile communication prices by 2.5-fold. Tele2's 3G services are available as of November 1 in Tallinn but the company is planning to continue expanding its 3G reception area. At present the 3G network can be received in most areas in Tallinn. In connection with the opening of its 3G data communication network, Tele2 lowered mobile communication prices in its network by 2.5-fold on the average. Tele2 board chairman Toomas Tiivel said Tele2 did it to change the situation where popularity of the mobile data communication has mainly been inhibited by the relatively high price of the service. At the end of the year Tele2 will reassess the market situation, popularity and use of the mobile Internet and will shape a new pricing strategy, Tiivel said. EMT launched commercial use of its 3G network in Tallinn at the end of last October and this April added to this a new HSDPA mobile Internet service based on 3.5G technology, being the first in Estonia to do so. In June, Elisa brought to the market its 3.5G service based on a 3G network.
Nov 1 - The Estonian mobile communication operator Tele2 had 508,000 clients at the end of September; the company does not publish any other indicators for Estonia. Tele2 has won 41,000 new clients since the beginning of the year. On that basis Tele2 assesses its market share at 33 percent. EMT calculates its market share by the number of clients, while Elisa, the third major operator, has repeatedly underlined that it would be more justified to assess the market share on thebasis of company proceeds. The number of Tele2's clients has mainly increased at the expense of contractual mobile clients. The company points out investments into quality and a clear price leader's strategy as the reason for the growth in sales. EMT, Estonia's biggest mobile operator, had 721,000 clients as of the end of September, 44,000 more than at the beginning of the year. EMT gained a significant proportion of its growth from pre-paid call cards in Q3. Elisa had nearly 289,000 clients at the end of Q3, nearly 23,000, more than at the beginning of the year. Considering the figures published by Estonian mobile phone operators, mobile communication density climbed to 114 percent by the end of Q3. In all there were 1,517,000 active mobile telephone SIM cards in Estonia at the end of Q3, Tele2 estimated.
Nov 2 - The Elisa communications operator has launched provision of the VoIP Internet-based call service to retail clients of fast Internet services in Tallinn. Elisa said the service has no monthly fee and only the calls made would have to be paid for. Elisa provides the new service only in Tallinn where fast DSL internet is available. To use the service the client needs a VoIP router and a tone dial phone. Elisa said calls can be made and received simultaneously with Internet use and even if the computer is switched off.
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Nov 7 - Televõrgu AS, winner of a tender to set up a nationwide wireless Internet network based on broadband technology in Estonia, is set to invest 50 million kroons (EUR 3.2 mln) in the network. Urmas Aiaste, manager of Televõrgu AS, said the broadband network has to be ready by July 2, 2007. The winner of the public tender is granted an exclusive frequency authorization for using radio frequencies to provide network services in a network based on broadband technology in the 450 MHz frequency band of the former NMT mobile network. Offers in the tender organized by the Communications Board were submitted also by Levira, TDC Baltic Wireless, Nordisk Mobiltelefon AB and Telekom Baltija JSC. The company must build a communications network which enables end users to access broadband communications services with data transfer rates of no less than 144 kbps. The network must cover 75 percent of Estonia's territory. Televõrgu AS is a subsidiary of the stateowned energy group Eesti Energia.
Nov 1 - According to the Statistical Office, intracompany expenses on scientific and development activity totalled 734 million kroons (EUR 46.9 mln) in Estonia in 2005, 45.8 percent more than in 2004. In all the science and development activity expenses in all sectors amounted to 1.63 billion kroons, 26 percent more than the year before. Expenses on science and development made up 0.94 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), 0.03 percentage points more than the year before. The development expenses in the state sector grew by much less than in the private sector, year-on-year growth in the state sector being by 7 percent and totalling 183.7 million kroons. In the non-profit sector science and development expenses grew by 13.2 percent last year to 893.8 million kroons. Of this, expenses of the higher education sector increased by 14.6 percent to 674.3 million kroons. The non-profit private sector spent a total of 35.7 million kroons on scientific and development activity, 20.4 percent more than the year before.
Nov 7 - Estonian commercial banks had 1,314,484 Internet banking customers at the end of October, an increase of 11,149 during the month. The number of users of the telephone banking service grew last month by 5,095 to 222,851. Hansapank's Internet bank hanza.net had 694,749 clients at the end of October, 2,484 more than a month earlier. Customers of SEB Eesti Ühispank's online banking service U-Net numbered 414,455, of whom 3,808 subscribed during October. Users of U-Net Business numbered 33,221, up by 618 from the end of September. The number of users of Sampo Pank's Internet service increased by 1,342 to total 123,900 at the end of October. Nordea Pank's Internet banking service had 26,984 customers, an increase by 473 over the preceding month. The number of users of Sampo Pank's online banking service was 127,284 at the end of October. Nordea Pank's Internet banking service had 27,552 customers, an increase by 568 over the preceding month. The number of customers of Krediidipank's online banking service grew by 237 to 15,959. Parex Pank had 1,264 subscribers to its online service, 50 more than at the end of the preceding month.
Nov 1 - A Baltic e-banking report found for the second year running that U-Net, SEB Eesti Ühispank’s online interface, is the best internet banking service in Estonia. Sampo Bank and Hansapank were found to be respectively No 2 and No 3. The survey took into consideration the functionality, simplicity of use, quality of services to clients and mobile banking opportunities, Ühispank said. Metasite Business Solutions, the company that drew up the Baltic e-banking report, evaluated the level and electronic client services of all the 37 banks operating in the Baltic countries. Metasite Business considered more than 500 criteria in drawing up the report.
Nov 2 - The five biggest Estonian commercial banks had issued 1,580,051 bankcards by the end of October; of these there were 1,227,384 debit cards and 352,667 credit cards. In October the banks issued 9,175 new debit cards and 9,366 credit cards. Hansapank had issued 824,615 debit cards by the end of October, 4,078 more than by the end of September. By the same time Hansapank had issued 228,851 credit cards, 6,893 more than by the end of the previous month. SEB Eesti Ühispank had issued 336,182 debit cards and 81,809 credit cards by the end of October, with 3,621 debit cards and 692 credit cards issued during October. Sampo Bank had issued 38,598 debit cards by the end of October, with 603 of them issued during the past month. Credit cards issued by Sampo Bank totalled 30,615 by the end of the month, of these 1,425 in October. Nordea Bank issued 322 debit cards and 332 credit cards in October. In all, the bank had issued 15,527 debit cards and 11,059 credit cards by the end of the previous month. Krediidipank had issued 10,519 debit cards and 333 credit cards by the end of October, with 306 new debit card agreements and 14 credit card agreements signed during the month.
Nov 3 - Hansapank will raise its interest rates for longer periods, bringing the interest rate on its one-year Estonian kroon and euro deposits down by 0.1 percent to 3.15 percent. The interest rate on six-month Estonian kroon and euro deposits will be 3.08 percent instead of the present 3.11 percent. The reason for the changes is a decision of the Guarantee Fund to raise the rate of quarterly payments of the deposit guarantee sectoral fund from 0.09 percent to 0.125 percent, the bank said. Hansapank last revised the interest rates on its deposits when the interest rate on one-year Estonian kroon and euro deposits went up to 3.25 percent.
Nov 3 - Raivo Vare, development director of Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railway), said the oil pipeline to be built to the Russian Primorsk port would reduce the volume of fuel transit through the Baltic countries and increase competition on their markets. Vare said that the 1,000-kilometer pipeline from Central Russia to the Primorsk port near St. Petersburg would probably be completed in 2008. Vare said that he had been to Primorsk where the wharf required to receive the fuel arriving via the pipeline had already been completed. He said Transnefteprodukt, the company building the pipeline, had solved the land issues connected with the construction and commanded unique technology to build the most complicated sections of the pipeline, such as passing it through under rivers. After completion of the first stage of the pipeline it can transport more than eight million tons of fuel a year. On the completion of phase two in 2012 the fuel handling capacity of the Primorsk Port should rise to nearly 25 million tons annually. Mainly diesel will be transported by the pipeline. Vare said that about two million tons of diesel fuel a year passes through Estonia at present. But in Latvia the amounts of diesel are considerably higher, and if Latvia loses them the transit companies from that country in higher number would very likely come to compete on the market where Estonian transit companies are operating at present," Vare said. Estonian companies are mainly dealing with heavy fuel oil and gasoline at present and must raise their competitiveness in these spheres. Vare estimated that in terms of fuel oil this would apparently mean lower tariffs. In terms of gasoline products, quality would have to be improved in the sphere of light mixable products and to be ready to increase the amounts of mixables. Tougher competition in the transit sector, Vare said, would put pressure also on port and rail tariffs. Vare forecast that Estonian fuel terminals would start dealing more with the storage of fuel and the contraction of fuel flows passing through Estonia was inevitable. Leaders of the Russian Severstaltrans have forecast an analogous development for the Estonian fuel transit sector.
Nov 2 - The Estonian state-owned Tallinna Sadam (Port of Tallinn) handled 3.42 million tons of goods this October, nearly equal with the average monthly volume earlier this year, but 10 percent higher than in October 2005. In all, 34,085,000 tons of goods passed through Tallinna Sadam in January-October, 4.8 percent more than in the same period last year. During the ten months 4.31 million tons of goods were carried into Estonia and 29.64 million tons of goods out of Estonia. Carriage of timber cargo increased by 44 percent to 8.89 million tons in January-October compared with the same period last year. Carriage of the biggest group, liquid cargo, fell by 7.2 percent on year, amounting to 20.2 million tons in the 10-month period. In October the port handled 1.89 million tons of liquid cargo. The carriage of ro-ro goods increased by 8.4 percent to 2.79 million tons, and the number of containers passing through the port grew by 23 percent to 126,824. Mixed cargo was down by 2.8 percent to 0.96 million tons. During the first ten months of 2006 the Port of Tallinn served 5,813 million passengers, 3.7 percent fewer than in the same period last year. On the Tallinn-Helsinki route the fall in the number of passengers was by 4.2 percent to 4.82 million, while the Tallinn-Stockholm route showed an increase by 7.4 percent to 527,900. Freight ships calling at Port of Tallinn numbered 2,546 and passenger ships 7,267 during the ten months.
Nov 3 - Tallinna Lennujaam (Tallinn Airport) served 134,872 passengers in October, 1,200 passengers more than in the same month last year. In January-October the number of passengers passing through the airport grew by 10.7 percent to slightly above 1.3 million people. Compared with last year the carriage of freight, as well as the number of flight operations, contracted considerably. In January-October the year-on-year difference in freight and mail carriage and the number of flight operations, however, was within a couple of percent. During October the airport performed 2,845 flight operations, 10.7 percent fewer than last October. The number of flight operations in January- October increased by 401 to 28,830.
Nov 3 - The board of Eesti Põlevkivi (Estonian Oil Shale) has presented a vision to its supervisory council that the company can see no need to open any new oil shale mines or quarries in the next couple of decades. Eesti Põlevkivi board chairman Lembit Kaljuvee said that the supervisory council supported the plan. "The Eesti Põlevkivi board maintains that there is no need to open any new mines during the next twenty years and no need to apply for additional mining permits," Kaljuvee said. He said the present permits allow mining during at least 20- 30 years and the existing mining companies have to be granted normal loads. Kaljuvee said that within the existing mining permits and with consideration of the state oil shale development plan it was possible to satisfy the needs of both power plants and shale oil producers. Eesti Põlevkivi is also planning cooperation with other companies that have oil shale mining permits. Kaljuvee said oil shale mining should remain Eesti Põlevkivi's monopoly. The Eesti Põlevkivi group comprises the Estonia and Viru mines and the Narva and Aidu strip mines. The company extracts nearly 14 million tons of oil shale a year. The Environment Ministry is working out a state oil shale use development plan until 2015. According to the plan the annual oil shale mining volume has been set at up to 20 million tons.
Nov 6 - The Latvian subsidiary Merks of the Estonian construction company Merko Ehitus has started the construction of the residential project Skanstes Virsotnes in the Latvian capital Riga whose total budget could reach 500 million euros in current prices. The project involves four 24-story buildings with 510 apartments. During the first stage two buildings with 255 apartments and a parking house for 520 cars will be built. The first phase of the project will be completed by December 2008. Altogether Merks plans to build in the next eight to 10 years 2,200 apartments and 280,000\ square meters of office space in Riga's Skanstes Street area. |
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EESTI RINGVAADE (ISSN 1023-1951)
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