EESTI RINGVAADE
Volume 15 No 6-7
February 7-20, 2005
Feb 22 – Estonia’s new Foreign Minister Rein Lang was sworn in a
before Parliament. Foreign Minister Lang stated on repeated occasions that he
is not planning on making any major changes to Estonia's foreign policy.
President Arnold Rüütel signed a resolution to release former Foreign
Minister Kristiina Ojuland from office on Thursday. Prime Minister Juhan Parts
had made the proposal to the President on Tuesday.
Rein Lang graduated from the University of Tartu Cum Laude Law. He
had been a member of the Riigikogu since 2003, where he was Deputy
Chairman of the Riigikogu and the Chairman of the European Union Affairs
Committee.
Feb 13 - Estonian Defence Minister Jaak Jõerüüt at the World Security
Conference in Munich said that Estonia's position among world countries was
very good.
"It is important to understand that Estonia has no problems. We
are among those countries who, together with others, help those that have
problems," Jõerüüt said. "All is very well," he added.
There were more than 200 leading politicians from all over the world
meeting at the World Security Conference, including UN Secretary General Kofi
Annan, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, European Union High Representative
Javier Solana and nearly thirty Defence Ministers.
Feb 16 – At a meeting with Ukrainian Ambassador Mykola Makarevich,
Estonian Prime Minster Juhan Parts once again expressed support to Ukraine's
accession to the World Trade Organization (WT0) and integration into Europe.
Having given an overview of the Ukrainian Government programme, the
Ambassador informed Parts that the post of a Deputy Prime Minister dealing only
with European integration had been instituted in Kiev.
Makarevich thanked Estonia for assistance given over a long period a
time, one of the expressions of which was the training 143 Ukrainian public
servants and providing them with the opportunity of gaining practical work
experience in Estonia.
Parts underlined that Estonia was ready to share its experience with
Ukraine also in the future. He also repeated his invitation to Ukrainian Prime
Minister Julia Tymoshenko to visit Estonia.
Feb 15 - Estonian Prime Minister Juhan Parts, on an official visit to
Norway, met with his colleague Kjell Magne Bondevik, Foreign Minister Jan
Petersen and Development Minister Morten Meyer. Parts was also received by King
Harald V of Norway.
The Prime Ministers stated that the relations between the two
countries were good, and not just at the state level, but also at the local
governments level. Bondevik said that the co-operation could further develop in
the framework of joint activity between the Nordic and Baltic countries,
particularly in terms of issues connected with the European Union.
The Norwegian Prime Minister said that there had been a major
increase in Norwegian investments into Estonia over the past year and they now
totalled 2.74 billion Estonian kroons (EUR 175 mln).
Parts said that he had appreciated the Norwegian contribution to
securing the Baltic air space. He also mentioned the major Norwegian role in
the implementation of the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area -
the Norwegian share of the sums allocated to Estonia from 2004-2009 is nearly
500 million kroons.
During his meeting with King Harald V, the Estonian Prime Minister
exchanged ideas on family policy and international issues.
Feb 09 - Estonian Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland took part in a
working lunch of NATO Foreign Ministers at which key security questions, NATO
operations-related matters and transatlantic relations were discussed in an
informal atmosphere.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice briefed her colleagues about
U.S. foreign policy views and priorities, touching on her recent visit to the
Middle East. The Ministers underscored the importance of unity and voiced the
opinion that promising developments in the region offer opportunities for
further co-operation.
Ojuland said a spirit of positive expectations reigned in the
meeting. "Recent successful elections in Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq
inspire co-operation because only by co-operating can we secure freedom and
build democracy," she said.
The meeting also prepared the ground for the NATO Summit due to take
place at the Alliance's Headquarters in Brussels on 22 February.
In the afternoon Ojuland had a meeting with Slovenian Foreign
Minister Dimitrij Rupel whose country currently holds the Presidency of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The two spoke of the
future of the organization. Ojuland said it is important for the border monitoring
mission in Georgia to continue with a clear international mandate and for the
OSCE to continue efforts to resolve frozen conflicts.
"To ensure European security, the work towards resolving frozen
conflicts in the Balkans, Moldova and South Caucasus must be stepped up,"
Ojuland said.
Further co-operation between Estonia and Lithuania was under
discussion at Ojuland's meeting with the Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Antanas
Valionis.
Feb 16 - British General Sir John Reith, Deputy Commander of Allied
Forces in Europe (DSACEUR), discussed with Commanders of the Estonian Defence
Forces placing troops under NATO and the European Union (EU) command on a visit
to Estonia.
At the Estonian Defence Forces Headquarters, General Reith gave an
overview of forthcoming NATO and EU operations and discussed the allocation of
troops for NATO and EU operations.
General Reith spoke about NATO development plans in operations in
Afghanistan and Kosovo, and potential changes in the points of gravity in the
Kosovo and Afghanistan operations.
Estonia is planning to step up its participation in Afghanistan and
at present, co-operation is being planned with a province restoration team
under Great Britain's supervision.
During the meeting, Estonian officers gave an overview of the
Estonian units to be despatched to a rapid reaction unit of the alliance. The
situation of security in the Estonian air space and the role of NATO fighters
in guaranteeing the sovereignty and flight safety in Estonia were also
addressed.
Feb 18 – The leaders of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius signed an agreement
in Riga establishing a political forum of Baltic capitals to discuss common
interests and adopt joint declarations if necessary.
The agreement was signed by Riga Mayor Gundars Bojars, Chairwoman of
the Tallinn City Council Maret Maripuu and Vilnius Mayor Arturas Zuokas.
The Baltic capitals forum will meet once a year and the presiding
capitals change by rotation every year. Under the new agreement the capitals
will co-operate more closely at international institutions, supporting each
other's initiatives at European institutions and carrying out EU projects jointly,
thus improving the competitiveness of the entire region.
Feb 07 - Belgium opened its first-ever Embassy in Estonia at 2
Rataskaevu in Tallinn Old Town.
Ambassador Pierre Clement Dubuisson, who presented his credentials to
President Arnold Rüütel in October, is the first Belgian Ambassador to reside
in Estonia. His predecessors resided in Helsinki.
The opening of the Embassy was attended by Belgium’s visiting
Secretary of State for European Affairs Didier Donfut, who said Belgium's
presence in Estonia is a matter of great importance.
Donfut told reporters, that the Baltic States are not very widely
known in his country but that Estonia is a place with good prospects for the
development of good bilateral relations.
Feb 10 - Greek Ambassador Christos Karapanos and the Ambassador of
Guinea, Amara Bangoura presented their credentials to Estonian President Arnold
Rüütel.
Estonia and Greece have close ties based on mutual trust embracing
many fields of life, said Rüütel.
The regular meetings of the European Union and the Economic Community
of West African States are certainly one channel giving a new dimension to the
relations between Estonia and Guinea, the President said at the meeting with
the Guinean Ambassador.
The Greek Ambassador resides in Tallinn and the Guinean Ambassador in
Moscow.
Feb 07 - Canada may in April lift the visa requirement for Estonian
citizens, say members of an Estonian Parliamentary Delegation that paid an
official visit to Canada.
Estonia is ready for visa-free travel, the Head of the Delegation
Chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma said. "This requires first and
foremost a political decision from Canada," she noted.
MP Mart Nutt maintains that Estonia meets the criteria set by Canada.
Canadian citizens do not need a visa to enter the Baltic State.
Nutt voiced the hope that Canada will also consider establishing an
Embassy in Tallinn. Estonia is covered by the Canadian Embassy in Riga and by a
representation in Tallinn.
Feb 15 - The Finance
Ministry has estimated that Estonia's gross domestic product will grow 5.9 per
cent this year and 6.2 per cent in 2006.
The growth estimate
for the current year hasn't changed in comparison with the estimate that the
state budget for 2005 was based on, but is slightly more optimistic than the
annual growth rate of 5.6 per cent forecast by the Bank of Estonia a few months
ago.
Andrus Saalik, Head
of the Finance Ministry's Department for Economic Analysis, observed in his
remarks that the external environment was showing signs of improvement and
European Union economies had started to grow, which suggested that Estonia's
exports were bound to increase.
The tourism sector
is doing well, with the number of travellers not from Scandinavian countries
increasing as well.
The Finance Ministry
estimates Estonia's consumer price index to grow 3.1 per cent this year and 2.5
per cent in 2006.
Finance Minister
Taavi Veskimägi said the anticipated inflation rate in 2006 was rather close to
the target that Estonia had to meet as a prerequisite for transition to the
euro currency.
Estonia has to
refrain from hiking administratively regulated prices if it wants to be ready
to adopt the euro from the year 2007 as earlier planned, the Minister
said.
The Finance
Ministry's forecast of current account deficit for the current year is 12.4 per
cent and 9.8 per cent for 2006.
According to
statistical figures, the current account gap amounted to 14-15 per cent last
year. Saalik said the actual gap was narrower, reaching approximately 10-11 per
cent, since statistics didn't reflect the entire foreign trade in a correct
manner. He named transit as an example, a part of which is reflected in
statistics as import.
Feb 07 - Estonia's
consumer price index for January dropped 0.2 per cent compared to December
2004.
Prices of goods in
general declined 0.4 per cent, including manufactured goods 1.7 per cent. Food,
alcohol and tobacco meanwhile became 0.9 per cent more expensive and prices of
services rose 0.3 per cent.
Compared to December 2004, the consumer price index was mainly influenced by a decrease in the prices of motor fuel and communications services, by special sales for clothing and footwear, as well as by the increase in the prices of fresh vegetables.
Feb 07 - Estonia's
Agriculture Minister Ester Tuiksoo has signed an order whereby Estonia will pay
out over a billion kroons (EUR 64 mln) as support for the development of rural
life this year.
The largest single
amount, 370 million kroons, will be provided by the Ministry for
agri-environmental support. As much as 223.5 million kroons will be provided to
bring manure storage facilities into line with water protection requirements.
The sum earmarked
for support to disadvantaged regions amounts to over 156 million kroons, the
sum for re-adaptation of livelihood farms to 69 million kroons and the sum for
re-forestation to more than 55 million kroons.
Feb 11 - TALSE, the
Tallinn Stock Exchange index reached its all-time high of 525.29 points. The
rise was largely due to Hansabank stock, which climbed by more than 10
per cent. The earlier highest level of the index was seven and a half years ago
on September 1, 1997, when TALSE closed at 492.97 points. The market
capitalization of the Tallinn stock exchange was more than 84 billion kroons
(EUR 5.36 b).
Feb 14 - The Bank of
Estonia's flash estimate of the balance of payments puts the current account
deficit in 2004 at about 15 per cent of the anticipated gross domestic product.
A year earlier the
current account gap, at 15.9 billion kroons (EUR 1.02 b), made up 13.7 per cent
of the GDP.
According to the
central bank's flash estimate, the current account shortfall reached 2.482
billion kroons in December 2004, slightly down from November but nevertheless
one of the highest monthly figures during the year. Compared to December 2003,
the deficit was up by 372 million kroons.
February 20, 2005
|
British pound |
GBP |
22.716 |
|
Canadian dollar |
CAD |
9.724 |
|
Swiss franc |
CHF |
10.113 |
|
Danish krone |
DKK |
2.102 |
|
Japanese yen |
JPY |
0.114 |
|
Latvian lat |
LVL |
22.481 |
|
Lithuanian lit |
LTL |
4.532 |
|
Norwegian krone |
NOK |
1.888 |
|
Russian rouble |
RUB |
0.429 |
|
Swedish krona |
SEK |
1.721 |
|
US dollar |
USD |
11.981 |
|
Euro |
EUR |
15.646 |
Feb 19 - Jaan Kross, Estonia's best known and most translated
writer turned 85. The public celebrated the anniversary with numerous events.
Three new books by Jaan Kross were published, the collection “Poetry”, a
bibliophile verse collection “Discovering the world” and a collection “Metamorphosing Kross”.
An international
Academic Conference was held at the University of Tartu, directed by Ülo Tuulik.
Speeches were given by rector Jaak Aaviksoo, Rein Veidemann, Henning von
Wistinghausen, Tiina Kirss, Märt Rask, Juhani Salokannel, Kalev Kesküla and
others.
Jaan Kross was born
on 1920. He has been tipped for the Nobel Prize for Literature on several
occasions for his novels. He began his literary career as a poet and translator
of poetry. On his return from the labour camps and internal exile in Russia
where he spent the years 1946-1954 as a political prisoner, Kross renewed
Estonian poetry, giving it new directions. Kross began writing prose in the
latter half of the 1960s, first with a film scenario "A Livonian Chronicle"
which dealt with the life of the author Balthasar Russow (1536-1600) and which
also became the subject of his first masterpiece "Between Three
Plagues".
Feb 11 - The annual Estonian Artists Union
exhibition "Identities" was opened. The exhibition’s concept is the
radical changes that have taken place in Estonia over the past 15 years. The
main attention will be placed on four categories: political, social, sexual and
religious.
The exhibition asks questions and seeks answers
through graphics, paintings, video, photography, installation, flyers and
shrifts.
Artists include Lola Liivat, Leili Muuga, Enn
Põldroos, Jaan Elken, Peeter Allik, Kaido Ole, Laurentsius, Tõnis Saadoja,
Nelly Drell, Markus Kasemaa, Silvi Liiva, Leo Lapin, Jaan Toomik, Mark
Raidpere, Leo Lapin, Urve Küttner and Urmas Muru.
|
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