BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

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Estonian Minister of Justice pays official visit to Armenia

Estonia's unemployment at 10.2% in Q1

According to the Labour Force Survey, Estonia's unemployment rate was 10.2% in the 1st quarter of 2013 year on year and up from 9.3% in Q4.

The estimated number of unemployed persons was 71,000, which was by 7,000 persons more compared to the previous quarter. The unemployment increased among men as well as among women.

The unemployment rate of persons aged 25–49 was 9.9%. The unemployment of persons aged 15–24 exceeded More than half of the 7,000 unemployed persons who were added compared to the previous quarter were under 25 years of age.

The number of the unemployed grew primarily due to the growth of short-term unemployment. The number of long-term unemployed (i.e. people who had been looking for a job for one year or more) remained unchanged (33,000). The long-term unemployment rate was 4.7% in the 1st quarter.

In the 1st quarter, the employment rate of the population aged 15–74 was 60.8%. The estimated number of employed persons was 623,000 and it remained on the same level compared to the previous quarter.

Statistics Estonia has been conducting the Labour Force Survey since 1995 and every quarter 5,000 persons participate in the survey. The Labour Force Survey is carried out by statistical organisations in all the European Union Member States on the basis of a harmonised methodology.

A large part of vegetables imported to Estonia comes from Latvia

Over 30,000 tonnes or 22.3 million euro worth of vegetables was imported to Estonia in 2012, a large part of it from Latvia, LETA/Maaleht Online reports.

10,800 tonnes of tomatoes, that have the biggest share in the import of vegetables (35.6%) was imported to Estonia in 2012, most of it from Holland (51.6%), Latvia (20.2%) and Spain (9.1%).

4,400 tonnes of cucumbers was imported, by 22% more than in 2011. Most of the cucumbers came from Latvia (25.0%), Germany (18.8%) and Poland (16.8%).

Over a third of imported vegetables is formed by salad, of which 1,200 tonnes was imported, by 155 tonnes more than in 2011. Most of the salad came from Holland (36.6%), Finland (24.5%) and Latvia (14.5%).

Onions were imported mostly from Holland (31.2%), Poland (24.3%) and Latvia (23%).

4,700 tonnes of cabbage was imported, by nearly a fifth less than last year. Cabbage formed 15.6% of imported vegetables. Most of the cabbage came from Latvia (54.8%), Poland (12.9%) and Holland (12.2%).

2,400 tonnes of root crops were imported in 2012, most of it from Latvia (31.5%), Holland (18.4%) and Poland (16.8%). 1,800 tonnes of potatoes was imported, most of it from Latvia (27.6%), Finland (27.8%) and Holland (17.3%).

Worldwide sanctions imposed on players from Estonia and Lebanon

FIFA can today confirm the worldwide extension of sanctions imposed on eight players by the Estonian Football Association and one player by the Lebanese Football Association relating to match-manipulation and fraud investigations.

The eight Estonian players each received a one-year ban from all football-related activities while the Lebanese player was banned from all football-related activities for life.

The chairman of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee extended the sanctions to have worldwide effect on 6 May 2013, in accordance with article 78 paragraph 1(c) and article 136ff of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.

The Estonian FA has been cooperating with national judicial authorities after the State Prosecutor Office opened fraud investigations in 2011 against the eight players for allegedly receiving money from a bookmaker in connection with a number of matches of the Estonian top league, the Meistriliiga, and the Estonian Cup.

Following the criminal investigation of the State Prosecutor Office, the Estonian FA disciplinary board opened its own proceedings and decided on 1 March 2013 to impose on each player a one-year ban from all football-related activities in Estonia. The Estonian FA has specified that the bans are temporary at this stage, as more evidence and information is currently being gathered.

Estonian Tax Board not satisfied with VAT collection in 2013

Estonian Tax and Customs Board head Marek Helm states that the situation with collection of VAT is sad in Estonia and the few companies that VAT collection depends on have to be treated with utmost respect, LETA/Public Broadcasting reports.

Fresh statistics of the Tax Board indicated that while there were 72,000 persons liable to VAT in Estonia last year, 5,690 companies paid altogether 2.08 billion euros of VAT that formed 90% of the collected VAT, Äripäev wrote on Monday.

Helm said in national radio that the whole so-called tax gap forms 450 million euros a year in Estonia and a half of it is unpaid VAT which is the second-biggest tax that after social tax that the state budget collects.

Helm said that the problems are not new. He explained that the VAT system is complicated as companies are entitled to reclaim it from the state too but in simplified terms, there were around 70,000 companies liable to VAT, two thirds paid more VAT to the state budget than they reclaimed and one third reclaimed more than they paid.

Helm said that possible incentives could be created for the 6,000 companies on whom VAT collection depends, for example faster VAT returns.

Postimees Online wrote that Estonian Chamber of Commerce Industry director general Mait Palts said that the Tax Board's statement surprise shim. "The majority of active companies are micro-companies and a large part of them are family companies with a few employees who have a small turnover and there isn’t much to pay on that," said Palts. "Yes, there are spheres where companies complain about the problem of hiding VAT but it cannot be said that this is a problem of all spheres of activities."

Tallinn to buy 40 buses from MAN

Truck company MAN Truck & Bus AG and Estonian company Tallinn City Transport have signed an agreement in Munich on delivery of 40 passenger buses, reported LETA the press service of Tallinn City council.

A half of the ordered buses are 12-meters long, and another half – joined buses consisting of two parts with a total length of 18.75 meters. They are expected to arrive to Tallinn by the end of the year.

Four applicants took part in a tender. The agreement was concluded with an applicant offering best conditions as acknowledged by the commission. Tallinn bought 35 buses during previous two years, all of them were produced at MAN factory. The first 12-meters buses came to Estonia in May 2012, these vehicles proved to be good on Tallinn's roads. Drivers are also satisfied with their quality; therefore, more MAN buses were ordered recently.

Two sentences were added in Estonian-Russian border agreement

The Estonian Riigikogu foreign committee was given an overview of the results of the Estonian-Russian border agreement consultations so far; the 2005 agreement text has been supplemented with two sentences by now, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

These sentences are: 1. With this agreement only issues concerning the state border are regulated; and 2. Confirming reciprocally the lack of territorial claims.

Foreign minister Urmas Paet told Postimees that the suitability of adding these sentences was discussed with the Riigikogu foreign committee already in March and an approval was received. "After that we have communicated with the Russian side for a couple of months and now that solution suits both sides."

With these supplements, the consultations between the two states that lasted for seven months are over and the direct role of the foreign ministry ends.

Next, the Estonian government has to approve of the agreement text after which it could be signed. Then the ratification process in the parliament starts.

Paet did not wish to forecast whether the prediction of Russian State Duma foreign committee chairman Aleksei Pushkov that the agreement could be signed by summer, would come true or not. "It is complicated to estimate timewise all these domestic processes," said Paet.

During the seven months of consultations, no negotiations were conducted over where the state border would run and the location of the border will be where it was in the 2005 agreement.

Karmen Pedaru : Vogue - Germany - June 2013

Photographed by Alexi Lubomirski.

Lithuania shows interest in Estonian Air

With Lithuania's presidency of the Council of the European Union drawing closer, Estonian Air could play a role in providing Vilnius with more direct flights.

The Lithuanian government has expressed an interest in short or long-term cooperation with Estonia's national airline, but the Estonian minister of economy, Juhan Parts, said it is too early to predict if that interest will materialize.

Lithuania's own carrier, FlyLAL, grounded its fleet four years ago, and the nation's cabinet is looking for ways to increase the number of direct flights to and from Vilnius. Lithuania's presidency of the Council of the European Union begins in July of this year. The government says the current lack of flights is a problem.

Parts concurred that Estonian Air is flexible enough and has the resources to lend Lithuania a hand. A common Baltic airline is a long-standing idea, but has not been accomplished and is highly unlikely to manifest, said Toomas Peterson, an ex-CEO of Estonian Air.

“Estonian Air currently has big problems and Air Baltic is likewise fighting Brussels, and if we were to join these troubled companies into one, that synergy would not be an advantage,” said Peterson.

Estonia is a dream yet to be fulfilled : Rüütel

Turning 85 today, former president of Estonia, Arnold Rüütel said that present-day Estonia is not the land he had dreamed of, but acknowledged that much has been achieved.

“Current reality is in the shadow of dreams, and in that sense Estonia does not measure up to expectations. At the same time, the fact that we have regained our independence and accelerated development relatively successfully compared to other transitional societies and that we have kept going forward [...] we should be happy that we have achieved so much,” said Rüütel, speaking on ERR radio today.

Rüütel said that the country has failed to predict many risks and problems that have unavoidably accompanied reforms.

“Many working-age people are leaving the country and we have failed to create jobs for them. And we failed to address a number of other social problems, like support for the family, which society is based on. That has caused low birth rates,” said Rüütel, who was president between 2001 and 2006.

Rüütel concluded by saying that reforms have made the state sustainable, but looking farther ahead, it becomes clear that the problem of a declining population remains to be fixed.

Lee Cooper eyes expansion into Estonia and Lithuania

Global denim brand seals new partnership with Poldma Trading to move into markets.Popular denim brand Lee Cooper has signed up Poldma Trading as its new Estonian licensee.

The deal means that the brand will now expand across both the Estonian and Lithianian markets. An introductory Lee Cooper collection will debut for autumn/winter 2013, followed by a full line for spring/summer 2014.

Initially, Lee Cooper will be exclusively available through Poldma Trading's 25 multi-brand Dream Denim stores, located across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Further retail expansion is expected to follow.

"We are very excited about the future prospects for growth in the Baltic markets and this reflects the increasingly strong position of Lee Cooper across the markets, from the Baltics down through Central and Eastern Europe, all the way to the Mediterranean markets," said Andy Dunkley, CEO of Lee Cooper.

Samantha Loveday

Estonia holds military drills with NATO allies

Tallinn - Estonia will hold annual military exercises involving about 4,500 personnel from several NATO countries on May 9-25, the General Staff of the Estonian Defense Forces said. The Spring Storm drills have been held annually in different parts of Estonia since 2003. This year they will involve for the first time units from the UK, Belgium and Poland as well as the Estonian navy.

"Spring Storm will this year bring together in North Estonia conscripts, reservists, Kaitseliit [Estonian paramilitary organization] members and professional military, as well as our NATO allies with one common goal - to learn to better defend Estonia," said the commanding officer of the exercise, Commander of the Army Col. Artur Tiganik in a statement relayed by Russian Ria-Novosti news agency .

NATO allies will be represented by an infantry company from the UK and Latvia each, a reconnaissance platoon from Lithuania and an anti-aircraft missile platoon from Belgium.

In addition, an unspecified number of Polish Sukhoi Su-22 attack aircraft will take part. Estonia, as well as two other ex-Soviet republics in the Baltics – Latvia and Lithuania, joined NATO in March 2004.

Census : 3 women in Estonia have 18 children

The results of the 2011 Estonian population census indicated that there are three women in Estonia who have given birth to 18 children, LETA/Õhtuleht online writes.

There are also four women who have had 16 children and four women who have 15 children.

An average of 2.2 children per woman are needed for reproduction of population. Thus it can be said that in this sense these women gave birth to children for 81 more women, Statistics Estonia statistical blog states.

The referendum showed also that 76% of Estonian women at least in the age of 15 are mothers, meaning 454,855 women are mothers.

Most have 1-2 children in the family, 14% have 3 children, 3.5% have 4 children and 2% have 5 children.

Estonian-Russian third round border consultations take place in Moscow

The third round of border consultations between Estonia and Russia takes place in Moscow on Wednesday, LETA/Postimees writes.

The Estonian delegation at the talks is headed by Ambassador Jüri Luik and foreign ministry deputy chancellor Lauri Bambus. Estonia and Russia re-launched border agreement consultations in October last year.

Estonian and Russian foreign ministers signed the border agreement between Estonia and Russia in May 2005. The Riigikogu ratified the agreement that summer but added a preamble that states that the new border agreement changes partly the state border line determined with the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920 but won't affect the rest of the matters regulated by the treaty.

Less than a month later Russia announced that it will withdraw its signature from the border agreement claiming that the preamble that Estonia added enables to present territorial claims against Russia. Estonia has repeatedly said that it doesn't have any territorial claims against Russia.

Rally Estonia hoping to be part of 2014 European Championship

The organizers of the European Rally Championship have expressed an interest in including Estonia as a stage in next year's season.

Francois Ribeiro, motorsport development director of Eurosports Event, the new organizer of the championship, was in Estonia last week. He met with representatives from the Autosport Association, Enterprise Estonia and the Ministry of Culture, according to rallyestonia.com.

Estonia's rally director, Urmo Aava, said the budget for rally racing in Estonia would need to be at least tripled in order to take part in the European championship. That would require government support, which will be decided in coming months.

It's not the first time the region's rally organizers have floated ambitious plans. In 2011, rally representatives from the Baltics and Poland met in Riga to discuss potential WRC stage in 2013 that would pass through all four of those countries. The plan did not materialize.

Rally racing has been a fairly popular sport in Estonia, especially since the emergence of Markko Märtin, who rose to become one of the world's top drivers before ending his career after a tragic accident that killed his codriver. Some of the greatest drivers and races are also held just next door, in Finland.

Rally Estonia, held in the surroundings of the hilly southern town of Otepää, takes place this year from July 19-20. The event is a stage in the Estonian, Latvian, Baltic and NEZ championships, as well as in the FIA European Historic Sporting Rally Championship.