BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Skype embraces video phones

PALO ALTO, Calif.--Internet telephony operator Skype has tens of millions of users but envisions attracting billions with the help of video phones, says the man who co-founded the company.

Niklas Zennstrom, who also serves as the company's CEO, demonstrated a beta video version of Skype during his keynote at the AlwaysOn conference at Stanford University. The application is a plug-in based on Skype's core telecommunications technology and is being tested internally. Speaking from his office in Estonia, the executive did not say when the product would be ready for release.

Flanked by Tim Draper of investment firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (Skype's largest investor, to the tune of $10 million), Zennstrom said his goal is to use innovations from developers and outside partners to help build his business to a level that could rival Google and Yahoo.

"We are trying to create an ecosystem and extend our network...and we are focused on developing our products and extending our APIs (application user interfaces) so we can be bigger than we could be by ourselves," Zennstrom said, declining to respond to speculation that Yahoo is trying to buy his company. Skype's annual revenue has not been disclosed, but analysts suggest that it could be in the $6 billion to $10 billion range.

So far, Skype has been successful with an ..............

LIFE IN THE ESTONIAN FAST LINE

*The recent scandal with Estonia’s police chief, Robert Antropov, once again illustrates a quality largely peculiar to Estonians : an intolerance of impropriety. Mr. Antropov was “caught” using a police vehicle to take his parents to Saaremaa Island. As he later claimed, his personal car would have been too small for the task, so he used a government automobile. Immediately the press impugned the police chief, and calls for his resignation resounded.

Honestly now – is it fair to begrudge Antropov – nay, vilify him – when all he wanted to do was to drive his parents to the countryside in a government car ? If a healthy society promotes family values, then what’s so awful about a government official giving his mom and dad a lift in an official vehicle ? The police chief should be required to pay the gas bill, and the case closed.

But not in Estonia. In the national quest for perfection – or, said differently, in the national witch-hunt against imperfection – Antropov will be stripped of his EUR 600.00  monthly bonus for at least six months and deprived of his summer holiday. All because he wanted to help out his parents. So much for family values.

Oddly, when tendering his resignation, Antropov said he realized he had injured the public’s “sense of justice.” But what sense of justice is this ? It is not as if the police chief quashed an investigation into a crime committed by a relative. He did what any compassionate son or daughter would do. Besides, as every professional police officer knows, the call to duty never ends. A cop is a cop around the clock. It is curious how things would have unfolded if, while taking his parents to Saaremaa, Antropov had become witness to a crime, or even prevented one from taking place. What would the perfectionists say then ?

Indeed, the obsession with impropriety, which now smacks of holier-than-thou double-standards, is reaching a summer climax in sultry Estonia. Last week the country’s agriculture minister, Ester Tuiksoo, was criticized for using a siren while rushing to, according to reports, a Tartu nightclub. Apparently she had received official permission to use the siren, which allowed her to exceed the speed limit and make it to her destination on time. It was unclear whether the trip involved official or unofficial business, but media reports pointed out that, other than the minister, no one of status had been present at the nightclub. Estonians want a government that is closer to the people, just as long as leaders stay out of the fast lane.

Perhaps this heightened fascination with ministerial road-manners is a function of the summer lull :  Nothing newsworthy is taking place, so let’s see how our government leaders behave themselves. In a country such as Estonia, which has one of the highest road fatality rates in Europe, it might serve the public good if people paid more attention to how they behave behind the wheel.

Palts angers Russian branch of party

TALLINN - The Russian arm of the People’s Union, one of the three ruling coalition parties, launched an anti-mayor campaign last week by publishing two vitriolic letters against Tonis Palts.

Rodion Denisov, who founded the party’s Russian branch, launched a tirade against Mayor Palts, a member of the opposition Res Publica, for the latter’s position on ethnic minorities. He said Palts had been idle in solving minority problems and went so far as to accuse the politician of “doing nothing” in this sphere since becoming mayor.

Specifically, Denisov accused Palts of not supporting Russian language schools and for failing to complete the Russian cultural center construction project, as well as reorganizing its financial structure. The Russian museum suffers from a lack of money, Denisov added.

Palts was also accused of harboring negative attitudes toward the erection of an Orthodox church in the predominantly Russian-inhabited Lasnamae district.

A recent statement by the mayor, which drew a parallel between sexual minorities and national minorities, also angered ..........

Interior minister decides not to accept Antropov’s resignation

TALLINN – Interior Minister Kalle Laanet decided on Monday not to accept the resignation of police chief Robert Antropov after the latter was criticized for using his police vehicle for personal use.

Laanet did say, however, that Antropov would be stripped of his EEK 9 500.00 (EUR 600.00) monthly bonus for at least half a year and would not be able to have a summer holiday.

Laanet said that Antropov had hurt the public’s sense of justice when he gave his parents a ride in a police jeep to the Saaremaa Island.

Last week Antropov had submitted his resignation less, saying he wanted to uphold the police’s reputation.

18-12-2005 : TALLINNA LINNAHALL

BONNIE TYLER ja DEMIS ROUSSOS

Prices :  EEK 500.00 - 1000.00

Border Treaty : Estonians view

It was a mistake to reject the Estonian border treaty
By Georgy Kunadze, EUobserver.com (Belgium)
July 11, 2005

*EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - On 18 May, after several years of negotiations, Russia and Estonia signed new treaties on their land and sea borders.

On 20 June, the Estonian parliament ratified the treaties. But a week later the Russian ministry of foreign affairs (MFA) basically annulled the agreements in an unexpected end to the story.

Russian newspapers insist that the entire fault lies with the Estonians, who added unacceptable statements to the documents post factum.

But that is not true - the Estonians did not rewrite the treaties.

They merely adopted the ratification law in wording, which, according to [Russian] diplomats, distorts the meaning of both documents almost unrecognizably.

But is this actually the case ?

The Estonians consider their state to be the successor of the Estonian Republic proclaimed in 1918 and regard the Tartu peace treaty, signed in 1920, as valid.

At that time Estonia gained territories which at present belong to Russia.

The Russian MFA insists that the reference to the Tartu treaty in the ratification law of the border agreements allows Estonia to claim territory from Russia.

That is not true.

Article one of the border agreement text of 18 May reads "the sides … confirm that with coming into force of … the Agreement they regard the above mentioned issues [the new border] as regulated".

The ratification law reads, "[this] Treaty … partially amends the state border line established by … [the] Tartu Peace Treaty".

This confirms the ...............

15th July : Conference tourism increased in May

*13 000 conference tourists stayed in accommodation establishments in May

Conference tourism is one of the ways to extend the tourism season. 7% of about the 190,000 tourists, who stayed in the accommodation establishments in May, were conference tourists. Most of the conference tourists stayed in the accommodation establishments of Tallinn (57%), which was followed by Pärnu (7%) and Tartu (9%). Tallinn and Pärnu are also members of the Federation of European Conference Towns. 85% of conference tourists preferred to stay in the hotels.

In May about 190,000 tourists stayed in accommodation establishments of Estonia. Compared to April, the number of tourists in accommodation establishments increased about one third. 23% of tourists were residents of Estonia, 45% came from Finland and about a third from other foreign countries. The room occupancy rate was 51%. The room occupancy rate was highest in Northern Estonia. The average length of stay in an accommodation establishment was 2 nights. In May more than 60% of tourists staying in accommodation establishments of Estonia were on a holiday trip — 64% of foreign tourists and 45% of residents of Estonia.

In May 503 accommodation establishments with 13,300 rooms and 28,100 beds were available for tourists. The average cost of a guest night in an accommodation establishment was 515 kroons. The cost of a guest night was highest in Tallinn (647 kroons) and lowest in Central Estonia (262 kroons). In hotels and motels the average cost of a guest night was 573 kroons, in other types of accommodation establishments — 260 kroons.

Estonia Business : Week 28, 2005

Wednesday, 13th of July, 2005

Sales of retail trade chains grow quickly
Bigger retail trade chains that operate in Estonia declared considerable growth in sales during the first six months of this year. A-Selver's sales of the second quarter grew 49 % compared to respective time last year, reaching EEK 518 million. A-Selver's marketing manager Iivi Saar says that their sales have increased due to new stores in Tartu and Võru and they have also got many new clients. Saar expects sales to grow considerably in second half of the year as A-Selver is planning to open new stores in Valga, Tartu, Pärnu and Tallinn. Sales of VP Market grew 40.2 % in first quarter of this year when compared to respective period last year, reaching EEK 307 million. Erkki Erilaid, PR-manager of the company says that comparison to last year is pointless as they had only four stores in Estonia then, but now they have opened seven new stores in the second quarter of this year. This year, Lithuanian company is planning to open another 10 stores in Estonia.
Äripäev

Friday, 15th of July, 2005

Breweries of Saku and Tartu grew market share
In the first half-year, the breweries of Saku and Tartu managed to grow their profit share considerably on the account of smaller market players. In total, 61.03 million litres of beer were sold in the first half-year in Estonia. Growth compared to last year was more than 15 percent. AS Saku Õlletehas has increased its market share from 41.4 to 44.6 percent and AS A. Le Coq Tartu Õlletehas has increased market share from 34 to 35.6 percent.
Äripäev

Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry condemns SS parades in Estonia

*The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry has spoken out against parades involving former SS officers in Estonia, a foreign affairs spokesman said Tuesday.

On July 16, a parade was held in Tartu involving Estonian veterans of the Nazi Waffen-SS. The event was organized by the "Union of Freedom Fighters," which has members from the ...........

Joint Russian-German paratrooper exercises underway

BERLIN/MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Russian and German paratroopers began joint exercises in Zweibrucken (Land Rheinland-Phalz) and Pskov, Monday.

A German Defense Ministry spokesman said a Russian paratrooper platoon from the Russian city of Pskov, which borders Estonia and Latvia, had come to Germany to practice descents with a German paratrooper battalion.

He said that the main objective was to improve counter-terrorist and rescue operations.

The paratroopers will simulate evacuations of local people from a crisis area, which could be a conflict zone or an area in which there has been a natural disaster.

The Russians will be also familiarized with the training and everyday life of their counterparts.

A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said that a German paratrooper platoon would undergo training at a military facility in Pskov.

The spokesman said that conducting joint training and exercises was part of a program to ensure the operational compatibility of the Russian and German military. He said that it was the second military exchange. In 2002 a German special operations platoon visited the Russian town of Kostroma, and Russian paratroopers visited Germany.

Russia, Estonia to resume dialog on border treaties - Margelov

MOSCOW (Interfax) - Russia and Estonia should continue negotiations on border treaties, Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mikhail Margelov said. 

"The necessity to 'widen narrow places' through a parliamentary dialog has ripened once again," Margelov told a news conference in the Interfax Head Office on Monday, referring to border disputes.

Moscow and Tallinn have already established "a triple framework of negotiations" - between Federation Council's Foreign Affairs Committee, the State Duma and the appropriate committee in the Estonian Parliament, he said.

Estonia Business : Week 27, 2005

Tuesday, 5th of July, 2005

The amount of plane passengers has doubled in a year
According to the statistics of Tallinn Airport, 127,333 passengers used the airport in June; that is 47.9 percent more than in respective period last year. Also, 1,051,082 kg of goods and 63,020 kg of mail passed through the airport in June. The amount of goods increased 208 percent and the mail delivery decreased 5.8 percent in a year.
Äripäev

Thursday, 7th of July, 2005

Estonian economy is growing fast – both consumer and entrepreneur are satisfied
The situation of Estonia has been positive for five years already compared to Germany or some other European country, admitted Marje Josing, director of Estonian Market Research Institute. According to Josing, the reasons for success are in the correct economics policy of the state. The economic growth of Estonia is still surpassing the rest of Europe. Josing claims that both entrepreneurs and ordinary consumers are satisfied with the development and reliability of Estonian economy. In June, the reliability index of Estonian economy was on a very high level: +18 units, whereby the average level in 1996 – 2005 was merely +1.
Eesti Päevaleht

Singing revolution update

Dear Friends,

An Estonian friend of ours told us that the Singing Revolution was a battle won one-small-step by one-small-step, and so it is with our film as well. We are slowly, and most surely, getting to completion of this epic project. And, we are very pleased to provide you with another update on our progress.

In this update we’ve included a short item on Estonia’s recent prominence in the news, as current events underscore the importance of the story told in our film, and also raise the visibility of the nation to the rest of the world.

Politics and the Singing revolution

President Bush’s visit to Riga in May brought international prominence to the Baltics. That is a good thing ; however we remain concerned because the context was ...........

England slide to friendly defeat

England debutants Andrew Sullivan and Olu Babaola both made promising debuts as England's Commonwealth Games squad lost 51-45 to Estonia in Tallinn.

Sullivan, named most valuable player of Newcastle's BBL play-offs winning side, scored 18 points and Babaola added 13.

England led 18-7 early on but found points hard to come by in a tough, bruising encounter.

Trailing 35-28 at half time, they missed 10 of their 16 second-half free throws to slip to defeat.

The third quarter of the game could be one of the lowest-scoring ever in senior international basketball.

Neither side managed to score for the first four-and-a-half minutes and a late three-pointer by Tarmo Kikerpill meant Estonia edged the quarter 6-4.

A Sullivan three in the last quarter brought England back to within four points of their hosts.

But more misses from the free throw line meant the lead never shrank below six points in a tense last 75 seconds.

Antropov hands in letter of resignation

TALLINN - Robert Antropov, the director general of the Estonian Police Board, tendered his resignation on Friday evening after reports surfaced that he had been using his police vehicle for personal purposes.

"At the same time I'm aware that the public sense of justice has been injured," he added.

"As director general of the police, I've been for two years working to raise the trustworthiness of the police and build citizens' confidence in law. I don't want to let what's been reported in the press in the last few days cast a shadow on my team and the reputation of the police in general," Antropov said.

The police chief said he is still of the opinion that when he used a police vehicle for purposes other than service he did not breach any rules or regulations.

Interior Minister Kalle Laanet will decide whether to accept the resignation after a disciplinary investigation into the reports, ministry spokespeople said.

Estonia press about Russia

*The local media provided broad coverage to the unconditional support of Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski for Estonia's stand on the border with Russia and his call for "elaborating a common eastern policy" as regards its political and economic aspects.

It also published information about the reaction of the Russian Foreign Ministry to Kwasniewski's statements. "The Polish leader expressed support for the possible territorial claims of the Tallinn authorities to Russia." (From the statement by the Russian Foreign Ministry. Delfi, July 7)

Another issue covered by the republican media was the PACE resolution of a fortnight ago denouncing the "occupation" of the Baltic states by the Soviet Union and demanding that Russia should compensate for it.

The publication of the annual report by the Estonian Security Police Board (KAPO) provoked a growing number of articles about the increasingly hostile actions of the Russian security services and authorities. "The attempts are made increasingly often in Russia to recruit Estonian citizens - state officials, businessmen and students. According to KAPO, the recruitment methods include blackmail and physical pressure." (Delfi, July 8)

The electronic media carried sharp criticism of the Russian policy of assistance to the Russian-language diaspora in the Baltic countries. "The meal of the day called 'assistance to compatriots' on the State Duma menu has turned into a gray and badly-smelling sturgeon." (Delfi, July 12)

Probe begins against police chief

TALLINN- Estonia's Interior Minister Kalle Laanet has ordered a disciplinary investigation against the director general of the Police Board, Robert Antropov, over his decision to use a police vehicle for private purposes.

Laanet said he would make up his mind about Antropov after the end of the probe, most likely next week and not later than July 20.

The minister met with the police chief on July 14 to hear his explanations.

"Today's meeting did not provide a full picture of the incident. In legal terms, the Taxation Act and a decree regulate the use of official vehicles for private purposes. Whether this concrete instance comes under these rules has to be clarified", Laanet said.

Finns and the fine art of drinking

By Therese Catanzariti

How to drink ... the Finnish way.

Date : 14 July 2005

It's easy to pick who is flying Finnair at international oneworld lounges. They're the ones drinking beer at 6am.

Finns like a drink. Finns have a reputation for liking a drink. But strangely, official sources say that Finns don't actually drink as much as other Europeans. It just looks that way.

The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website candidly admits “in per capita consumption of alcohol countries such as France and Italy are ahead of the Nordics. Yes, but the boozers are much more noticeable up here in the north because they drink simply and solely to get legless.”

Finns binge drink. Nothing during the week. Nothing with meals. And then comes Friday night.

And Finns are such public drinkers. In the park. Walking down the street. By the river. Earlier this year, Richard Tomkins in the Financial Times discussed how British-awkward he felt seeing someone eat crisps on the tube. It's awkward seeing such open public binge drinking after living in alcohol-free zone streets Sydney. And you do see it – maybe in other countries they can slink around under cover of darkness but in summer midnight sun Finland you see it all in its swaying swaggering colourful glory. There's no shame, no embarrassment in public drunkenness.

Finns don't go out to bars to get drunk. They pre-party. They invite a ...........

Put on your dancing shoes

  *Sunshine, warm weather, 10 stages, more than 300 of the best DJs from 20 countries and 30,000 guests. This is the recipe for the Sun Dance Music Festival. The Tallinn dance music extravaganza gets started on July 15th and, in its seventh year, promises to be bigger than ever.

SDMF’s line-up varies from year to year and is, quite frankly, amazing. Public relations officer for the festival Kristina Rasu explains that in 1999, the festival started with 30 DJs and 6,000 listeners. She says that the crowds at that first festival were totally blown away by the headliners Roger Sanchez, Crystal Waters and Kenny Dope. That explosive first show seemed to set a tone for all future festivals, which have grown in size and status each year. With performers coming from all over the world to participate in this event, SDMF has seemed to develop a knack for attracting big names and big crowds. It has become the most important event of its kind in the Baltics - the only chance to contemplate the miracle of live electronic music and famous DJs on such a grand scale. The goal of the festival, “to introduce different music styles to as many people as possible” seems to be achieved year after year.

As for music styles, this festival is about variation and choice. SDMF includes everything from drum ‘n’ bass, hip-hop, dancehall jungle, reggae, chillout, house, trance, progressive, techno, broken beat, ambient and urban. Artists this year will include Zinc, Kool, SS, Warren G, Influx UK, Robert Owens, DJ Orlando, Zen and Estonian produced Rulers of the Deep - clearly, if there is a ................

Energy prices hex consumers, officials

TALLINN - The sweltering summer heat in Estonia has conspired with record-high fuel prices to fluster consumers and leave bureaucrats facing unexpected inflation. No matter which way one looks, there is no escaping the throes of the energy market.

Pump prices have hit record-highs, natural gas prices are set to rise, and the Economy Ministry has warned that the cost of electricity could increase 50 percent over the next 10 years.

Fuel retailers have raised prices by an average 0.45 kroon (0.028 euro), while diesel jumped by 0.15 kroon on July 11. A liter of Euro 95 gasoline at Statoil now costs 13.35 kroons, 98 Euro Ultima costs 13.85 kroons and diesel - 13.35 kroons.

Dealers said the upward trend will go on, and the price per liter will soon reach the 15-kroon threshold.

Andres Kivistik, CEO of Hydro Texaco Eesti, told the ..............