BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

NATO expels two Russians over Estonia spy scandal

David Brunnstrom

BRUSSELS - NATO has ordered the expulsion of two Russian diplomats over a spy scandal in which an Estonian official was jailed for passing secrets to Moscow, a NATO diplomat said on Thursday.

"Two Russian diplomats have been told they are not welcome here," the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The pair were attached to the mission Russia has at NATO headquarters although it is not a member of the alliance.

The diplomat said they were expelled over the case of Herman Simm, an Estonian jailed for more than 12 years for treason in February for handing more than 2,000 pages of information to handlers in Russia’s SVR Foreign Intelligence Service.

NATO ordered the diplomats out on Wednesday, the same day the alliance resumed formal talks with Russia at ambassadorial level, eight months after contacts were suspended over Russia’s five-day war with Georgia last August.

Russia regards improving relations with NATO as part of a broader effort to improve relations with the West, and in particular with the United States. Ties with Washington sank to a post-Cold War low under U.S. President George W. Bush.

It was not immediately clear what impact, if any, the expulsions would have on attempts to improve relations.

Estonia slams Russia over 'Nazi' monument claims

TALLINN - Estonia on Friday hit back at Russian media claims that a new monument in the Baltic state's capital was an homage to soldiers who fought on Nazi Germany's side in the Second World War.

Defence ministry spokesman Martin Jashko told AFP the Russian reaction to the unveiling of the War of Independence Victory Monument in Tallinn was "regrettable and very clearly malevolent."

Estonia, a nation of 1.3 million people, broke free from the crumbling Soviet Union in 1991. Tallinn regularly spars with Moscow over conflicting versions of history.

The monument, inaugurated Tuesday, is based on a cross-shaped medal for Estonians who fought in the 1918-1920 war of independence as the Russian empire collapsed at the end of the First World War.

Russian media, however, have highlighted its subsequent adoption as the insignia of Estonian units that fought on the German side against the Soviets, and have claimed the monument "glorifies" the Nazis.

"The cross and the symbol in the middle of (the) cross used on the monument were designed already in 1919, long before the Nazi era," Jashko insisted.

The Soviets took over Estonia under a 1939 pact with the Nazis, and deported 10,000 Estonians to Siberia. The Red Army was driven out in 1941 when Germany turned on its ally.

Serb war criminal serving sentence in Estonia

TALLINN - Convicted Serb war criminal Milan Martic arrived in Estonia on Friday to serve his 35-year sentence there in an agreement between the government and the United Nations.

Martic, 55, is being jailed in the town of Tartu, 120 miles (190 kilometers) southeast of Tallinn, said Estonian Justice Minister Rein Lang.

The arrangement is in line with an agreement between the Estonian government and the U.N., which deals with the implementation of the verdicts by the Netherlands-based International Crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, officials said.

No further details about the deal were released.

The former Croatian Serb leader was convicted for his role in a deadly campaign of ethnic cleansing in Croatia by the U.N. Yugoslav war crimes tribunal in 2007. He was held responsible for murder, torture, deportation and other crimes carried out by Serb forces.

Martic was the last president of the unrecognized republic of Krajina until 1995, when Croatian troops took control of the area.

EU executives tackles 25 states over energy reform

BRUSSELS - The European Union's executive said on Thursday 25 of the bloc's 27 countries were not doing enough to boost energy market competition for the benefit of consumers, taking the first step towards possible court action.

It launched so-called infringement procedures for failure to implement the EU's second package of internal energy market laws -- reforms phased in between 2004 and 2007 to open gas and electricity markets to more competition.

"This major infringement exercise focuses on three broad areas of concern: lack of transparent, simple and inexpensive procedures for dealing with consumer complaints; lack of transparent access to cross-border electricity and gas network infrastructure, and market distortions caused by regulated energy prices," the European Commission said in a statement.

Every EU member state with an electricity connection to a neighbour is facing possible action, with only the islands of Malta and Cyprus escaping unscolded because they are physically detached from the rest of the bloc.

The 25 will receive letters of formal notice for not complying with gas and electricity regulations, the EC said. Many of those states had received warnings on similar issues in 2006.

Latvian minister quits ; Baltic finance problems flare

By Patrick Lannin

RIGA - A top Latvian minister quit on Wednesday over spending cuts needed to secure vital financial aid, while neighbours Lithuania and Estonia also braced for austerity measures due to big economic slumps this year.

Having ridden credit booms to become some of the fastest growing economies in Europe, the three Baltic states are now facing deep recessions, slumping house prices and falling wages as they try to protect pressurised currency pegs.

The resignation of Latvia's health minister, a day after parliament approved deep spending cuts, added political tension to a budget crisis that shows little sign of easing. Without the cuts, Latvia would have endangered a crucial International Monetary Fund and the European Union package.

While many in markets believe Latvia for now has avoided a currency devaluation that threatened to cause market mayhem at home and abroad, few see signs that the region's economic misery will lift any time soon.

"These measures mean the man on the street is taking a lot of pressure for the readjustment -- probably too much," said Nigel Rendall, emerging foreign exchange strategist at Royal Bank of Canada. "It just won't be sustainable and in the long run I think we will still be looking at devaluation."

Latvian devaluation would likely promise a new round of market pressure on emerging European currencies, he said, likely forcing other Baltics to devalue as well as hitting units such as the Hungarian forint <EURHUF=>.

It would also make it even harder for Latvian borrowers to repay foreign currency loans from Nordic banks.

In a sign Latvia's woes are just an extreme version of those in all three of the small ex-Soviet Baltic states, Lithuania's Finance Ministry forecast the economy would slide 18.2 percent this year, more than the 10.5 percent drop previously forecast.

EP elections' voting results in Estonia approved

The National Electoral Committee approved on Saturday the definitive voting results of the European Parliament elections, writes Postimees Online/LETA.

Estonian Centre Party received 103,542 votes, single candidate Indrek Tarand 102,520, Estonian Reform Party 60,902 votes, Pro Patria and Res Publica Union 48,515, Social Democrats 34,543 votes.

The National Electoral Committee also deliberated the request of Priit Toobal, the authorised representative of the Centre Party, to study the results of e-voting. The committee pointed out that the efficiency of e-voting system, the correctness of operations during the voting and calculating of voting results was audited by independent auditors of information systems and political parties' representatives could also observe the process.

The National Electoral Committee informed Toobal that the results of the e-voting can be studied on the website of the committee.

DJ Estonia steps up opposition to Baltic gas pipeline

TALLINN - Estonia Tuesday ratcheted up its opposition to a planned gas pipeline that Russian giant OAO Gazprom (GAZP.PR) wants to build under the Baltic Sea, saying the potential risks had been sidelined.

In a report, Tallinn said an environmental impact study carried out for the Nord Stream consortium hadn't calmed its concerns about the controversial project steered by Gazprom and Germany's E.On Ruhrgas AG and BASF-Wintershall AG.

It alleged that assessors failed properly to take into account the risk that the pipeline could break up, claiming they used incomplete or obsolete data on seabed geology, tectonics and seismic activity, as well as the threat posed by shipping.

It also said they had failed to demonstrate why an undersea route was better than a land pipeline.

"Estonia has called repeatedly on Nord Stream to consider the alternative option of building the pipeline on land instead of under the sea, in the event the pipeline is needed at all," Foreign Minister Urmas Paet told AFP.

The Nord Stream project, expected to cost around EUR7.4 billion, is strongly backed by Russia and Germany but still needs approval from other Baltic Sea nations.

Estonia's opposition Center Party wins Europarliament elections

Juhan Tere

The opposition Center Party won Sunday's election to the European Parliament in Estonia and is set to have incumbent MEP Siiri Oviir and Vilja Savisaar, the no 3 on the party's ticket, fill the two seats it gets out of Estonia's total six seats.

Independent candidate Indrek Tarand, 45, secured a seat for himself also with more than 100,000 votes, narrowly trailing the winner, reports BNS.

One seat went to the Reform Party, Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL) and Social Democrats each. Tunne Kelam is expected to stay on as the the IRL deputy in the Europarliament, while former Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland and former Finance Minister Ivari Padar are to take the seats won by Reform and Social Democrats, respectively.

According to figures available from the national election commission shortly before 1 a.m. on Monday, the Center Party received 103,283 votes, Tarand 102,462 votes, Reform 60,866 votes, IRL 48,450 votes and Social Democrats 34,534 votes.

According to the preliminary figures, 392,494 people or 43.2% of all voters came to the polls, compared with the European average turnout rate of 43.39 in these elections.

Online voters numbered 58,669.

The turnout was highest in the capital city Tallinn at 53.7%. In the Harju County which includes Tallinn the turnout was 48%, in the northeastern largely Russian-populated East-Viru County 45.5% and in Tartu, the second-largest city, 40.2%.

The lowest activity was recorded in the island of Saaremaa where 32.2% of voters came to the polls. In the island county of Hiiumaa and the southern Voru County turnout of 33.9% was recorded.

In the previous European polls five years ago 233,450 people or 26.8% of all voters took part.

Neither the central election authority nor the police received any reports about serious violations or incidents during Sunday's voting.

In the previous elections to the European Parliament in 2004, the Social Democratic Party received 85,443 votes and landed half of Estonia's six seats. Center received 40,715 votes; Reform 28,377 votes and Pro Patria Union, one of the two parties that now make up the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, 24,383 seats, getting one seat each.

In the 2004 polls voter turnout was 26.8%.

Largest opposition party leads European ballot in Estonia

TALLINN - Estonia largest opposition party, the Center Party, took the lead in Sunday's elections, winning two seats to the European Parliament in the tiny EU Baltic state of 1.3 million, according to the Estonian elections commission.

The Reform Party of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip took one of the six seats commanded by Estonia in the EU parliament.

The former Soviet republic joined the EU in 2004.

Another party in the governing coalition - the center-right Pro Patria and Res Publica, took one seat.

The social democrats took one seat while one of six independent candidates, Indrek Tarand, also won a seat.

Turn-out figures and percentages were not available early Monday.

Dow Jones Newswires 06-07-091940ET Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

New cooperation projects with Latvians

At the end of the last week, when whole Europe marked the Neighbours' Day, the Estonia - Latvia Programme approved 3 new cooperation projects between the neighbouring countries. For altogether more than a million euro, Latvians and Estonians will work together to improve public services for disabled children, to improve the competitiveness of the local producers, as well as to promote examples of environmentally friendly and economically successful farms.

The projects will be implemented by active organizations and local municipalities in various regions of Estonia and Latvia.

The newly approved projects are :

Development of Latvian - Estonian network for demonstration of environmentally friendly farming practices - the project will establish a network of farms selected as the best practices in terms of environmental and economic aspects. These farms will be demonstrated for the visitors, including other farmers, field experts, as well as general public and media. The project will provide a joint training for the selected farms, as well as the necessary technical equipment.

Buy Local - the project aims at increasing the sustainability and competitiveness of the local economy by researching the demands for the local production, revealing the potential of the local natural, energy and human resources, and accordingly developing of skills and technologies to use these resources. Among the results, project will develop a wood processing incubation centre and a cross-border network of local businesses for trade and cooperation.

Estonian PM names new finance minister

By David Mardiste

TALLINN - Estonia's prime minister on Wednesday named a new finance minister to help push through tough budget cuts during a harsh economic downturn and to keep the country on track for euro adoption in two years time.

After falling out with former Social Democratic coalition partners, Andrus Ansip leads a minority government. He hopes the small opposition parties will support his budget cuts, but the political uncertainty following the coalition split has made his job more difficult.

The ructions have come just as Estonia faces its biggest post-Soviet recession and worries have grown that the Baltic currency pegs, particularly in Latvia, might not hold. All three countries deny any plans to devalue.

Ansip took a step to getting the budget cuts passed as his Reform Party named parliament finance committee head Jurgen Ligi as new finance minister.

"We hope to make these cuts and we have to make these cuts and we will make them. I think we have support in parliament for this," Ligi told Reuters after meeting the president, who has formally to approve his appointment as finance minister.

Ansip told Reuters he expected the president would approve Ligi as finance minister after a first reading on Wednesday of the amended 2009 budget, which contains 3.4 billion kroons ($310.5 million) of savings, though the government wants more.

Paet met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday, June 4.

During their bilateral meeting held within the framework of the meeting of the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) foreign ministers in Elsinore, Denmark, the ministers discussed the state of Estonia-Russia relations and developments since their last meeting in December 2008. They also addressed bilateral economic relations, visa policy, and the status of many agreements that are currently being worked out.

Both foreign ministers felt positively about the political consultations that took place between the foreign ministries in January, where the main focus was on the practical issues of bilateral relations and intensifying communication between ministry departments. In June, consultations addressing European topics will take place in Tallinn between the Estonian and Russian foreign ministries.

The foreign ministers acknowledged that cultural relations between the two countries have been developing successfully. “The development of cultural relations is also reflected by the fact that during Cultural Minister of the Russian Federation Aleksander Avdejev’s visit to Tallinn in January of this year, an Estonia-Russia cultural co-operation programme for the years 2009-2011 was signed,” remarked Paet.

Urmas Paet stated that Estonia feels it is positive that in February Russia eliminated the discrepancy that had arisen with Estonia and Russia’s international cargo agreement, and starting today, 4 June, the highway tax that was temporarily implemented for Estonian cargo trucks by Russia has been abolished.

Nordic and Baltic Countries combine forces in UN

During their meeting in Helsinki, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet and Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb agreed that when Nordic and Baltic countries have candidacies for UN organs, the nations of the regions should unite and support the same candidates.

Paet and Stubb confirmed that Estonia-Finland relations are good and strong and mentioned their recent joint visit to Syria and Lebanon as an example of close co-operation. Paet made a proposal to his Finnish colleague to work together closely when applying for candidacy in international organisations. “When we have a candidacy for, for example, a UN organ, the Nordic and Baltic countries should join forces in order to achieve their goals and provide greater support for the candidate,” noted the Estonian foreign minister.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet emphasised that in order to use the funds allocated for economic recovery in Europe by the European Union in March, we must move forward quickly with the Estlink 2 project. “Estonia has accepted the responsibility of opening its markets, and by the beginning of next year the market will in reality be 35% open. The Estonian electric market will be 100% open by 2013,” Paet stated. “If preliminary work on the Estlink 2 project would be underway soon, it would be possible to use the 100 million euros allocated in the European Economic Recovery Plan to establish the Estlink 2 sea cable and get the cable working by the beginning of 2014,” Paet said, stressing that Estonia would like to be a part of a common Nordic-Baltic electricity market.

Estonian parties agree to launch coalition talks

Tallinn - The likely form of a new government in Estonia began to emerge Tuesday when a small opposition party agreed to coalition talks with the two government parties.

The six-seat People's Union party will begin talks with the governing Reform party and the Pro Patria/Res Publica Union on Tuesday afternoon, following an extraordinary meeting of its leading members on Monday night.

People's Union chairman Karel Ruutli said the main issue for the coalition talks would be planning for the 2010 budget.

The constant changing of the budget in a piecemeal fashion has to stop," Ruutli said. Though the People's Union holds just six of the Estonian parliament's 101 seats, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip requires its support to regain a parliamentary majority as the existing two government parties control 50 seats.

On May 21, Ansip announced that he was ejecting the Social Democrat party from his three-party coalition, which has been in power since April 2007. The Social Democrats had disagreed with Ansip over the need for reforms to employment law as the government seeks to impose severe curbs on spending.

After a decade-long boom, the small Baltic state became the first country in the European Union to slip into recession in 2008. In the first quarter of 2009, the economy contracted by 15 per cent year-on-year and unemployment is at nearly 10 per cent of the workforce.

Estonian PM resists pressure to quit

TALLINN : The Prime Minister of Estonia, Andrus Ansip, resisted mounting pressure for his resignation, after his three-party coalition government collapsed. On Thursday Ansip announced that he was ejecting three ministers from the Social Democrat party from government, effectively turning his majority coalition into a minority administration that will need to win a fresh mandate from the Estonian parliament, or Riigikogu.

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves backed Ansip’s move but was highly critical of the manner in which government politics seemed to be taking precedence over the national interest in the small Baltic state of 1.3 million people. Ilves was among the first to express surprise that Ansip had not resigned.

By Friday, pressure was mounting on Ansip, though constitutional experts said the resignation of the prime minister upon the fall of a coalition was customary but not necessarily required.

The Social Democrat Party’s deputy chairman said Ansip would be a “coward” if he did not resign. Ansip has made no secret of his desire to bring the opposition People’s Union party into government in place of the Social Democrats, but also signaled that the remaining two parties of his coalition could form a minority government.

“In that case I would not resign,” Ansip said on Thursday night. His own Reform Party and its allied Pro Patria/Res Publica Union control 50 of the 101 seats in the Estonian parliament.

People’s Union chairman Karel Ruutli told the newspaper Eesti Päevaleht his party was debating the merits of allowing its 10 members of parliament to join the government.

“The party is having very big discussion. There are people who feel that the People’s Union coalition should join, and there are those who believe the opposite,” he said. After a decade-long boom, Estonia became the first country in the European Union to slip into recession in 2008.

Ansip : I may or may not resign ...!

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said yesterday that he would resign if a new coalition was formed, writes Äripäev.

Commenting the statement made by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Ansip said that if Reform Party and IRL reach an agreement with the People’s Union over setting up a new coalition, he would resign.

Ansip said that he agrees with the view of President Ilves that a Prime Minister who forms a new coalition should step down.

He added, however, that there are no laws nor current practice that request it.

“There is no guarantee that there will be a new coalition. Therefore, it could be that we will become a minority government. This means that there will not be effectively a new government and a new coalition,” said Ansip.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Mart Laar’s chances to become the new PM are improving

IRL chairman Mart Laar who has already been the PM twice could be heading for the job again, writes Äripäev.

The statement made by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves yesterday in which he said that after accepting to recall three cabinet ministers of Social Democrats, he would like to see a new government and a new PM.

The worst case scenario is that the Reform Party will go into opposition after 10 years on power. If this happens, they should blame only themselves for it.

In the opinion of Äripäev, the best positioned for becoming the next prime minister is Mart Laar, chairman of IRL.

IRL may get new energy from President’s statement and look for new partners. In effect, the end result now depends on IRL and Centre Party.

It may well be that the President spoiled the clever scheme of the Reform Party that hoped to quietly replace Social Democrats with People’s Union in the three-party coalition. This has given IRL the opportunity to say that even the President wants to see a new head of government.

The big question now is whether IRL is interested and motivated enough to take the leadership in these tough times.

To have a majority government, IRL needs either Reform Party or Centre Party. The big question is whether IRL is ready to team up with Centre Party and its leader Edgar Savisaar. If Centre Party wishes to add more partners there are Social Democrats and People’s Union.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Estonia president slams Klaus over Russia remarks

Estonia's President Toomas Hendrik Ilves on Friday slammed his Czech counterpart Vaclav Klaus for suggesting the EU should pay more attention to Russia's interests than those of its own Baltic members.

"I believe I know President Klaus' words do not reflect the positions of the Czech people or the Czech government but I am surprised that such a regrettable phrase, which divides European countries into important and unimportant ones, were expressed by a Czech," Ilves told the Baltic News Service.

The Czech Republic currently holds the rotating presidency of the 27-nation European Union.

The eurosceptic Klaus is much closer to Russia than many fellow leaders in ex-communist Europe, notably those in the EU's three Baltic states, which were directly under Moscow's rule until 1991 and have rocky relations with their former master.

"I don't see Russia as a threat but as a big, strong and ambitious country to which we must certainly pay more attention than to the likes of (EU members) Estonia and Lithuania," Klaus declared in the Czech daily Lidove Noviny ahead of talks with Moscow on Thursday and Friday.

The Estonian foreign ministry said it had summoned the Czech ambassador over Klaus' comments.

No compensation for Padar

BBN reported via Äripäev : the Minister for Finances of Estonia Ivari Padar, who has been recalled after the Social Democrat, being left the coalition, will not receive the compensation, informs LETA.

Padar's powers as MP will be restored; he has no right to a severance fee.

Unlike Padar, the Minister for Interior Affaires Jüri Pihl after the leaving of his office will receive six months salary in compensation in the total amount of 374,088 kroons less income tax.

Juhan Tere

Medvedev´s Falsification Commission may be harmful or useless !

Vienna – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s commission to block “ the falsification of history at the expense of the interests of Russia’ will either be harmful to Medvedev’s reputation and Russia’s prospects for reform or prove useless as an operational body, even if it says a very great deal about the habit of mind of its authors.

            “The struggle against the falsifications of history,” Memorial’s Arseny Roginsky argues, “is not an affair of the state,” and consequently, “the activity of the new commission will be useless or harmful” because “we all know very well how [the Russian] state struggles with falsifications” (www.polit.ru/event/2009/05/19/historyfalse.html).

            “Truth,” he continues, “is achieved not by the resolution of a state commission, even the highest created by decree of the president but is defined in free discussion among professionals or simply among people, among societies and peoples in various countries if this involves the definition of one and the same event.”

            But clearly few in Russia expect this new body to produce that kind of truth. Indeed, the titles of some of articles about Medvedev’s action make that entirely clear: “A New Fascism” (www.ej.ru/?a=note&id=9098), “A State Built on Lies” (net14.org/?p=66), and “A Commission against History” (www.polit.ru/country/2009/05/19/history.html).

Edgar Savisaar : none of Ansip's forecasts or promises comes true

BBN quoted Eesti Ekspress: the Mayor of Tallinn Edgar Savisaar claimed that the time has shown – Andrus Ansip is a man who never keeps his promises, and his forecasts never prove to be realistic, informs LETA.

According to Savisaar, Ansip's plan is to beat the euro drum and tell everybody that it will rescue the economy.

"The fact is that it is not a miracle cure that removes all our problems. You can join the euro zone only if you have a strong and sustainable economy," Savisaar said.

The Mayor of Tallinn emphasized that Estonia's transition to euro is not quite realistic.

"My question is whether transition to euro is realistic or is it only a pretext to justify budget cuts ?" Savisaar asked.

"If the budget is cut, consumption is affected. This in turn will bring less revenue in the budget that causes a new need to cut the budget. So it's a vicious never-ending circle that Ansip is in," the politician said.

According to the Mayor, Estonia's level of foreign debt of 4.8% is great, but the problem is that Estonia does not have economic stimulus plans like other countries.

"We are patching budget holes, not investing in the future," said he.

Juhan Tere

Estonia PM eyes new govt, ditches allies amid row

TALLINN - Estonia's prime minister on Thursday fired three ministers from a junior coalition partner following a fight over what budget cuts to make in the deepening recession, but said he aimed to form a new ruling alliance.

The row between Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, whose Reform Party heads the three-party coalition, and his Social Democratic partners flared up over plans to cut unemployment benefit to save money and keep to a target of adopting the euro in 2011.

'It is honest to acknowledge that this coalition composition is no longer able to act,' Ansip told a news conference.

He sought and won approval from the president to fire the three Social Democrats, including the finance minister. The other two posts were population minister and interior minister.

President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said in a statement a new government should win parliament approval before taking office.

Ansip said the agriculture minister, from the second-largest coalition group Pro Patria-Res Publica, would temporarily run the finance portfolio.

Ansip said he would now seek talks with the centre-right People's Union opposition party to bring them into the government to secure a majority in the 101-seat parliament.

Estonian PM seeks to kick rival party out of ruling coalition

TALLINN --The government of recession-hit Estonia lurched into crisis Thursday as Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said he would kick a center-left party out of his ruling coalition.

"I will ask the president to release from duty the three Social Democrat ministers," the center-right Ansip told reporters after weeks of infighting over the Baltic state's anti-crisis austerity drive. "It's obvious that we can't achieve further budget cuts in the current coalition."

Interior Minister Juri Pihl of the Social Democrats hit back at the premier, telling reporters Ansip was "to blame for creating the crisis and paralyzing the work of the coalition."

Ansip's announcement came only hours after the cabinet had finally agreed a new round of spending cuts, including an 8% reduction in civil service pay and a 4% salary cut for teachers. Those measures, which must get a green light from parliament, were the latest move in an ongoing belt-tightening drive.

Government threatens to split

TALLINN - The ongoing internal bickering between ruling coalition parties is deepening, with the main issues of contention now threatening to break up the government.

Postimees Online reported that the Reform Party and Pro Patria and Res Publica Union are considering pushing the Social Democrats out of the coalition as arguments between the three parties remain unresolved. 

Local press has reported that the two parties began negotiations with the People’s Union on May 15.

Estonia PM aims to fire coalition partner ministers

TALLINN - Estonia's prime minister said on Thursday he aimed to fire three ministers from the government's junior coalition party after weeks of dispute over how to handle the financial crisis.

The row between Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, whose Reform Party heads a three-party coalition, and his Social Democratic coalition partner has involved how to make tough budget cuts and change labour laws to save money due to a sharp recession.

Ansip told a news conference that he would go today to the president to ask leave to fire all three of the Social Democratic ministers, including the finance minister.

Reporting by David Mardiste ; Writing by Patrick Lannin ; Editing by Louise Ireland

Savisaar wants to see Indrek Neivelt as the next PM

Toomas Hõbemägi

In the opinion of Savisaar, such a government could be headed by former Hansabank chairman Indrek Neivelt. “It is important that the prime minister and finance minister are non-political experts,” said Centre Party in its statement.

In the opinion of Savisaar, other possible candidates to the post of the prime minister are businessman and former minister of transport Raivo Vare, former law chancellor Allar Jõks and current head of State Audit Office Mihkel Oviir.

Savisaar introduced the idea to Estonia’s president Toomas Hendrik Ilves last week.

According to the Centre Party, the new government would be set up by representatives of all parliamentary parties. Its objective would be to consolidate all political forces to overcome the current economic crisis and to find a rapid solution to the growing unemployment problem.

“The problem today is that the current coalition on power is unable to make the necessary decisions to overcome the crisis because of political conflicts between various parties,” said Centre Party.

Centre Party said that it will today contact all parliamentary parties to start negotiations over setting up the new government.

The party also said that it was important that government ministers have earlier experience as ministers. “There is no time to train people on the job to become ministers,” said the party in its statement.

Together on the job

How do we protect our critical infrastructure effectively ? The recent meet in the Estonian capital stressed joint action ..

R.K.Raghavan

Repeated assessments of leading think-tanks in the US tell us that India can once again be subjected to a 26/11. Against this backdrop it is only sensible that we look at every known vulnerability in our schemes to protect our megacities, the favourite terrorist targets, and take appropriate preventive measures.

My own impression is that our critical infrastructure — power, water, air traffic control and telecommunication — offers easy inroads to the determined terrorist. The latter could combine frontal physical attacks with assaults on our critical infrastructure, a cocktail that can deal a deadly blow to our assets.

India is particularly disadvantaged in this respect, because all our neighbours are weighed down by grave public disorder. They also harbour elements inimical to India. This is one reason why regional coordination and exchange of information and intelligence becomes extremely difficult. To that extent, protection of our infrastructure and information systems too is a challenging task.

Tallinn meet takeaways

These were the thoughts that overwhelmed me when I read reports recently of a two-day conference (April 27-28, 2009) of the European Union (EU) devoted to critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP) held in Tallinn, the Estonian capital.

Estonia coalition talks to opposition over budget

TALLINN - Two parties in Estonia's governing coalition on Saturday held talks with an opposition party fuelling speculation they could form a new coalition to overcome a political impasse on budget cuts and a labour law.

Estonia's three-party coalition of the Reform Party, Pro Patria and Res Publica Union, and Social Democrats has to reach agreement on contributions to a new unemployment fund and cuts to the state budget to hold down its deficit.

But economic growth has collapsed with the economy contracting by 15.6 percent in the first quarter of this year and manufacturing has fallen by over 20 percent in the small open economy.

Delegates from the Reform Party and the Pro Patria and Res Publica Union met representatives from the opposition People's Union.

"There were consultations with the People's Union today to find a solution to the new employment law and they met for four and a half hours," a Reform Party spokesman said.

He said the parties may meet again on Monday."

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip of the Reform Party has been frustrated in dealing with the Social Democrats over finding agreement on the new employment law that aims to increase flexibility in the labour market and increase contributions to the unemployment fund.

The Social Democrats have also raised the idea of increasing taxes and introducing graduated income tax, which is an anathema to two conservative parties that support the present flat rate system.

The Reform party have 31 seats in parliament, Pro Patria and Res Publica Union have 19 and the Social Democrats have 10 seats in the 101 seat house. The People's Union has 6 seats in parliament.

Martin Breuer : raising of taxes is not the solution for Estonia

Juhan Tere

BBN reported via Äripäev: the debates related to the possible rise of income tax took place in Estonia recently where the Estonian Minister for Finances also proposed to solve the budget problem, but the Foreign Investors' Council in Estonia Martin Breuer claims that it is not the solution for Estonia, writes LETA.

The Foreign Investors Council in Estonia finds these proposals very alarming. Going that direction would destroy the "light" bureaucracy and "light" taxes that Estonia has nourished for itself over the last 17 years.

Estonia became the brave example of a light model of the Government for the countries and policy makers worldwide, the expert pointed out.

The Council called on the inhabitants of Estonia to appreciate and protect the important foundation of the Estonian Model, although times are not the easy one now.

From the very beginning the successful inflow of foreign investments, the success was rooted in the Estonian model of light government that is still very much valid today. It might by itself not be a sufficient answer to solve all economic problems but it is a precondition to it.

Martin Breuer stated that the Estonian Model is one of the few effective weapons that Estonia, being a small country, could employ.

OSCE chief dismisses criticism

RFE/RL: This week Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves told RFE/RL that “any consensus-based organization, as the OSCE is, will lead to a common denominator and the common denominator when it comes to democracy is fairly low.” He criticized the fact that one veto can spoil an initiative or decision. He also said ODHIR, which monitors elections, has shown itself to be susceptible to pressure from countries that don’t embrace democratic values to pull back its monitoring activities. How do you respond ?

De Brichambaut: Well, I would respectively point [out] that the OSCE, when it makes its assessment, makes it in relation to a principle, not to consensus-making. The election-monitoring conclusions are an assessment  of how well the standards and commitments that exist within the organization have been fulfilled and whether any progress has been achieved since previous democratic consultations.

And in this sense, sometimes people are misled [by] the comments that take place immediately after the vote, which are usually rather mild and coded, and [they] do not pay enough attention to the much more substantial reports that come out two or three months after the vote, which outline in great detail all the characteristics of the vote and the potential voting process and the state of democracy in a given country. And they point to the necessary adjustments and changes.

So on this particular issue, we do not seek to please. We seek to remind people of their commitments and how they have to do more in order to fulfill them.