BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

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9 polling stations to open for Russian elections

The Russian Embassy in Estonia has said it will open nine polling stations in Tallinn, Tartu and Narva to allow its citizens to vote in the March 4 presidential elections.

According to the Central Electoral Committee of the Russian Federation, around 117,000 voting-age Russian citizens currently reside in Estonia.

How many of them will actually turn up at the ballot box is another question. During the two-day Russian State Duma elections in December, only about 15,000 ballots were cast in the country.

Russian officials and local activists have in the past blamed the low turnout in Estonia on the small number of polling stations allowed by the host country and the resulting long queues. A local Russian citizens' group in Narva meanwhile said that voter apathy was the culprit, pointing the finger at Russia for ignoring its electorate in Estonia.

Apathy may be an even stronger factor in March as former president and current prime minister Vladimir Putin is widely expected to win the vote. Opinion polls taken from late December to mid-January give him support levels of 44 to 52 percent, far ahead of his closest rivals.

Presidents in Russia are elected for a six-year term.

Steve Roman

Finnish Efore closes plant in Pärnu and moves to China

Finnish electronics devices producer Efore will close its plant in Pärnu to move its production to China and will make 120 people redundant, LETA/Äripäev.ee reports.

Efore AS council member Vesa Vähämöttönen told news2biz that the plan is to move production to China during this business year which ends on October 31. The reason for moving is the need to improve competitiveness.

Efore has plants in Estonia and China, sales and development activities in Finland, Sweden and China. Efore belongs to Finnsh FI-Systems, which belongs to Efore Oy.

Juhan Tere

Tallinn-based Swissotel receives international hotel award

Swissotel Tallinn based in Estonia's capital received the first ever international five-stars award of the International Hotel Awards in association with Bloomberg Television as it was singled out as "Best Hotel Estonia 2011," the Estonian Hotel and Restaurant Association reports.

The award ceremony was held in London on January 18.

The International Hotel Awards evolved from the International Property Awards, established 18 years ago, its award winners' logo is recognized as a symbol of excellence throughout the global industry, writes LETA.

A specific awards' program for the hospitality industry was launched due to an increasing number of entries within its commercial categories.

In addition to categories for different sized and specifically targeted hotels, the International Hotel Awards includes sections for the best hotel architecture, interior design, marketing and website covering the entire range of hotel disciplines. Entries are first judged at country level before the top scoring winners go forward to be re-judged internationally.

A judging panel of 20 high-end professionals established the ranking of all participants following a list of 39 questions/criteria including the hotel service and facilities offered to customers, the awards, the location, the environmental commitment, the interior-outdoor design and decoration, the hotel's marketing and website. This year's judges included Rebecca Johnson (Bloomberg TV – Hotel Section), James Bacon (UK account manager of Google), Mike McNamara (RBS: Royal Bank of Scotland), and David Dalby (RICS: Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors).

Juhan Tere

Estonian Ski Club - CHINA PEAK March 8 - 11, 2012

China Peak March 8 – 11, 2012
51st Anniversary!
We are now taking reservations for China Peak!
Check out the video from last year http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9c583eRPAlc
The resort received over 3 feet of new snow a week ago! There is now a Tubing Hill, great for kids ages 3 years old and up.
Don’t forget to bring your best tuxedo and gown to slide down the mountain on our Formal Day. If you have an Estonian Flag, bring it along for the parade.
Kids are always welcome and China Peak is a great place to make new friends.
http://estonianskiclub.com/

Can a town divided against itself stand?

Clearly, divided cities provide a rich seam of material for writers of a certain type of fiction. But reality doesn’t always need the embellishment of literature. Consider the Baltic twin town of Valka/Valga. Today a small town split by the Estonian-Latvian border, in the 15th century it was the seat of the Livonian Confederation, a long-forgotten state comprising most of present-day Latvia and Estonia. When the latter two states used the confusion of the Russian Revolution to proclaim their independence, they had to decide what to do with this ethnically mixed town that sat right on their border. Instead of fighting over it, they simply split it in two, though confusion reigned over how, exactly, it should be administered.

When the Soviets took over the Baltics again at the start of World War II, the border became an internal irrelevance, but it resurfaced as an international issue — and drain on the local economy — after Baltic independence in 1991. Fortunately, in 2007 Estonia and Latvia, now both members of the European Union, acceded to the Schengen Zone, which essentially eliminated the border in all but name and geography. The two halves of the formerly unified town are now officially twinned and something of a tourist draw; it’s almost like one of those tearful reunions of long-lost relatives you see on daytime TV.

Frank Jacobs

Swedbank pays out mammoth €750 million to parent company

Swedbank Estonia raked over more than 750 million euros in capital and dividends to its Stockholm-based parent company in 2011, a capital outflow that is likely a new record in Estonian business.

The bulk of the total came from a restructuring, whereby Swedbank Estonia reduced its share capital from 603 million to 85 million euros, transferring the difference to Swedbank AB, Äripäev reported on January 30.

In the middle of last year, Swedbank Estonia also sold the stock of its subsidiaries in Latvia and Lithuania to the parent company, allowing it to make a dividend payment of 243 million euros.

Swedbank AB will not have to pay Estonian tax associated with the transactions, Äripäev noted, because taxes have already paid on the income through various other mechanisms.

Steve Roman

Spa resort planned for Estonian island of Muhu

A new 250-bedroom spa resort is being planned for the Estonian island of Muhu, located on the Baltic Sea.

Estonian developer Novaterra has submitted a planning application to the local council, which plans to put the proposals up for public review. Exact details of the facilities will be unavailable until then.

Muhu is located next - and is connected by a bridge - to the "spa island" of Saaremaa, which boasts a number of luxury spa resorts and is served by an airport.

There is currently only one spa on Muhu - Pädaste Manor.

Tom Walker

Making English a second state language in Estonia is nonsense

Ilmar Tomusk, head of the Estonian language inspectorate, writes in Postimees daily that people who talk about the need of making the English language a second official language in Estonia don’t understand what they are talking about.

Tomusk says ever since 1992 various people have made proposals to make English an additional state language.

“One must understand that while nothing in Estonia prohibits people from taking the English language into everyday use, we are not yet ready to make it official. Sometimes one gets a feeling that the only objective of such proposals is to get rid of Estonian, this small language that keeps sticking its nose into every sphere of life,” writes Tomusk.

He warns that those proposing to make the English language official must understand that this will put a major burden on the state since then all official documents must be drawn up in two languages and public institutions such as local governments would have to use both Estonian and English.

“We would also have to organize language training for officials and add English names to our street signs,” added Tomusk.

He said that even Finland that has two official languages says in its law that everyone in Finland must be able to use his or her own language, either Finnish or Swedish. “The keyword here is “own language” and I don’t know how many in Estonia can say today that the English language is their own language.”

The official adds that nothing in the language law prohibits foreign investors or businessmen to communicate in Estonia in English or some other languages. “The important requirement is that people who communicate with consumers and the public must know the state language,” he adds.

Toomas Hõbemägi

More than 6 000 registered for Tartu Marathon ski race

More than 6 000 people have registered to participate in the annual Tartu Marathon ski race. The organisers plan to allow 10 000 skiers to participate in the race this year.

As of January 24 4 859 skiers have registered themselves for the 63 kilometer track and 1 249 people have put down their names for the short track of 31 kilometers. The race will take place on 19 February. The organisers are prepared to service 8 000 participants on the long track and up to 2 000 people on the short track, the organising committee of the race told BNS.

Currently those registered in the Tartu Marathon ski race hail from 27 countries from Australia to Canada. The total number of foreign participants is more than 1 000.

The 41st Tartu Marathon ski race is organised by the MTÜ Klubi Tartu Maraton. The marathon belongs to the Wordloppet series, one of the biggest ski marathon series in the world.

Tallinn to sell its excess pollution quota to Japan

The Estonian environment ministry was poised to sell its excess pollution quota to the Japanese Marubeni Corporation, local media revealed last week. A deal was pending to be inked shortly between the Estonian environment ministry and the Japanese company, according to the reports.

The revenues from the sale are destined to be used in low energy consumption theatre lighting and environment-friendly theatre buses. In eight Estonian theatres, outdated lighting equipment will be replaced partly, making stage activities more environment-friendly thereby helping to reduce permanent costs.

The theatre bus programme would enable five theatres to give up the old buses they use now and replace those with modern environment-friendly ones. Estonia has actively worked on finding buyers for excess AAUs and the government thus far concluded five agreements with European governments, two with Austria and Spain and one with Luxembourg as well as 15 agreements with Japanese corporations. Marubeni Corporation buys AAUs from the Estonian state for the third time.

Developer starts renovation of former KGB building in Tallinn old town

Reconstruction works have commenced at the property of Pagari 1 in Tallinn Old Town, to convert the historical building that by 1990s was used by Soviet security forces into 42 luxurious apartments.

According to the developer company Pagari Residence, future residents can expect to move into the renovated apartments by spring of 2013. Before that a 145 square-metre show unit on the fourth floor will be fitted out to showcase the luxurious fittings and quality of materials provided.  The show unit will also be fully furnished to reflect the motto of refined inner city living.

Hindrek Leppsalu, the spokesperson for the developer Pagari Residence, said the project is challenging as it requires strict compliance to heritage conditions.  Oma Ehitaja AS has been awarded the main contract for the project.  “The reconstruction will result in a refurbished facade complemented by high-end finishing that is unique in Tallinn. The building will be restored to its formal glory and initial splendour and will function as a residential property once again,” Leppsalu said, adding that eleven apartments have been sold to date.

The history of Pagari 1 dates back to 1911, when Mr William Tulip, a British citizen, bought three plots in the crossroads of Pagari, Pikk and Lai streets in Tallinn. In 1912, an exquisite apartment and office building, designed by the architect Hans Schmidt, was erected.

From 1920 the building was used by the authorities of the Republic of Estonia and later occupied by Soviet security forces. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the building had functioned as the Estonian Ministry of Interior Affairs.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Estonia becomes vice president of executive board of UN women

Estonia was chosen to be the vice president of the UN Entity for Gender Equality (UN Women) for the year 2012.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet stated that promoting and protecting human rights is an important part of Estonia’s foreign policy. “Internationally we have concentrated our attention specifically on protecting the rights of women and children as well as the rights of indigenous peoples,” said Paet.

UN Women addresses women’s rights and equality issues all over the world and implements concrete programmes for improving the situation of women in developing countries. “Estonia feels it is important to continue working so that the agency can fulfil all the expectations that have been placed on it. It is essential to support the activities of UN Women, therefore we have allocated 25 000 euros to support the agency in 2012,” he added.

Paet also noted that improving the situation of women in many countries cannot fall solely on the shoulders of the agency. “Therefore we hope that UN Women can create a greater focus on gender equality and women’s rights in the UN’s activities in general,” he stated.

UN Women was created in 2011 and there are 41 countries in the agency’s executive board. In 2012 the president of the UN Women executive board is South Korea and the vice presidents are Spain, Estonia, Nigeria, and Peru. Executive board meetings take place three times a year.

Top 15 destinations "on the rise"

New York - Now that we are nearly at the end of the first month of 2012, it's time to consider new places to explore this year, which is why online travel consultant TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com) has offered a list of its top 15 destinations on the rise. Reuters has not endorsed this list:

1. Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn's atmospheric Old Town is an enthralling hodgepodge of medieval streets and spires. It's a small city, and the tourist areas are safe and easily explored on foot. Buy a Tallinn Card if intending to use buses, trolleys or trams. For a look into Tallinn's past, visit Rocca-al-Mare Open Air Museum's typical rural Estonian taverns, windmills and watermills, see the onion-domed 1900 cathedral or join the bustle in historic Town Hall Square. St. Olav's spire was once the tallest in the world.

More here

Saaremaa dumps Estonian Air contract and seeks new partner

Saare county government has decided to terminate its contract with the national carrier Estonian Air, thus closing the Tallinn-Kuressaare air route, and to launch a new public procurement to find another company to service it.

Flights have become fewer and the fares higher than was initially agreed, reported ETV. Local officials assert that passenger numbers per flight have also been declining as a result.

Although the government subsidizes each one-way flight with 2,000 euros, Estonian Air has said that expenses are still not being covered.

"The frequency of flights is not satisfactory. There are currently seven flights per week, but we would like to see 11 flights. Furthermore, the cost of plane tickets has significantly increased. Those are the reasons that passenger numbers have fallen,” said County Governor Kaido Kaasik.

Before the changes in the flight schedule were made, the popularity of the route increased steadily, Kaasik said, as 49 percent of seats were filled in the first quarter, then 57 percent in the second quarter and 63 percent in the third quarter of 2011. But when the schedule became sparser and prices went up, Kaasik said, the figure fell down sharply to 36 percent.

Ott Tammik

"Living for Tomorrow" to blow whistle on Finnish employment scammers

The Tallinn-based human rights group Living for Tomorrow (LFT) is preparing a criminal complaint against several Finnish companies and individuals it says are involved in scamming Estonian construction workers out of their fair wages, Finnish public television revealed on January 25.

LFT is planning to submit information it has collected on the alleged crimes to the Finnish police.

The YLE2 report highlighted the widespread practice of intermediary companies, typically based in Estonia, "renting" out relatively cheap Estonian construction labor to Finnish contractors.

The workers, who are promised Finnish levels of pay, usually end up with far less, sometimes as low as the Estonian minimum wage. Often they are not paid for months on end, YLE said, citing the case of a worker in Kerava who said he was owed 24,000 euros in back wages.

The head of LFT, Sirje Blumberg, said that it was more difficult to tackle such cases under the Estonian legal system because, unlike in Finland, such labor abuse is not considered a form of human trafficking.

New laws recently introduced in Finland may shut down the practice, however. From next year, construction workers will need to wear a badge displaying their Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) to gain access to building sites.

Steve Roman