BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Estonian property boom tipped to wane in 2007

* Prospective retirees hoping to make a property investment in Estonia have been told that house prices will not boom in 2007 to the same extent as in 2005 or 2006.

Co-owner of overseas real estate research firm Amberlamb, Rhiannon Williamson, indicates that the potential for short-term capital returns in the north-eastern European country has waned, despite the fact that prices remain relatively low.

Last year, the typical Estonian property increased in value by around 54 per cent, according to the world's largest collection of house price indices, compiled by the Global Property Guide.

The EU member state has also topped the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' European house price inflation charts for the past two years, drawing further attention to the investment opportunities to be had.

Reformists tried to extort one million euros from BRS

* Six weeks away from parliamentary elections, the Reform Party, Estonia’s leading party, has found itself fighting off allegations of bribery involving the re-nationalization of Eesti Raudtee (Estonian Railways). The allegations, which have been strenuously denied by the Reformists, were levelled by former Estonian Railways CEO Edward A. Burkhardt, who originally claimed in an interview with the “Pealtnagija” (Eyewitness) television program that aired on Jan. 17 that the Reform Party had tried to extort a bribe, writes The Baltic Times.

Speaking to The Baltic Times from his Chicago office, Burkhardt confirmed that the Reform Party had attempted to extort 1 million euros from his company, Baltic Rail Service, which had owned a 65 percent stake in Estonian Railways.

In exchange for the money, the Reform Party promised that it would wield its power in Parliament to guarantee the government buy-back of Estonian Railways from BRS, Burkhardt said.

“The offer was refused, then the demand was revised to half a million euros, which was refused as well,” he said.
The American rail baron said the approach was made by a “fundraiser” for the Reform Party to “one of the Estonian investors” in BRS. He declined to name the people involved.
“He reported it to me and others in the investor group as well. I said, ‘this is par for the course.’ Unfortunately, it is what we have been seeing throughout this whole situation—corruption. It is usually led by the Center Party, but here we have the Reform Party trying to get their share as well,” he said.

Estonia Q4 construction price index up 13.7% on year, rises 10.3% in 2006

* Estonia construction price index rose 13.7% annually in the fourth quarter, the statistical office said Monday. On sequential basis, the construction price index climbed 4.3%. Labour force increased 7.9% and building material prices advanced 2.5%. Repair and recontruction work price index gained 14.7% annually and improved 4.5% sequentially.

In 2006, construction prices expanded 10.3% and repair and reconstruction work price index increased 11.0%.

Skiing World Cup to go ahead

TALLINN - The organizing committee of the Otepaa World Cup cross-country skiing competition decided to go ahead with the planned Jan. 27-28 race in Estonia despite poor snow. “To carry out the program we must produce enough snow to cover the ski stadium and a track of at least 2.5 kilometers,” said Alar Arukuusk, chairman if the organizing committee.
Forecasts from the Estonian Meteorology and Hydrology Institute show the temperature will fall low enough to allow for the production of artificial snow. “We must conclude preparation of the track by [Jan. 25],” Arukuusk said. The Otepaa World Cup races were in doubt because it was not possible to produce artificial snow due to unusually warm weather.

Notching high growth rates, Baltic countries seek Indian investment

* The Baltic states of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden have joined hands to attract foreign investment from India.

"Our competitive and corruption-free work environment, highly skilled workforce, excellent infrastructure and proximity to both Western Europe and Russia make us a good investment destination," said Mauri Pekkarinen, Finland's Minister of Trade and Industry, currently leading a joint delegation of the six states to India.

They are targeting investments in the fields of engineering, communications technology and the life sciences in particular.

Pekkarinen is scheduled to meet the Indian ministers of trade, science and technology and information technology as well as various industry leaders during his two-day visit.

The Baltic States have no barriers on investment and next to none on imports of goods, said Pekkarinen. "Indian companies can have virtually seamless integration with the EU business community by entering through the Baltic States," he said, adding that the giant Russian and Western European markets are geographically proximate to the Baltic States Region (BSR).

Pekkarinen says the BSR countries share productive complementarities - Denmark, Finland and Sweden have high standards of science and technology (Nokia is Finnish company !) while Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia offer low costs. The economy of these states has been growing at 5-6 per cent over the last few years.  Latvia and Estonia have been charting almost 10 per cent growth.

Conflit autour du monument au Soldat libérateur en Estonie: le président de l'APCE s'engage

STRASBOURG - Le président de l'Assemblée parlementaire du Conseil de l'Europe (APCE), René van der Linden, examinera avec des représentants russes et estoniens le conflit autour du monument au Soldat libérateur à Tallinn, a-t-il indiqué aux journalistes lundi.

Le parlementaire n'a pas donné de détails sur ce futur examen.

Le parlement estonien a adopté une loi sur la protection des nécropoles militaires qui crée une base juridique pour la réinhumation des dépouilles des soldats soviétiques qui avaient péri en libérant l'Estonie des envahisseurs nazis et qui avaient été enterrés au pied du monument au Soldat libérateur au centre de Tallinn.

La Russie a condamné cette décision de l'Estonie.

New Estonian hotels lack personnel

* The Estonian hotel market, which has seen significant growth recently, badly needs chefs and doormen.

In addition to hotels opened in Tallinn last year, there will be a couple of big hotels opening in the next few years resulting in about 2000 new hotel rooms in Tallinn in addition to the current 6000 rooms.

The Director of the Estonian Association of Hotels and Restaurants Donald Visnapuu said that while in 2004-2005 Tallinn gained 600 new hotel rooms, by 2008 there should be nearly 2000 new hotel rooms. New hotels will need 1000 new workers in the coming year ; Visnapuu says that construction of hotels takes time, allowing for time to search for employees, but nevertheless it is impossible to predict the movements of the workforce.

TallinnHotels Group has invested EEK 162 million in 2005-2007. Ain Kapp, Marketing and Sales Manager of the hotel group said that hotel chain concentrates on small niche hotels, which offer more personal service.

According to AS Tallink Group Sales and Marketing Manager Peter Roose, Tallink will create 110 new posts with its new hotel.

Estonia ready to sign the Prum Treaty

* Estonia is ready to join the Prum Treaty which deals with cross-border police cooperation, Interior Minister Kalle Laanet said at an informal meeting of European Union interior and justice ministers in Dresden, Germany, on Monday and Tuesday. The meeting focused on the prospects of bringing the Prum Treaty into EU law, a spokesperson for the Estonian Interior Ministry said. “The presidency stressed the need to make the fight against organized crime more efficient in what regards terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal immigration.

At the present moment one of the best possibilities for that is the Prum Treaty,” Laanet said. Laanet underscored the Estonian stance that the fight against illegal immigration should focus only on hot spots at the EU's southern border but also engage in international cooperation with countries on the EU's eastern and southeastern border that serve as countries of origin for such immigration.

Let’s get physical

By Joel Alas

TALLINN - “We wanted to explore the possibilities of losing control,” says Mart Kangro, one of Estonia’s foremost contemporary dancers. “The easiest way is to exhaust yourself until you cannot take it anymore.” Kangro should know a thing or two about exhaustion. This week, he is in the middle of a manic training schedule ahead of the premiere of his latest production, “Longer than Expected.”

The performance delves into the physical endurance and exhausting preparation that dancers put themselves through.
“It’s about endurance, control, discipline and willpower, not only for a dancer, but for performers in general. There are certain limits you reach,” Kangro explains. “But as long as I am performing, I take into account the fact that somebody is watching me.”
The dance piece will premiere on Jan. 19 at Kanuti Gildi Saal, Tallinn’s highly respected modern dance powerhouse.

While Kanuti is known for its creative and experimental dance styles, Kangro is recognised as a performer of all genres.
After graduating from dance studies at what was then called the Tallinn Pedagogical University, Kangro worked as a showboat dancer on Baltic ferries. He later landed a job with the Estonian National Opera Ballet company, performing major roles in productions such as “Romeo and Julia,” “Don Quixote” and “La Esmeralda.”
Not content to simply dance, Kangro also launched into directing and choreography, creating several performances that have toured internationally.

LA SYLPHIDE

Jan. 25 - 19:00
"La Sylphide" is one of the world's best-known ballets. Originally composed in 1832, the most popular version of it remains that by the Danish choreographer August Bournonville in 1836. Extravagant and sensual, "La Sylphide" is also responsible for the white tutus and tiptoing around stage for which ballet is now universally recognised. This is the perfect way to beat the winter gloom , if only for a couple of glorious hours. The performance will be held at the Estonian National Opera.
More info : (+372) 6831260

Estonia is getting unsafe !

A total of 203 people were killed in road accidents last year, 34 more than the year before, figures by the National Road Administration show.

The figures show the highest road toll since 2002, when 200 people died on Estonian roads.

Ergma hopes to substitue politics for academic leadership

By Joel Alas

TALLINN - After finishing a close third in Estonia’s presidential election race, Ene Ergma is vying for another of the nation’s most prestigious posts – rector of Tartu University. Ergma, the current deputy speaker of the Parliament and a renowned astrophysicist, will stand for election on Jan. 18 in the UT Assembly Hall.

She will run against two serving academics, Volli Kalm, professor of applied geology, and Birute Klass, professor of Estonian language and the university’s current vice rector for academic affairs.

Only six weeks ago, Ergma told The Baltic Times she was not seriously considering the position. The parliamentarian said she had too many enemies in academia because of her outspoken views on standards.
Despite her doubts, Ergma is now considered a front-runner for the post.
“When I was part of Tartu University’s academic commission in the early 1990s, I was perhaps too sharp in my demands for establishing quality standards for professors,” Ergma said on Nov. 29, adding that Estonia’s academic reputation is at risk because too many unqualified candidates are given professorships.

If elected, Ergma is expected to initiate a rigorous overhaul of academic qualifications.
“We have too many professors… We need to establish quality norms, and not only for the professors at Tartu, but for all professors in the Republic of Estonia. Otherwise, we will have poor academic situations everywhere,” she previously told The Baltic Times.

Prime Minister holds lecture at the London School of Economics

Stenbock House – At the beginning of next week, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip will be on an official visit to the United Kingdom, where he will speak at the prestigious London School of Economics and Political Science.
The Prime Minister’s speech about developments in the European Union is a part of the school’s series of lectures on Europe’s future (FT Business – LSE European Institute: The Future of Europe Public Lecture Series). The series was opened in October by Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen.

The London School of Economics (LSE) and Political Science, founded in 1885, is an advanced tuition and research centre for social, political and economic sciences. Thirteen Nobel prizes in Economics and Literature, and the Nobel Peace Prize, have been won with the participation of the school’s staff and students. Several heads of state and parliament members of the UK have studied at the London School of Economics and Political Science. For example, John F. Kennedy, George Soros, Romano Prodi, Tony Blair’s wife Cherie Booth, Mick Jagger.

The Prime Minister will also meet with UK parliament members in the course of his visit.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied on his visit by Director for European Union Affairs Gert Antsu, Foreign Affairs Advisor Kyllike Sillaste-Elling, and Information Officer Kersti Luha.
Further information on the LSE :
http://www.lse.ac.uk/ 
http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/LSEPublicLecturesAndEvents/ 
Sincerely,
Kersti Luha

Government Information Officer
Telephone : 6935713, 5213085

_________________________________
Valitsuse kommunikatsioonibüroo briifinguruum
http://www.valitsus.ee/brf/
press@riik.ee

Estonian embassy picketed in Moscow

MOSCOW -- Activists of the all-Russia public organisation Young Guards of United Russia held a picketing meeting near the Estonian embassy in Moscow on Friday to express protest against the Estonian parliament’s decision allowing to remove the Monument to a Liberating Soldier that is in central Tallinn.

About a hundred activists of the youth organisation chanted the slogans "Estonia is Europe's Shame", "Fascist Estonia is Democratic Europe's Sore" and "NATO's Toadies, Hands Off the Russian Soldier" and placed there a cardboard monument representing Adolf Hitler with the inscription "Hero of Estonia".

The press secretary of the Moscow branch of Young Guards, Polina Orekhova, told Itar-Tass that they protested against infringement of rights and freedoms of Estonia's Russian-speaking population and against the Estonian government’s attempts to re-write the history according to their own views, declaring nazis who fought in the SS ranks as national heroes fighting for the country's independence.

"We believe there is escalation of nationalist sentiments in present-day Estonia, and we do not intend to reconcile ourselves to the situation," the press-secretary said.

After the meeting, about ten Young Guards remained there to silently picket the embassy. They held flags and posters of the organisation.

Activist Kirill Shchitov told Itar-Tass that city authorities had permitted to stay near the Estonian diplomatic representative office for five days from 10:00 till 18:00.

Urmas Paet to pay a state visit to China

TALLINN - Estonia’s Foreign Minister Urmas Paet will pay an official visit to the Chinese capital Beijing next week.
During the visit [Jan. 24-25] the Estonian minister will meet with China’s Vice President Zeng Quinghong and Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, spokespeople for the Estonian Foreign Ministry said.
The parties will speak about Estonian-Chinese relations and setting up the building of the Estonian embassy in Beijing.
Paet and the hosts are also expected to exchange views on European integration and relations between the EU and China.
The situation in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea, as well as cooperation in international organizations also will be discussed.

Swedbank extends its membership of the nordic exchange

STOCKHOLM - Swedbank AB (publ) will become a member of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange as of Tuesday January 23. They will thereby gain trading access to the Danish equity market.

Swedbank AB (publ) is already a member of the Nordic Exchange in both Stockholm and Helsinki.

"We are very happy to welcome Swedbank as a member of OMX Nordic Exchange in Copenhagen. The expanded membership gives Swedbank an excellent opportunity to profit from the Nordic Exchange's offerings," says Jan Ovesen, President OMX Nordic Exchange in Copenhagen.

Swedbank is a Swedish bank which will trade on the Danish equity market from its headquarters in Stockholm. Swedbank has a portfolio of both private and institutional clients and can via its expanded membership of the Nordic Exchange offer their clients direct access to trade on the Danish equity market.

Estonia's railway operator has new controller

* Estonia's government has completed the renationalisation of a two-thirds stake in the national railway company, ending a long-running dispute that has illustrated the sometimes hidden risks of investing in transport infrastructure.

The sale follows almost constant pressure on Baltic Rail Services, the private consortium that owned 66 per cent of Eesti Raudtee, the national railway, since the election in 2003 of a left-wing government opposed to the privatisation.

Estonia: Eurolaul line up for national final published

* The Estonian national broadcaster announced the order of appearance for the Eurovision national final 2007 Eurolaul. In the meantime the broadcaster announced already that the national selection will be aired on the web as well. The national final has been set for February 3. Here is the order of appearance for the Eurolaul participants :

01. So Much to Say - Kristjan Kasearu ja Paradise Crew
02. Supreme Nature - Arne Lauri
03. It Doesn’t Matter - Koit Toome
04. Sunflowers - Laura
05. Partners in Crime - Gerli Padar
06. Birds of Peace - Vanilla Ninja
07. 1 Year from Now - Linda
08. My Face - Soul Militia
09. In Good and Bad - Ines
10. Romeo ja Julia - Hele Kõre ja Kristjan Kasearu

Watch Estonian entries in video (youtube.com)

Fortum invests in new combined heat and power plant in Estonia

* Fortum's Estonian subsidiary, AS Fortum Tartu, is building a new combined heat and power plant in the City of Tartu, Estonia. The value of the investment is around EUR 60 million. The power plant is planned to be completed for production by the end of 2008.

The new power plant will use biofuels and local peat as fuels. Production capacity will be approximately 52 megawatts (MW) heatand 25 MW electricity.

The new plant is needed to cover the growing heat demand in the City of Tartu and surrounding areas, and the growing electricity demand in Estonia. It will replace gas-based heat production with local biofuels and peat.

"This investment will benefit both the environment and local heat consumers in Tartu. It will help in keeping the local heat price at a competitive level and improve the reliability of the energy deliveries to our customers in Tartu. Fortum's expertise in combined heat and power production can now be utilised also in Estonia," says Risto Riekko, President of Fortum Heat business unit and Chairman of the Board of Fortum Tartu.

Governments of Ukraine and Estonia signed cooperation agreement

in sectors of economy, industry and science
The document was singed by Prime Ministers Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine and Andrus Ansip of Estonia.

"We have finally reestablished operation of the intergovernmental commission, operating before Estonia's accedence to the EU," Viktor Yanukovych said. According to him, the agreement envisages development of economic, trade, scientific and other relations between the countries. The meeting also resulted in a resolution to create favourable conditions for further development of trade and economic relations. "We are enabled to supply Estonia with electricity and perform its export to the EU via Estonia," Mr Yanukovych stressed. He also named cooperation in the sector of bio-fuel as priority in relations between the countries.