BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Tallinn Airport suffered a fuel crisis

Doubts about the quality of plane fuel suspended tanking of planes in Tallinn Airport on Saturday but by Sunday evening the majority of plane traffic was in schedule again, as one of the two fuel companies that offer tanking service received permission to continue their activities, LETA/National Broadcasting reports.

In aviation one has to be 100% certain that not a drop of low quality fuel ends up in a plane’s tanks. It is analysed at every stage and Tallinn Airport’s board member Erik Sakkov compares it to doping tests athletes have to take. If some parameter is not in line with requirements, fuel supplies are suspended. That is what happened and the airport sent on Saturday all aviation firms an announcement that they cannot get fuel in Tallinn.

“What happened next was that the Irish went to Riga for fuel; people waited; the Czech went to Helsinki. Lufthansa thought that it would go to Helsinki but it took so long there that pilots work hours were full and the people were sent to Estonia by ship,” Sakkov explained the confusion that followed. The work hours Estonian Air was also disturbed greatly.

Fuel is sold to planes using Tallinn Airport by Eesti Aviokütuse Teenuste AS, a subsidiary of BP and Estonian Air and Naftelf Eesti AS. Both get fuel from the Lithuanian Mazheikiai oil refinery. Naftelf’s fuel was cleared on Sunday and selling it continued, said Sakkov.

Juhan Tere

The biggest share of part-time employees in Estonia can be found among women with children aged up to 2 years

In 2010, part-time working was influenced both by employees’ gender and age of their children, the biggest share of part-time employees were among women with children aged up to 2 years. This has been proved in Statistics Estonia’s publication “Man’s home is the world, woman’s world is her home?”

In Estonia part-time work is not widely practised. In 2010, 10% of women in the prime working age (aged 25–49) and only 4% of men at the same age worked part-time. In 2010, in the European Union (EU), 29% of women in the prime working age worked part-time. Part-time work was most common among working women in the Netherlands (72%), Switzerland (63%) and Germany (46%). Compared to women in Estonia, the number of women in the prime working age and working part-time was even smaller in Greece (9%), Lithuania (8%), Slovakia (4%) and Bulgaria (2%). Men working part-time were rare also elsewhere in the EU. In 2010, in the EU only 6% of men in the prime working age (aged 25–49 worked part-time, only in the Netherlands the corresponding indicator was above 10%.

Part time working among persons aged 25–49 by gender and age of children, 2010

Besides gender, the presence of children in the household also affects working part-time. The number of men working part-time was lower and that of women was higher when there were children in the household. While the share of men who were working part-time was not essentially influenced by the age of children, women with children aged up to two years clearly stood out. Nearly one third of working women with so small children worked part-time. The share of women with older children and working part-time was similar to that of working women aged 25–49 in total.

The best Baltic sommelier is Kristjan Peäske from Estonia

Late on Saturday evening in Tartu, Estonia at the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2011, Kristjan Peäske of Estonia was declared the Best Baltic Sommelier and was awarded a wine trip worth €1000 courtesy of AS Liviko. Kristjan Markii of Estonia won second place and Liora Levi of Norway came third. This year, for the first time, competitors from Scandinavia also participated in the Vana Tallinn Grand Prix.

„The competition was very tough. I did not expect to win. The level of Nordic sommeliers is close to the top of the world and including them in the competition shows that we are able to compete at an international level outside of the Baltic states,“ said the winner of Vana Tallinn Grand Prix 2011 Kristjan Peäske, one of the owners of the restaurant Leib, Resto ja Aed.

„The winner stood out from among his competitors by his even level at performing all the tasks. It was visible that he has a lot of knowledge and experience,“ - said chairman of the international jury Jouko Mykkänen, President of the Association of Sommeliers in Finland.

“The aim of this competition is to develop wine and alcohol culture and the event taking place in Tartu shows that we do not only concentrate on capital cities but work towards that goal all over the Baltic countries. It is extremely important that Baltic sommeliers have a chance to compare themselves to the best in Europe ” - said Janek Kalvi, Chairman of AS Liviko.

“The participation of sommeliers from Scandinavia is extremely important to us, since there is a lot our sommeliers can learn from the Nordic countries, whose sommeliers have achieved high places at worldwide competitions. Nordic countries and the Baltic states are in a similar situation, because they do not really produce wine themselves and more emphasis is placed on the culture of serving wines,” said Kristel Nõmmik, President of the Estonian Sommeliers’ Association.

Estonian Air starts to reward customers for using social media

Estonian Air recently announced that they will start to reward customers for not only flying, but also promoting their brand via social media. The small, regional airline, is the first in the world to reward their passengers for completing tasks, like sharing reviews on Facebook or Tweeting on deals and promotions.

My good friends over at SimpliFlying are working with the airline to show the world that this is the future of customer engagement. “Today 88% of frequent flyers use Facebook and they are twice as active as ordinary Facebook users,” Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying stated. “Over 70% of them would like to be part of a social loyalty programme too. Estonian Air’s pioneering effort in this field will intensify a pool of advocates for engaging with the airline online. The lessons learned from this can potentially change the course of airline loyalty programmes globally.”

Points are earned through Estonian’s Facebook App called AirScore. You can easily see how many points you have earned and the rewards you can redeem. Social media allows airlines to connect with their customers in ways that no other method can. It makes sense for an airline to reward customers to helping to promote their brand.

“Estonia is a small market and in order to provide good connections at reasonable price for Estonians, the airline needs to also attract connecting traffic from outside Estonia. Social Media is one of the most effective ways to market and promote brands across the borders,” said Tero Taskila, the CEO of Estonian Air.

I think this is a great experiment and it will be interesting how it turns out. Do you think other airlines might participate in a reward system like this?

David Parker Brown

Euro crisis "could lead to social unrest"

The eurozone debt crisis could lead to a decade-long recession and rising social unrest, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has warned, according to a German media report on Sunday.

"The next few months will be decisive in terms of avoiding a dramatic decline in employment and a further sharp increase in social unrest," news weekly Focus reported, citing the ILO's new annual report on the labour market.

Without counter-measures, the crisis might unleash a recession that could last a decade, as governments find themselves powerless to act due to pressure to reduce their debts, Focus said, citing the ILO document.

The ILO was not immediately available for comment.

The greatest risk of social unrest exists in Greece, Portugal, Spain, Estonia, France, Slovenia and Ireland, according to the weekly.

The debt crisis has already sparked several incidents of social unrest, with strikes in Greece against austerity measures turning bloody and a violent protest in Rome injuring more than 100 people.

Copyright © 2011 AFP

Personal bankruptcies on the way up in Estonia

70% of bankruptcies that were declared in Estonia in October 2011 were personal bankruptcies of private persons. According to experts, declaring one personally bankrupt is cheaper than paying debts to bailiffs, writes Eesti Ekspress weekly.

A typical case: a resident of Tallinn who owns 116,000 euros, has no assets, earns 640 euros a month and has two children.

While a year ago a total of 1,655 bankruptcy applications were filed last year, of which 20% were personal bankruptcies, the ratio is now at 30%.

One of the most prominent persons to be declared bankrupt recently was Viktor Levada who was once one of Estonia's richest businessmen and who had guaranteed a business loan in the amount of over 6 million euros. Also his company that had paid about 700 million kroons for a vacant lot opposite Hotel Olympia is now bankrupt.

Another is Väino Pentus, father of Estonian minister of environmental affairs Keit Pentus, owned 195,000 euros and whose transport company Autorollo went bankrupt in spring.

Toomas Hõbemägi

The heart and character of Sade to bloom in Tallinn : Nov. 2nd

TALLINN - Once in a lifetime we get a chance to meet people who like to see the world from different boundaries than ourselves. One such person is Sade, British singer, songwriter and producer, who comes to Tallinn to perform her newest program and give an exclusive concert at Saku Suurhall, on Nov.2.

Helen Folasade Adu, who is better known as Sade, has Nigerian and English roots. Born in 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria, she moved to England with her mother and elder brother Banji, after the marriage of her father and mother failed. While Sade enjoyed American soul music, she did not think about a career in this field. Instead, she studied fashion at St. Martin’s School of Arts, helping with backing vocals in the band “Pride.” Sade toured around the UK with the band, until the soulful piece “Smooth Operator” drew the attention of the major record companies, which chose her over the rest of “Pride.” Finally, she accepted a deal with Epic records bringing in three other “mates” of “Pride” – bassist Paul Denman, saxophonist Stuart Matthewman and keyboard player Andrew Hale – together with her. In that way the unique crew of Sade was formed.

“Your Love Is King,” the very first single from Sade, provided a huge success for the band and its front woman, reaching the top 10 of the UK charts in 1984 and initiating a long-term musical career, alongside with media coverage about her life both on and off stage. The sound turned into Sade’s trademark, and seemingly it still lives today. In 25 years of singing it has been embodied in nine studio albums, one of which is a live performance of the 2001 Lovers Live Tour.

Irish fans prepare for Tallinn ticket disappointment

THOUSANDS OF TRAVELLING Irish supporters look set to be left empty-handed for the first leg of next month’s Euro 2012 play-off against Estonia.

Space will be at a premium on 11 November when Giovanni Trapattoni and the boys in green head to Tallinn’s A. Le Coq Arena, which holds just under 10,000 spectators.

The FAI confirmed this morning that almost 5,000 Irish fans have applied for tickets for the away leg, far more than the allocation of 1,400 tickets which it has received from the Estonian FA.

Under UEFA rules, the visiting side is only entitled to 10% of the stadium capacity, but the expected demand from Irish fans saw a few hundred extra tickets added to the FAI’s bundle.

These tickets will now be allocated via lottery, with preference given to fans who have attended some or all away matches during the group stages of the qualification campaign.

Applications for the lottery via the FAI’s online portal are now closed, and the FAI will contact those who have applied before 5.30pm tomorrow evening.

Estonia sold out their entire allocation of tickets within 30 minutes of them going on sale last Thursday, but have since begun to track down would-be profiteers who purchased huge quantities in the hope of selling them on the black market.

Estonian football chiefs investigate ‘shady’ playoff ticket sales

Eesti Energia promises power all Estonian cars with shale oil fuel in 2016

Estonian state-owned energy giant Eesti Energia wants to produce car fuel from oil shale in a volume that would cover the whole Estonian needs in 2016, LETA/Äripäev.ee reports.

“Today we have 600 litres of car fuel corresponding to modern fuel requirements. By 2016, we plan to expand production and produce liquid fuels in a volume that would cover the needs of the whole of Estonia,” said Eesti Energia fuels sphere manager Harri Mikk.

Yesterday at the XI Eesti Energia oil shale day in Jõhvi, a test run with a car that used diesel fuel produced by Eesti Energia from oil shale confirmed that diesel fuel made out of shale oil has good qualities and can compete with car fuels made from oil.

“When oil shale is mined, often primarily the long tradition and history of it is stressed. For us, oil shale is the natural resource of the future,” said Eesti Energia board chairman Sandor Liive.

Juhan Tere

Estonia should attract business like Monaco attracts wealth

Äripäev editor Harry Tuul writes that Estonia has two closely linked problems: lack of talents and lack of entrepreneurs.

By now it’s already clear that the Bring Talent Home campaign has largely failed, having brought home about ten people from abroad, mostly to become paid employees.  At the same time hundreds of foreign businessmen wish to start a business in Estonia.

Äripäev recently wrote about Peter Ingman, the owner of large Finnish icecream maker that sold his company and is now planning to invest money in Estonia.

The interest to invest in Estonia is even larger outside Scandinavian and the European Union, notably from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. The businessmen from these three last-named countries are attracted to Estonia not only because of its favourable location, tax environment and business culture, but also because it’s a possibility to obtain an EU residence permit.
There is nothing bad in itself because this is harming no-one.

So, it’s time to announce that we are welcoming successful talents to reside in Estonia.

Estonian Air hires more foreigners in its management

The Finnish president of the Estonian national carrier Estonian Air, Tero Taskila, created a breakthrough in the management of the company in September 2011, by hiring several foreigners in the key positions of the board, LETA/Eesti Päevaleht writes.

Currently the 5-member board of Estonian Air includes three foreigners and just two Estonians.

Wade Stokes, who was attracted to come from Swedbank group to work as Estonian Air’s financial manager, has worked in financial management sphere in telecommunications and banking sector in the USA, Russia and Scandinavia. Jyri Ketola, who has worked in several aviation safety and operations sphere jobs in Finnair and Blue1/SAS Group, became the company’s operations manager.

Estonians now have two jobs in the board: commercial manager is Rauno Parras and personnel work is headed by Signe Vaks-Saareoja.

“We plan pragmatic and sustainable growth in the future. This means that we have to be ready to operate in an increasing amount of foreign markets, in different states and countries, while coping with increasing competition at the same time,” Taskila explained his choices.

Juhan Tere

One prerequisite for exiting the crisis is developing the internal market : Ansip

Brussels – The heads of state and government of the European Union, who gathered in Brussels, stressed that in addition to addressing the immediate challenges posed by the financial crisis, it is essential to intensify efforts to secure sustainable and job-creating growth.

The conclusions of the European Council stated that the goal of member states was to restore confidence in public finances. “At the same time, determined action is required to strengthen the economy already in the short run.”

In his own address to his European Union colleagues, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip referred to the need to deal more specifically with measures conducive to economic growth.

“The wellspring of economic growth is the internal market,” said Ansip. “If we want to truly realize the concealed potential of the common market, we must do things differently. Stimulating the economy is the best cure for crisis.”

Ansip alluded to his recent letter to fellow European Union leaders in which he emphasized the need to significantly increase the economic integration in the EU and make the leadership of the euro area more effective.

Unemployed workers live only for present

Workers laid off in spring from Tootsi briquette factory say they are not interested in returning to work as their unemployment fund benefits continue to run. The mayor of the municipality in Pärnu County says he is mystified by their attitude.

Tootsi municipality says it has done everything in its power to help the laid off workers - it tried to attract new employers and introduced bus routes to neighboring municipalities. But many of the laid off workers are still unemployed.

"Only a few of them have found work, as the companies that have pledged to come here have not come but above all we have received assistance from enterprises in the region in putting people to work," said municipality elder Kalev Kaljuste on ERR radio.

One of the companies in the region, Säästke OÜ, has hired 20 Tootsi people. The other is the Wendre AS production outlet in Vändra, where all of the women workers could have been re-employed - except they did not accept the offer.

Kaljuste said many are not interested in returning to work. At Wendre, he said, "we held an open house and their personnel director and manufacturing director were there. And we talked about the possibility of them getting a job and wage conditions. It's a company that is very competitive and honest both at the Estonian and Pärnu level."

Estonian teachers demand 20% pay increase and threaten strike

More than a thousand Estonian teachers rallied in front of parliament demanding a wage increase as the government looks to keep the budget deficit within European Union rules.

Educators are considering “all measures, including strikes” unless their demand for a pay hike of at least 20 percent is accepted, said Sven Rondik, head of the educational workers’ union, who was reading a petition that was given to parliament and the government today in Tallinn.

The Baltic nation, the only euro-area member with a budget surplus in 2010, sees a surplus of 0.2 percent of economic output this year. Next year, it plans a deficit of 2.1 percent, mainly due to spending proceeds from selling its spare United Nations emissions credits and due to fully resuming state pension contributions after a temporary freeze in 2009.

The union wants a 20 percent increase in teachers’ wages next year and 15 percent in both 2013 and 2014. The 2012 jump would raise gross monthly wages for junior teachers to 730 euros ($1,017) from 608 euros, and for the most senior teachers to 1,067 euros from 889 euros, according to its website.

The ruling parties, the Reform Party and the Isamaa ja Res Publica Liit, are breaking promises made during the March election campaign to raise teachers’ wages, Rondik said.

Flush with cash, Swedbank beats third quarter forecasts

Swedish banking group Swedbank shot past expectations for third-quarter operating profit and said it had more than enough capital to deal with risks from the debt crisis in southern Europe.

At a time when European banks are preparing to ask investors for more than 100 billion euros ($139 billion) to shield them from fallout from troubled countries such as Greece and Italy, Swedbank -- until recently -- was handing back cash to shareholders.

It only cancelled a share buyback programme in September due to market volatility and worries about the euro zone, and criticism from the Swedish finance minister.

Swedbank, the biggest bank in the hard-hit Baltic region, said on Tuesday it would maintain strong capitalisation long-term and was even currently over-capitalised in the face of financial market worries.

"Just now, we have enormous uncertainty in Europe and we also have uncertainty when it comes to regulations for the banks, and we must wait for that," Chief Executive Michael Wolf told reporters, refusing to say when he would relaunch the buy back.

The bank's core tier one capital ratio rose to 15.1 percent in the third quarter, from 14.8 percent in the second quarter.

That is already well above the 9 percent level which banks in Europe are likely to be asked to meet in a recapitalisation drive being discussed by European Union nations.

Thoughts from travel around Baltic Sea

I recently visited seven countries around the Baltic Sea over 13 days. This trip is an annual event of the United States Association of Former Members of Congress. I traveled on a big cruise ship, the Holland America Line, which consists of three lower-decks and nine upper-decks. They say that it can hold 2,000 passengers, and I have never seen such a big ship in my life.

On Sept. 7, I arrived in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, whose population is 770,000. The population of the Netherlands is 13 million, and its per capita gross national income (GNI) is $36,000, which is much higher than Korea’s $20,000. I felt close to this country, perhaps because it is the native land of Guus Hiddink, manager of the Korean national soccer team that reached the semifinals of the 2002 World Cup.

I boarded the ship there and headed to Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. The population of Denmark is 5.6 million, and the population of Copenhagen is 540,000. Denmark’s per capita GNI is $53,000, which is a little higher than Germany’s. Its government provides many services free through its welfare system. One-third of the workforce of Denmark is employed by the government, and the residents pay the highest tax in the world, but they don’t seem mind.

The next day, I visited Warnemunde, a port city in Germany. It takes two and a half hours by car to get to Berlin from there. The population of Germany is 83 million, and 3.4 million live in Berlin. Per capita GNI of Germany is $41,000, and it is known as the most affluent and influential country in Europe. As Germany continues to pour money into Greece, its citizens have begun to talk about a breakaway from the EU.

Train tunnel between Tallinn and Helsinki would cost 3 bln euros

The Helsinki to Tallinn Tunnel is a proposed undersea tunnel that would span the Gulf of Finland and connect the Finnish and Estonian capitals.

The tunnel's length would depend upon the route taken; the shortest distance across would have a submarine length of 50 km, making it the longest undersea tunnel in the world. The project is largely being pushed forward by the mayors of Tallinn and Helsinki, Edgar Savisaar and Jussi Pajunen respectively. Both cities have promised €100,000 for preparatory studies, though the relevant ministries of each country have refused to grant any funding. An application is now planned to the EU to gain the additional funds needed for a comprehensive survey, estimated to cost between €500,000 and €800,000. On 13 January 2009, newspaper reports suggested the application to the EU, through the Interreg programme, for comprehensive surveys had been denied. An expert at the City of Helsinki's International Affairs department suggested this may have been because of political tension within Estonia, between the national administration and the City of Tallinn, both controlled by rival political groups. Nevertheless, both cities are said to be considering funding the surveys themselves.

The initial cost of the tunnel itself varies, from around one billion Euros for a freight-only tunnel, to many billions of Euros if passengers were to travel in it. The economic benefits would be significant, both in terms of increased connections and economic integration between the two cities (Copenhagen and Malmö have been offered as examples), but also in a wider context of convenient passenger train connections between Southern Finland and the Baltic States, and a fixed link for freight from across Finland on to the under-construction Rail Baltica, thus providing a rail freight connection with the rest of Europe. Geopolitically, the tunnel would connect two close but separated parts of the European Union in an environmentally friendly way, removing the need to travel through Russia, or to use air or sea transport.

Estonian justice ministry will start compiling a cohabitation law in 2012

Estonian justice minister Kristen Michal sent a letter to Riigikogu factions on Monday informing them of intentions to start creating the cohabitation law in 2012, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

“In Estonia, the share of cohabitation couples has increased and that of traditional marriages has decreased for a long period of time,” Michal writes. “For example, in the past decade, the majority of children were born outside registered marriages (58% of children in 2007). At the same time the property and legal relations of partners have become more complicated,” wrote Michal.

Michal said that thus the feeling of security and protection of rights of the weaker side of tens of thousands of couples, be it a woman or a man, has become so much more important and a very sensitive subject for all.

Michal announced that after analyses and consultations, the ministry includes in its working plan for next year creation of a cohabitation law to regulate non-marital cohabitation better.

Juhan Tere

State may escape pension burden making retirees vulnerable

Swedbank says Estonia's pension system may escape trouble in the decades ahead due to the hard economic truth - no one is guaranteed an absolute amount of pension and it is inevitable that the state's burden in making payouts will decrease.

"When we look at today's situation, the pensions paid by the state will inevitably decrease in the future and the situation is especially urgent in Western welfare societies," the bank's PR director Mart Siilivask told uudised.err.ee.

Unlike those systems, Estonia's state pension system may not run into direct difficulties as the state has not promised definite sums, and this gives us more maneuvering room," said Siilivask.

"The state's role in ensuring income for a pension is gradually decreasing and the second pillar is replacing the diminishing benefits of the first pillar," he said, referring to the system where the state matches the contribution for those under a certain age.

The first pillar is a system where pensions are paid from social taxes. Like the rest of the world, Estonia has moved toward putting more of the responsibility on the pensioner - retirement funds.

The second pillar depends on what the taxpayer earns and the third, on retirement fund yield.

However, many people have not yet embraced these opportunities.

"Today, over half of Estonians do not make long-term financial goals and regular saving into the third pillar is used to a low extent, as a result of which keeping the earlier quality of life in retirement is complicated with only two pillars," said Siilivask.

"To increase people's capability to make adequate decisions that affect them after decades, it is important to raise overall awareness and promote savings and investment culture."

Kristopher Rikken

Court sentences businessman into prison in record time

Tallinn Administrative Court has sentenced Indrek Vürst who was accused of masterminding a VAT fraud in the total amount of 80,000 euros for three months in prison, writes Äripäev.

This is one of the VAT fraud cases where a sentence was handed down in only 48 hours instead of lingering in courts for years. The court found that Vürst had a significant role in the VAT fraud case.

Terje Leng from the tax and customs board said in comment that a prison sentence is an unusual punishment in tax crimes because in most cases the guilty get a fine or a conditional sentence.

The court found that Vürst had participated in a scheme where a company was incorporated, buys fuel from the Estonian excise duty warehouse at zero percent VAT, sells it while adding VAT and then terminates its existence or is sold.

According to the prosecutor, FuelPRO, the company of Vürst, committed the VAT fraud in just one month.

Toomas Hõbemägi