BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

The President of the Republic to make a visit to Finland

PRELIMINARY NOTICE: The President of the Republic to make a visit to Finland

31.03.2005

President Arnold Rüütel and Mrs. Ingrid Rüütel will embark on Saturday, April 2, for a visit to the Republic of Finland. The visit will take place on an invitation of the Head of Finnish state Tarja Halonen and will, first of all, focus on the Estonian-Finnish cultural cooperation topics.

Saturday afternoon the President of the Republic will meet with the President of the Republic of Finland Tarja Halonen. After that, President Rüütel and Mrs. Ingrid Rüütel and Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Mr. Pentti Arajärvi will enjoy the concert performance of Tauno Pylkkanen’s opera “Mare and her Son”, which is a joint production of the Estonian National Opera and the Finnish National Opera. This Finnish composer’s opera, which subject matter is pertaining to Estonia, is based on a play written by Aino Kallas and its plot takes place in Viljandi in 1343.

The Estonian Ambassador in Finland Matti Maasikas will accompany the Head of State. The President of the Republic will return back to Estonia on Sunday, April 3.

Public Relations Unit of the Office of the President
Kadriorg, March 31, 2005

As it was thought, it is ANDRUS

But I didn't like to announce it yesterday ...

TALLINN (Reuters) - Estonia's president on Thursday namedcenter-right Reform Party leader Andrus Ansip as next primeminister, a move expected to see the Baltic state's currentpro-West and European Union policies stay intact.

The appointment, confirmed by a spokesman for PresidentArnold Ruutel, means Ansip now has 2 weeks to form agovernment. It will be the 12th administration since Estoniawon independence from Moscow in 1991.

Ansip is expected to try to form a new rainbow coalition,spanning the political spectrum from left to right. Theprevious center-right coalition of Juhan Parts fell last weekafter a no-confidence vote sparked by internal bickering.

TIIU : Jean-Paul Gaultier

SEE ME (+ my 900 pictures)

Tough times for Estonian Air facing KLM-Air France

Yesterday and the day before yesterday, flyNordic and KLM made their first flights from Tallinn, offering the national carrier Estonian Air some tough competition. “It is not our plan that Estonian Air will end its flights,” claimed Harm Kreulen, head of KLM’s Northern Europe branch. He believes that there is enough room for two players on the Amsterdam route, as the number of passengers at Tallinn International Airport grew by 35 percent last year. If the seat factor is at least 70 percent in the first year, KLM will add a second plane. The figure for the first flight was 60 percent. In total, KLM flies to 225 destinations in cooperation with Air France. “Estonian Air offers flights to people who want to go from Tallinn to Amsterdam, but we offer flights to those who want to go from Tallinn to the world,” explained Pierre De Baecque, head of Air France’s Northern Europe region.

Main activity of Estonian Air in loss last year.

According to data published yesterday, Estonian Air’s operating loss in 2004 amounted to EEK 8.7 million (EUR 0.55 million). In addition, the company is falling behind in an ever-growing market. Although the national carrier ended the year in profit of nearly EEK 30 million, the operating loss is disappointing. In earlier statements, the company only discussed its profit. CEO Olev Schults admitted that the company fell behind the general market development last year. This was especially significant in terms of charter flights. Estonian Air has not been able to find a new executive manager, even though the competition ended two months ago. Employees have started to resign due to future uncertainty and pilots are demanding higher wages.

Looking for a Prime Minister

President Rüütel met on Tuesday with Andrus Ansip, chairman of the Party of Reforms who gave his ideas about a coalition that could form a cabinet of ministers.

The presidential press service told Itar-Tass that Rüütel would meet leaders of other parties in the coming days.

Sources close to the presidential chancellery said a candidate for the prime minister could be called within two days.

Many expect that the leader of reformists, Andrus Ansip, will be commissioned to form a new government.

No phone sex for Estonians

Tallinn* - Owners of erotic telephone chat services in Estonia are complaining of drooping customer interest, which even up-front advertising has been unable to revive, a report in Eesti Paevaleht daily newspaper said on Tuesday.

Reval Marketing, one of the biggest owners of sex chat lines in the northernmost of the Baltic states, has been in the red for most of the recent past and has started looking for new fields of activity - such as working as business consultants for foreign investors - in order to survive, the paper said.

"A meagre income has forced us to expand into other areas," a spokesperson said.

"The owners of sex lines, which upset many late-night TV viewers with their lurid advertising, refuse to say how many calls they receive," the newspaper reported.

The advertisements on television show semi-clad, well-endowed women wriggling on the screen and pleading to viewers to call up and "ask anything".

A spokesperson for Reval said callers ask "different things", including how to bake a cake.

"But of course they do speak on intimate topics," the spokesperson said.

Chat line advertising has brought loud criticism from many Estonian TV viewers, but the consumer protection association has ruled that the advertisements do not qualify as obscene and can be run on commercial channels.

Intervention by the consumer protection association has brought one change, however, with the chat line ads only allowed to run after 11pm.

The Sea in Tallinn

25-03-2005

********* By Daniel Andersson *********

Experiencing the world

Ooh ! Almost forgot.
I've been to Paldiski !
Paldiski is a former russian army base. When the russians pulled out of Estonia (in 1991 ?), the town was more or less deserted.

There are still people living there (and apparently it's growing), but it felt like a ghost town.

Houses with missing roofs, houses with smashed up windows and so on.
Even some of the houses that seemed to have habitats were baaad (to say the least). It's very difficult to explain, really needs to be seen to grasp how it is.

The odd thing was, before I moved to Estonia I expected the whole of Estonia to be like that, to be like Paldiski.

As it proved, it was very incorrect, but that's the picture you get if you live in Sweden (or the UK for that matter). I'm glad I was wrong, Estonia is beautiful.

.......................

In short :
* we went to Paldiski (with Helen, Heiki, Vaike and Vaikes friend + Vaikes friends son)
* we went to Tartu (to visit Helen & friends), there we went for good food and clubbing. And met Katri & Piret (friends of Helen).
* we went clubbing at Decolte, to discover that russians walk (& look) very cockey(!) and that a lot of girls wear very little.
* we went clubbing at Club Hollywood, where we met Håkan.
* we had lunch more or less every day at Café VS. We didn't tip the girl serving us, even though she was quite good, not at first anyway. We decided that she deserved some tip so we went to the bank, changed 400 EEK into 2 kroona notes (ie 200 of them), went to VS and handed over 100 2 kroona notes each. Think she was a bit shocked, but happy. She even gave us her email/MSN-address, scha la la la !
* we worked a whole day from Café VS.
* we (or Heiki) poured beer onto the heating thing in the sauna. One would think the sauna would smell of beer, but no no. It smelt of toasted bread ! (fyi, wine didn't work very well !).

Estonia Business : Week 12 - 2005

Monday, 21st of March, 2005

Turnover of Qualitex to reach over EEK 110 million
According to unaudited data, the net turnover of the textile industry AS Qualitex amounted EEK 110.5 million by the profit of EEK 0.7 million. In 2003, the turnover reached EEK 109.7 million.
Äripäev

Tuesday, 22nd of March, 2005

DFDS Transport turnover over EEK 400 million
In 2004 DFDS Transport was able to increase its realized net turnover to EEK 423 million, profit reached EEK 34,5 million. Last year turnover of expeditor company was EEK 381 million and profit EEK 33,5 million
Äripäev

Wednesday, 23rd of March, 2005

Estonian Air turnover to reach almost EEK 1 billion
Aviation company Estonian Air served EEK 29.5 million in profit by the turnover of EEK 948.6 million. Olev Schults, CEO of Estonian Air claimed that this is an extraordinary profit that was formed by property sales, unrealised expenses of technical reserve and insurance premiums that reach back to 2001.
Eesti Päevaleht

Thursday, 24th of March, 2005

Production of laptops doubled
Although the general manufacturing of computers decreased in February by 326 computers compared to January, the manufacturing of laptops increased significantly. Both ML Arvutid and desknote manufactured almost two times more laptops than in January. Market leader Ordi managed to grow production of laptops by 3.4 percent. Although K-Arvutisalong did not manufacture any laptops in February, the sale was a record 498 laptops. Datagate grew computer production by 13.3 percent compared to same period last year. It is prognosticated that the manufacturing of computers will increase in March.
Äripäev

Swedbank : Hansapank Release

24.03.05

Opinion of the Supervisory Council of AS Hansapank *

This opinion is issued by the Supervisory Council of AS Hansapank pursuant to Article 171 (2) of the Estonian Law on Securities Markets (Väärtpaberituru seadus) and pursuant to Article 21 of the Rules on Takeover Bids (Ülevõtmispakkumisreeglid) approved by the Decree of the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Estonia No 71 of 28 May 2002 in connection with the amended takeover bid dated 22 March 2005 (the “Amended Offer”) made by FöreningsSparbanken AB (“Swedbank”) to shareholders of AS Hansapank (the “Bank”).

The Amended Offer supersedes the original takeover bid released by Swedbank on 1 March 2005 (the “Offer”).

At the beginning of the year imports decreased

In January 2005 the value of Estonia’s imports was 7.9 billion kroons and the amount of imports decreased by 12% compared to December 2004.*

The value of Estonia’s foreign trade by special trade system in January 2005 was 14.3 billion kroons, of which exports was 6.4 billion kroons (45%) and imports was 7.9 billion kroons (55%). The trade deficit was 1.5 billion kroons.

ESTONIA’S FOREIGN TRADE 2004–2005

Month	Exports				Imports
	million kroons		change compared to		million kroons		change compared to
	2004	2005	previous month, %	same month of previous year, %	2004	2005	previous month, %	same month of previous year, %
December	6 004,1				9 022,8
January	4 933,3	6 359,2 a	5,9	28,9	6 649,8	7 904,2 a	-12,4	18,9

^a Preliminary data.

Compared to December 2004, there was a remarkable decrease in the imports of machinery and equipment (by 395 million kroons), of transport equipment (by 189 million kroons), of agricultural products and food preparations (by 166 million kroons), of optical, measuring, medical instruments and apparatus (by 115 million kroons) and of metals and products thereof (by 79 million kroons). At the same time, there was an increase only in the imports of footwear, headgear and other articles (by 14 million kroons).

In January the share of EU countries in imports was 76% and the share of CIS countries in imports was 14% of total imports. The main partner in imports was Finland (20% of total imports).

Compared to December 2004, there was an increase mainly in the exports of mineral products (by 329 million kroons), of metals and products thereof (by 150 million kroons), of wood and products thereof (by 76 million kroons) and of miscellaneous manufactured articles (by 52 million kroons). At the same time, there was a decrease in the exports of machinery and equipment (by 96 million kroons), of agricultural products and food preparations (by 74 million kroons) and of transport equipment (by 46 million kroons).

In January the share of EU countries in exports was 73% and the share of CIS countries in exports was 7% of total exports. The main partner in exports was Finland (20% of total exports).

EXPORTS AND IMPORTS BY COMMODITY SECTIONS January 2005

Commodity section by HS	Exports		Imports		Foreign trade balance in Januar, (+,-) million kroons
	million kroons	%	million kroons	%
TOTAL	6 359,2	100,0	7 904,2	100,0	-1 545,0
Agricultural products and food preparations (I–IV)	418,3	6,6	639,4	8,1	-221,1
Mineral products (V)	691,2	10,9	797,9	10,1	-106,7
Raw materials and products of chemical industry (VI)	333,9	5,3	619,6	7,8	-285,7
Articles of plastics and rubber (VII)	148,3	2,3	360,7	4,6	-212,4
Raw hides, leather, furskins and articles thereof (VIII)	39,3	0,6	44,3	0,6	-5,0
Wood and products thereof (IX)	758,2	11,9	303,1	3,8	455,1
Paper and articles thereof (X)	101,5	1,6	161,7	2,1	-60,2
Textiles and products thereof (XI)	456,1	7,2	465,0	5,9	-8,9
Footwear, headgear and other articles XII)	39,6	0,6	57,0	0,7	-17,4
Articles of stone, cement, glassware and ceramic products (XIII)	87,8	1,4	123,0	1,6	-35,2
Metals and products thereof (XV)	575,9	9,1	903,4	11,4	-327,5
Machinery and equipment (XVI)	1 623,3	25,5	2 268,1	28,7	-644,8
Transport equipment (XVII)	380,3	6,0	846,2	10,7	-465,9
Optical, measuring, medical instruments and apparatus (XVIII)	99,5	1,6	129,6	1,6	-30,1
Miscellaneous manufactured articles (XX)	569,2	8,8	166,5	2,1	402,7
Other	36,8	0,6	18,7	0,2	18,1

SHARE OF COUNTRIES IN ESTONIA’S EXPORTS AND IMPORTS b January 2005

Groups of countries, countries	Exports		Groups of countries, countries	Imports
	million kroons	%		million kroons	%
TOTAL	6 359,2	100,0	TOTAL	7 904,2	100,0
EU-25	4 663,3	73,3	EU-25	5 974,0	75,6
CIS	463,5	7,3	CIS	1 099,2	13,9
1. Finland	1 283,2	20,2	1. Finland	1 613,5	20,4
2. Sweden	901,9	14,2	2. Germany	1 074,9	13,6
3. Germany	538,4	8,5	3. Russian Federation	942,8	11,9
4. United States	463,1	7,3	4. Sweden	776,2	9,8
5. Latvia	434,9	6,8	5. Lithuania	508,6	6,4
6. Russian Federation	378,2	6,0	6. Latvia	319,3	4,0
7. United Kingdom	256,6	4,0	7. Poland	274,5	3,5
8. Lithuania	256,5	4,0	8. Netherlands	240,7	3,1
9. Hungary	206,5	3,3	9. Denmark	197,4	2,5
10. Denmark	204,8	3,2	10. United Kingdom	169,0	2,1

^b As the country of consignment is used as a partner country in the statistics on trade between Member States this concept is also used for the whole trade figures shown in this table.

* The data collection system of the foreign trade statistics changed due to the Estonia’s accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004. As previously, data about the trade of Estonia with non-EU countries (so-called third states) are based on customs declarations (Extrastat), however, statistical surveys (Intrastat) are now used for collecting data about the trade between EU Member States.

As Intrastat survey covers only enterprises, which enterprises whose value of arrival or entering goods from or dispatch or outgoing goods to the EU Member States is exceeded 1 million Estonian kroons, and not all enterprises in the sample submit their reports on time, statistical methods are used to estimate the value of total trade. Estimated figures are revised upon receiving additional information.

Statistics compiled by special trade system on the basis of Intrastat reports do not coincide with the data compiled by special trade system on the basis of customs declarations. Large proportion of goods, which moved in customs warehouses under the supervision of customs authorities and which were not taken into account in statistics according to the rules of the special trade system, are now in free circulation and included in statistics as customs warehouses were replaced by intermediate depots in the case of the internal EU trade.

For further information : Jelena Pere Leading statistician Foreign Trade Statistics Service Statistical Office of Estonia Tel +372 6259 216

Estonia and the EU

Estonia calls...

Posté par Darabaci le 24-03-2005 01:38 AM

Mr Juhan Parts,
when you were invited to join the EU, did you really believe that the existing members such as france loved you ?
Of course not.
You were brought in to expand the market for the french goods. Full stop.
When you legitimately offer cheaper services in return, you threaten the livelihood of the french and that would not do !!!! "Non non" !!
You have to keep on buying french goods but keep your cheap labour in your own country.
Otherwise you are not a good member....
Noughty boy !!!!

Estonia lures new tourists

MUSIC, SHOPPING, CLUBS AND BEER THRIVE IN CAPITAL'S OLD TOWN

By Kristin Jackson

Seattle Times

TALLINN - On the steps of Alexandr Nevsky cathedral, a half-dozen old women begged for money, their creased faces framed by flowered head scarves. They stood quietly, stooped shoulder to stooped shoulder, their eyes beseeching tourists to drop coins in their little brass cups.

A few blocks and a world away, a marching band blared out tunes in Tallinn's cobbled central square, Raekoja Plats, parading in front of its 600-year-old town hall. Scandinavian tourists lounged in outdoor cafes, knocking back beers or shopped in trendy boutiques to the thump of techno music.

Tallinn, the capital of the Baltic nation of Estonia, has one of the best-preserved medieval town centers in Northern Europe. Its Old Town is a historic enclave of cobbled streets, centuries-old steep-roofed buildings and slender steeples.

Yet Estonia is firmly planted in 21st-century Western Europe. Freed from 50 years of harsh Soviet rule after communism crumbled, Estonia became an independent country in 1991. Its economy has boomed, and it joined the European Union in May.

The Soviet past lingers, however. Dreary Soviet-style concrete apartment buildings pockmark Tallinn's outskirts. A third of Estonia's 1.5 million people are ethnic Russians, and there's festering resentment against them, with battles over language and citizenship rights.

For visitors, a trip to Tallinn is a chance to see a society in transition, from Soviet bloc to capitalist West, amid postcard-perfect medieval architecture. The port city of a half-million people is an easy side trip from Scandinavia and from the Finnish capital Helsinki, which is just a two-hour hydrofoil ride away.

Old Town delights

I joined cheerful crowds strolling through Tallinn's Old Town on a July day. Swedes and Finns swarm here, especially in summer when the sun hardly sets, for the shopping, cutting-edge nightclubs and liquor that's far cheaper than in their heavily taxed homelands. Cruise ships on Northern European routes also regularly call at Tallinn, disgorging a polyglot of nationalities, including an increasing number of Americans.

Latest TIIU

TIIU,

Francisco Costa + Oscar de la Renta

Calvin Klein

More beautiful than ever

Passengers fill vessels to Estonia

Fast vessels not expected in service until mid-April.

Passenger ferries between Helsinki and the Estonian capital Tallinn are expected to continue to be nearly fully booked at least until mid-April. The only ships that can navigate the Gulf of Finland during winter are the large, relatively slow vessels that can plow through floating ice.
      The smaller high-speed hydrofoils and catamarans are not expected to be in service until mid-April at the earliest.
      Ice conditions have changed considerably since January, when it appeared that real winter conditions might not come at all.
       Håkan Nordström, CEO of the Tallink shipping line, says that even in late February it looked like the fast vessels might be taken into service already during Easter. However, a subsequent cold snap has led to thicker, longer-lasting ice.
      If there is no letup in the ice situation before then, Tallink is considering bringing an extra car-passenger ferry onto the Helsinki-Tallinn route for the weekend of April 15th - 17th to accommodate the approximately 2,000 people who have booked a crossing on the fast vessels. The ship that would be used is currently sailing the Tallinn-Stockholm route.
      
In addition to the ice conditions that prevent the hydrofoils and catamarans from operating, the shipping lines report a sharp increase in demand over the previous year.
      There are also seasonal factors, such as the current Easter weekend, which attract large numbers of passengers.
      "There has been a constant increase in the number of passengers since early May", says Taru Keronen, CEO of Eckerö Line.
      At the beginning of May last year Estonia joined the European Union. In addition to Finns attracted by the unlimited amounts of cheap alcoholic beverages they are allowed to bring from other EU countries, there are more Estonians who work in Finland and travel home for the weekend. These weekend commuters are expected to switch to the fast vessels as soon as they begin operating again.
      However, most of the passengers on the large ferries prefer the slower pace, giving them plenty of time to enjoy the bars, restaurants, and entertainment on board.
      "When Estonia joined the EU, it was feared that the cruises would lose popularity", notes Tuomas Nylund of Silja Line. "Nevertheless, the popularity of the cruises has exceeded expectations", he says.

POST-SOVIET BALTICS UNFRIENDLY TO RUSSIA

2005-03-25 (22:10)     * RUSSIA * BALTICS * OPINION PROBE *
MOSCOW (RIA Novosti) - Approximately two thirds of the Russian population think the post-Soviet Baltic countries are biased against Russia. 64 % said so with reference to Latvia. The same opinion concerning Lithuania and Estonia came from 61 % for either country.

The figures come from a probe the Public Opinion foundation made, March 19 into 20, in a hundred settlements of 44 Russian Federation constituent entities-regions, territories and republics. 1,500 respondents were interviewed in their residence places. 600 Muscovites also answered supplementary questionnaires. Statistical error is within 3.6 %.

A mere 14-15 % of respondents referred to the three Baltic countries as friendly. More than a half-56 %, to be precise-would like relations with them to improve, while 11 % were dead set against whatever rapprochement.

Roughly a half of respondents had paid attention to information about the Lithuanian and Estonian presidents refusing to come to Moscow for V-E Day 60th anniversary galas. 34 % said they knew it. "We've heard something like that," said another 19 %. A spectacular 45 % had no idea of the matter, and the interview was the first instance on which they heard the news.

Only a half of the respondents chose to answer what, they thought, underlay the refusal. Some ascribed it to a post-Soviet Baltic public prejudice against V-E celebrations. 10 % highlighted nationalist and pro-fascist moods widespread in those countries. 8 % alleged a public bias against Russia and ethnic Russians. 2 % accused the post-Soviet Baltics of arrogance and bloated ambition. 8 % said those countries regarded Russia not as their liberator in World War II but as aggressor. 1 % pointed out their grudges against Russia, stored since the past.

A mere 27 % of the respondents said the Soviet Union had incorporated the three Baltic countries against their will. 34 % were sure those countries had voluntarily joined the USSR. A mere 9 % said the Soviet years were bad to those three countries. 65 % are sure the Soviet rule was to their benefit.

76 % qualified the presidents' refusal to attend Moscow galas as an unfriendly move, while only 11 % think otherwise.

Citizenship and Nationality

27 September 2002 (Latest date for those figures)

Mother Tongue and Command of Foreign Languages

The 2000 Population and Housing Census provides census results on the citizenship, nationality, mother tongue and command of foreign languages of the Estonian population as of 31 March 2000.

Comparisons are drawn with the results of the 1989 Population Census.

Citizenship

The question on citizenship was included in the 1922 and 1934 population censuses. Citizens of Estonia numbered 1,082,145, or 97.7%, of the population in 1922, and in 1934 the respective figure was 1,112,942, or 98.8%. The population censuses conducted in Estonia during the Soviet period only recorded the citizenship of citizens from foreign states, i.e. those who were not citizens of the Soviet Union. In 1989, 39 citizens of 15 states were recorded among the resident population. 1,330 citizens from other states, mainly from Poland, Vietnam and Finland, were temporarily residing in Estonia.

The re-establishment of Estonia’s independence brought about the necessity to specify the citizenry of Estonia. The Estonian Citizens’ Committee already started to register the citizens of the Republic of Estonia in 1989 by birth and those who wished to become Estonian citizens.

In 1992 the Citizenship Act of 1938 was implemented in Estonia and the process of issuing passports to Estonian citizens started. In 1995 the new Citizenship Act entered into force, pursuant to which Estonian citizenship is acquired by birth or by naturalisation or by other procedures provided for in this act.

The Government resigned

24.03.2005

Tallinn, Stenbock House - During yesterdays session of the Government, the Prime Minister Juhan Parts announced his decision to resign on his own initiative according to paragraph 3 of section 9 of the Government of the Republic Act. Therefore, according to paragraph 2 of section 8 of the Government of the Republic Act, the Prime Minister announced the resignation of the government led by him.

The Prime Minister’s explanations concerning the resignation given to the members of the Government were the same as those stated at Parliament after the expression of no confidence in the Minister of Justice Ken-Marti Vaher on Monday. He said that the joining of the parties of coalition in the expression of no confidence in a minister shows that the cooperation capacity is gone for good.

The Prime Minister is going to notify the President of his decision immediately. He drove to Kadriorg Presidential Palace to hand in his resignation right after the session of the government.

The Government will continue its activities until a new government assumes office. During today’s session of the Government, the State Secretary denoted that there are certain limitations to the authority of the resigned government – the government should avoid making any decisions of principle or decisions that increase the expenditure of the state budget. Therefore, until a new government resumes office, there will be no cabinet meetings.

According to section 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of Estonia, the President of the Republic designates, within fourteen days after the resignation of the Government, a candidate for the Prime Minister, to whom the President of the Republic assigns the task of forming a new government.
Within fourteen days after receiving the task of forming a new government, the candidate for Prime Minister presents the bases for the formation of the forthcoming government to the Parliament, after which the Parliament decides, without debate and by an open vote, whether to authorize the candidate for Prime Minister to form a government.

If the candidate for Prime Minister designated by the President does not receive a majority of votes in favour from the Parliament, or is unable or declines to form a government, the President has the right to present a second candidate for Prime Minister within seven days. If the President does not present a second candidate for Prime Minister within seven days or declines to do so, or if the second candidate is unable to obtain authority from the Parliament, or is unable or declines to form a government, then the right to nominate a candidate for Prime Minister transfers to the Parliament.

The Parliament nominates a candidate for Prime Minister who will present the membership of a government to the President. If the membership of a government is not presented to the President within fourteen days, the President of the Republic declares extraordinary elections to the Parliament.

Yours truly,

Government Communication Office
Tel +372 693 5792, +372 693 5719

Stalin's ANNEXATION

It is ironic that on September 17, 1939, the day that the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland, the Polish submarine "Orzel", which had been falsely accused of sinking a Soviet steamer, left Tallinn harbour. Because the Estonians did not prevent this departure, the Soviets accused the Estonians of not being able to provide proper security for Soviet interests, and thus they began to patrol Estonian coastal waters and airspace while demanding bases for its military.

On September 24, with 160,00 Soviet troops on the border, Molotov delivered an ultimatum to the Estonian government. Under duress on September 28, the Estonian cabinet agreed to a Mutual Assistance Pact with the Soviets giving up naval, air and army bases for 25,000 troops.

Although the new Estonian government claimed to be independent, as stated in the New York Times, "Estonia had been reduced to a kind of protectorate".

The Soviets exceeded their agreed-upon troop limits in October 1939 in Estonia, but full Sovietization was not yet implemented. Soviet attention at this time was focused on the subjugation of the population of eastern Poland and on territory acquisition from Finland.

The calling home of Baltic German citizens in the autumn of 1939 was a bad omen for Estonia, (and also Latvia and Lithuania). For a half year there existed an uneasy anticipation of impending doom amongst the Baltic peoples, although there was also hope that further German geopolitical moves could possibly save the Baltic countries from Soviet domination.

The Soviets did not move to fully subjugate the Baltic countries until after peace with Finland was signed, and the Nazis had defeated France in June 1940.

On June 16, 1940, the Estonians were presented with another ultimatum, and the next day Soviet troops swarmed across the border unopposed, seizing the country completely in two days.

To lead in the subjugation of the Estonians, Stalin employed Andrei Zhdanov, a trusted executioner of the Great Terror and Politburo representative. In Estonia, Zhdanov created a "spontaneous uprising" of the working people on June 21, using Russian workers.

Estonia premier submits resignation as coalition talks begin

TALLINN - Prime Minister Juhan Parts has handed in his resignation, giving President Arnold Rüütel two weeks to find a new candidate for the post as coalition talks get underway.

Geodis launches new European groupage service

On 1st April 2005, Geodis will launch Eurofirst,  a groupage service that will enable the company to respond more effectively to the growth in European economic exchanges.

(3/24/2005)

In 2004, Geodis surveyed 200 shippers in France to establish their requirements, particularly regarding export. 97.2% of the managers surveyed wish to be kept informed if there is a problem, 96.6% want a single contact person, and more than 87% would like a definite time limit for providing proof of delivery.

Eurofirst will offer regular definite dispatches, on-line shipment tracking, proof of delivery via the Internet/e-mail/fax within 4 days, a quality report on request, standardised operating procedures, and a single contact person.

Starting with the ten main European countries, Eurofirst will eventually cover 25 European countries - Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Eurofirst will provide the same groupage service to all customers of Geodis’ European subsidiaries and its partners (the Elix network in Germany and Transnautica in Portugal). In order to make this a success, the transport plans for Geodis’ 38 import-export hubs have all been completed and operating procedures standardised.

Members of the Eurofirst network share the same business values, use the same operating procedures and have access to a central database and standardised IT networks. This enables them to share best practices and handle aspects that are specific to each country. A set of key indicators will regularly measure their performance level.