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Latest from Paul Goble

AIDS, TB erupt from Russian jails

By PAUL GOBLE (TARTU)

Estonia, March 23 : Dramatically increasing rates of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and especially TB's antibiotic resistant variety among the Russian prison population are spreading to the broader society as well, according to two of the Russian Federation's leading specialists on prison conditions.

In lectures organized earlier this month by the Polit.ru Web site, Valeriy Abramkin and Lyudmila Al'pern, the director and deputy director of the Moscow Center for the Reform of Criminal Justice, described in detail just how that is happening.

(po russki : http://www.polit.ru/lectures/2005/03/19/tjurma.html)

Jarvi to be Chief Conductor of the Hague

DETROIT - Neeme Jarvi, who is stepping down this year as music director of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, has signed a four-year contract to be chief conductor of The Hague (news - web sites) Residentie Orchestra.

Under an agreement announced this week at a news conference in the Netherlands, Jarvi will conduct eight subscription weeks per season as well as tours and recordings. He plans to open the 2005-06 season on Sept. 20.

Jarvi, who has spent 15 years in Detroit, gave the DSO a three-year notice of his plans to step down. He suffered a stroke in 2001 that caused him to miss some performances, but since has bounced back.

Last fall, Jarvi became principal conductor and music director designate of the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra. And his three-year contract as music director starts with the 2005-2006 season.

Jarvi, 67, a native of Estonia, studied at the Leningrad Conservatory and came to the United States in 1980. He has many recordings and has served for several years as principal conductor of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.

New Skype for Windows

Skype, the Global Internet Telephony Company(TM), today launched Skype for Windows version 1.2 (v 1.2) with enhanced user benefits including a centralized Contacts list, which allows users access to their list of contacts from multiple devices from wherever they connect to Skype, and a new 'Getting Started Wizard,' which makes finding friends, importing contacts and making test calls even easier.

Skype is the leading VOIP-category product worldwide, with more than 31 million registered users growing by more than 160,000 new users per day. More than 6 billion minutes of Skype calls have been made by users around the world who have enjoyed the instantly downloadable, easy-to-use software.

Great moments do happen - A freedom story !

Uffe Ellemann-Jensen

Throughout history the vast majority of new states have been formed within the boundaries of losing powers and alliances or at the borderlines between the former great powers.

The Baltic countries on the Eastern shore of the Baltic Sea were indeed placed on the borderline between the great powers of the Cold War. The struggle for independence had been mounting for several years but it would be difficult to imagine Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania becoming free and independent European countries peacefully if the bipolar world had not fundamentally changed as it did in 1989-1991. Neither did anyone expect Baltic membership of the European Union [EU] nor NATO ten years before it happened.

The failure of one of the world's two great powers permitted the Baltic countries to move from occupied territory to free and independent states with only little bloodshed. The Baltic countries were handed a window of opportunity and used it to resume and preserve their independence, which they had lost half a century before.

2016 : high-speed train between Tallinn and Warsaw

Rail Baltica looks far more radical. A joint initiative by transport ministers from Poland and the Baltics, it foresees the creation of a high-speed, European-gauge rail link from Warsaw to Tallinn. At present, Baltic trains run on Soviet-gauge tracks, which are not compatible with the European gauge present in Poland and further west.

Conceived in 2003, the initiative has been included as a priority in the European Commission’s “TEN-T” trans-European transport plan, and the Commission has agreed to fund a preliminary feasibility study, due for completion in late 2006.

If all goes according to plan, the Warsaw-Kaunas secton should be ready in 2010, Kaunas-Riga in 2014 and Riga-Tallinn in 2016. Political clouds are already gathering over the project. As Zidkovs points out, “Everyone wants the project to come to them,” so these dates are only guidelines.

Rail Baltica seems to fit the EU’s aims better than Via Baltica. Rail transport is more environmentally friendly than road transport, improves road safety, and is potentially much faster. If Rail Baltica’s trains followed the French TGV model, they could make the journey from Tallinn to Riga in a little over two hours.

The same economic arguments backing Via Baltica apply to the rail variant. While Zidkovs admits that “at the moment there is effectively no international rail transport in the region,” he firmly believes that this will change.

“There is a clear need for such a line. If you look at a map of Europe, the only land route from the Baltics to the west is through Poland, and the conditions on Polish roads are very well known. If we look even 30 years in the future, of course there will be demand, and don’t forget that a railway line is an investment for a hundred years in the future,” he says.

It is just as well that he takes such a long view, because the cost could be formidable.

“Just to construct the new line on Latvian territory, we expect costs to reach around one billion euro, and we won’t be able to finance it all with EU money, so we will need private-sector involvement,” Zidkovs adds.

The project dwarfs Via Baltica. Biven that no technical details will be discussed until after the presentation of the EC’s study next December, it could last a generation.

“There will be public consultations in Brussels this April for stakeholders to air their views,” says Zidkovs.

And one can expect a lot more talking before the first rail is laid.

In the final analysis, both projects meet valid needs. However, the sheer expense renders their full implementation unlikely. While the Via Baltica is based on an existing road network and can thus be implemented piecemeal, Rail Baltica would require construction from scratch, with all the cost and risk that entails.

Looking at the long term, as Zidkovs recommends, the latter project is unquestionably the more promising. But long-term projects require long-term capital and political will. It may be that, come 2016, the first high-speed train will be cruising between Tallinn and Warsaw - but don’t book your tickets just yet.

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SAKU Suurhall

Men’s Tallinn Judo World Cup 2005, a stage of the judo world championship, will take place in Saku Hall sports arena (104b Paldiski Rd.) 26. - 27. märts 2005

26. ja 27 märtsil on Saku Suurhallis toimumas INFOPLUSS maailmakarika etapp Judos. Võistlused viiakse läbi vastavalt Rahvusvahelise Judo Föderatsiooni reeglite järgi. 26.03 kohtuvad mehed -60 ; -66 ; -73kg 27.03 kohtuvad mehed -81 ; -90 ; -100 ; +100kg Finaalid alates kella 15:00 st. Sissepääs tasuta ! Uksed avatakse kell 09.00 ürituse algus kell 10.00 Uksed kinni kell 17.30 Korraldajad : Eesti Judoliit www.judo.ee Spordiklubi Condor www.condor.ee

Big-city life inspires easy-listening art

TALLINN - The Occupation Museum in Tallinn cheered up its regular exhibition with a guest display by local artist and designer Igor Ziko, more formerly known as Igor Zinchenko. Yet the exhibit’s humbling realism and urban familiarity fit strangely well in the somber museum.
“Verkehrsverbindungen” (German for “traffic facilities”) features 19 paintings and graphic designs united by their somewhat mysterious motifs and distinguished artistic style.

Ziko, who also played bass guitar in Dzuma, one of Estonia’s most renowned easy-listening bands, says that the world’s potential for expression cannot leave him unaffected. Clearly, the world has left its mark on him. And it left it well.

Ziko’s artwork is a reflection of what surrounds him. The sad look on the face of a woman selling souvenir statuettes as pedestrians, armed with umbrellas, rush by on the rainy street. The redness of a woman’s dress, as a waiter slips her a white envelope in a classy restaurant. A taxi driving through a busy intersection. All these images are inspired by the fast-paced life of a modern city. Colors, forms and faces blend, twirling, into Ziko’s reality.

One may notice that the current exhibition differs significantly from the artist’s previous works. The Verkehrsverbindungen series comes closest to Ziko’s 1997 series named Cyberjazz, although it has clearly developed in style. Above all, the artist’s current works are much more elegant in technique. They are an undisputable fashion statement to today’s metropolis.

Paper air tickets may disappear by 2007

In order to cut costs and make travelling more comfortable, paper flight tickets could be substituted with e-tickets worldwide by 2007. The loss of paper tickets in aviation is one of the ways the International Air Transport Association is using to cut expenses in air traffic. Another trend is the use of self-service kiosks at airports.

Last year, kiosks were installed at Tallinn International Airport for check-in on Estonian Air flights.

Entrepreneurs expect successful season

The tourism season is starting, and it will bring a number of cruise ships to Tallinn and push the flow of tourists to Estonia.
Tourists have become an important source of income for Estonian entrepreneurs lately. In 2004, the number of foreign tourists here increased by nearly 30 percent. This year, entrepreneurs and travel agencies expect the number to rise even more.
In May, Hansabuss' double-decker buses will make city tours with an audio guide that introduces Tallinn in eight languages. From the second half of April, the Sokos Hotel Viru expects occupancy to be a consistent 100 percent during weekends.
Toila Spa is already sold out for the entire year. The new tourist season will also bring more flight routes, many of which will begin in spring : City Airline’s Tallinn-Gothenburg, flynordic’s Tallinn-Stockholm and Tallinn-Copenhagen, and Estonian Air’s Tallinn-Milan and Tallinn-Manchester. Saaremaa will become easily accessible for important target groups. It will be possible to sail there by scheduled ferry from Ventspils, Latvia, and by plane from Helsinki and Stockholm.

FS-Banken says now holds 84.3 % of Estonia's Hansabank

STOCKHOLM (AFX) - FoereningsSparbanken AB said that after purchasing shares in the open market and receiving support from major shareholders, it now holds 84.3 % of AS Hansapank (Hansabank).

.............FS-Banken A fell 0.60 % at 164.50. The bank said its stake in Estonia's Hansabank now stands at 84.3 pct after it purchased shares and received support from major shareholders.

23-03-2005 : FöreningsSparbanken purchases 5.1 per cent of the shares in Hansabank

FöreningsSparbanken AB (“FöreningsSparbanken”) has purchased an additional 16,208,649 shares in AS Hansapank (“Hansabank”), corresponding to 5.1 % of the total number of shares. This means that FöreningsSparbanken has increased the number of shares it owns from 227,085,969 shares to 243,294,618 shares in Hansabank, corresponding to an increase from 71.6 % to 76.7 % of the total number of shares.

FöreningsSparbanken reaches 84.3 % in Hansabank after purchasing shares and receiving support from major shareholders

FöreningsSparbanken AB (“FöreningsSparbanken”) has today (22-03-2005) purchased 37,581,257 shares in AS Hansapank (“Hansabank”), corresponding to 11.8 % of the total number of shares. This means that FöreningsSparbanken owns a total of 227,085,969 shares in Hansabank, corresponding to 71.6 % of the total number of shares.
In addition, FöreningsSparbanken has received written assurances from a number of Estonian investors, being represented by Rain Lõhmus, with regard to FöreningsSparbanken’s offer to the shareholders in Hansabank (the “Offer"). These investors undertake to accept the Offer with respect to the shares they control. Such investors represent 3.6 % of the total number of shares in Hansabank.
Also, Fidelity Investment Services Limited and its subsidiaries and certain affiliates, together holding shares representing 4.3 % of the total number of shares in Hansabank, have today expressed to FöreningsSparbanken that they intend to accept the Offer at the increased Offer price.
As has been previously announced in a press release published by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on 11 February 2005, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, representing 4.8 % of the total number of shares in Hansabank, has expressed its intention to accept the Offer.
This means that shareholders representing 12.7 % of the total number of shares in Hansabank have either undertaken to accept the Offer or have expressed that they intend to accept the Offer at the increased Offer price. Together with the shares already owned by FöreningsSparbanken following today’s purchase, this represents 84.3 % of the total number of shares in Hansabank.

For further information, please contact :
Henrik Kolga, Head of Corporate Communications, FöreningsSparbanken, phone +46 708 11 13 15

Res Publica, Centrists unite

TALLINN - The Tallinn branch of Res Publica signed a coalition agreement with the Center Party on March 15, forming a new ruling power bloc in the capital city.

The new agreement will focus on continuing the municipal housing program and returning public opinion polls to city residents, both of which were Center Party requests. Changes made to the previous coalition agreement will require a supplementary budget of EEK 50 millions (EUR 3 million), to be approved in May.

As for the shuffling of seats, Center Party Chairman Edgar Savisaar will become City Council Chairman, while Res Publica’s Tonis Palts will keep his post as mayor.

Meanwhile, Palts said the new coalition would keep the previously approved plan for the renovation of roads and schools.

The power shift will be finalized at the City Council session on March 22.

Swedbank ups bid for Estonia's Hansabank 23%

STOCKHOLM (Dow Jones)--Swedish bank FoereningsSparbanken AB (FSPA-A.SK) Tuesday raised its takeover offer for AS Hansabank (HAP1T.ET) to EUR 13.50 per share, and now looks set to take full control of Estonia's largest bank.

FoereningsSparbanken, internationally known as Swedbank, increased its offer for the 40% of Hansabank it doesn't already own after the management of the Estonian bank balked at the original offer of EUR 11.00 a share last week.

"The decision to increase the price of the offer is based on the belief that the certainty and clarity of our strategy regarding Hansabank outweighs the disadvantage of paying the higher price," said Swedbank Chairman Carl Eric Staalberg, in a statement.

"The acquisition of the outstanding shares of Hansabank is an important step in our strategy to build a leading Nordic-Baltic bank," he said.

Stockholm-based Swedbank, which began acquiring Hansabank shares in 1998, was widely expected to sweeten its original bid.

The original EUR 11.00-a-share bid was a 4.7% premium over the closing price of Hansabank shares the day before the offer was made.

Swedbank's takeover attempt and announcement that it would seek to delist Hansabank from the Tallinn Stock Exchange - it represents about 70% of the market's capitalization - caused a minority group of Estonian investors to claim that the Swedish bank informed certain holders before others about its approach.

Swedbank denied the charges and returned to negotiate with Estonian and international investors who control more than 20% of Hansabank shares.

Swedbank subsequently raised its offer 23%.

"Now that Swedbank has negotiated with many of Hansabank's shareholders, the chances of getting the offer accepted has increased significantly," said Sigmund Haaland, an analyst at ABG Sundal Collier. Haaland rates Swedbank shares hold.

"This may be the last we hear," before Swedbank takes over Hansabank, he said.

The combination of high volume growth in the Baltic region, increased margin pressure and the possibility of higher credit losses in the future, make it difficult for Haaland to predict whether Swedbank is overpaying for Hansabank.

"But you can't get extremely high growth without any volatility," he said.

At 1446 GMT share of Swedbank were unchanged at SEK 165.50.

The new offer is "reasonable," said Lars Frick, an analyst at Kaupthing.

"A higher offer would be negative for Swedbank," he said.

In addition to raising its offer, Swedbank also said it would waive the requirement that at least 95% of Hansabank investors would have to accept its bid. The Swedish bank said it intends to buy the remaining shares of Hansabank in the open market.

Company Web site : http://www.swedbank.com

http://www.hansabank.com

- By Maria Akerhielm, Dow Jones Newswires ; +46 8 54513093 ;

maria.akerhielm@ dowjones.com

(Rod Stone contributed to this report).

FS-Banken to publish results of talks with Hansabank shareholders today

STOCKHOLM (AFX) - FoereningsSparbanken said it was in discussions with certain minority shareholders of Estonia's AS Hansapank (Hansabank) concerning its recent bid, and has asked the Tallinn Stock Exchange to suspend trading in the shares of Hansabank.
'ForeningsSparbanken (Stockholm : FSPAa.ST - news) expects to be able to publish the result of such discussions during the day,' it said.

Estonia leader reassures Russia on border

TALLINN : Estonian President Arnold Ruutel reassured Russia Monday a new border treaty will not require reviews, Interfax news agency said.

Russian fears that after the border agreement is signed, Estonia might demand the return of lands it controlled before World War II.But Ruutel told Interfax the fears are "groundless."

However, the new border treaty "leaves a number of traditionally Estonian villages on Russian territory.Many inhabitants on both sides of the border are dissatisfied with the border regime, which hampers communication," he told Interfax."Clearly, this is a very emotional problem, and only when it is solved can we hope for quick growth of trade and economic relations."

Russian officials have warned that Estonian politicians might demand revision of the border by referring to the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920. That treaty gave Estonia part of the Pskov and Leningrad regions where the Setu Orthodox Christian minority lives, Interfax said.

Russia believes the Tartu Treaty has become outdated, but the Estonian constitution confirms its validity, Interfax said.Estonian politicians have been making territorial claims to Russia on the basis of the Tartu Treaty, the news agency said.

- -- Copyright 2005 by United Press International.

Let’s decorate Estonian homes with the three national colours !

Let’s decorate Estonian homes with the three national colours !

The Estonian flag celebrates its 120th anniversary this year. This is one of the reasons why the President of the Republic, the Chairman of the Riigikogu and the prime minister declared the year of the flag on 2 February in Tartu.

The idea of the blue, black and white colour combination was born at the Estonian Students’ Society during the period of national awakening. The society’s flag was consecrated on 4 June 1884 in Otepää, which is why this year of the flag will also culminate on 4 June with celebrations of the 120th anniversary of the Estonian flag in Otepää, Tartu, Tallinn, and elsewhere.

On 2 February, the anniversary of the Tartu Peace Treaty, Prime Minister Juhan Parts awarded the first chest badges of the year of the flag in the historic room where Jaan Poska signed one of the most important documents underpinning Estonia’s statehood, the Tartu Peace Treaty, 84 years ago. At the end of the flag hoisting ceremony on Toompea for the 86th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, Chairman of the Riigikogu Ene Ergma thanked the conductors and singers of the Estonian Male Song Society and gave them flag badges. The President of the Republic also awarded chest badges to holders of Estonian honorary decorations. Flag badges will be awarded to freedom fighters, outstanding graduates of upper secondary schools, members of the defence forces, and others throughout the year.

The flag is a decoration for homes, an educational and unifying symbol for the nation, and continues to gain value in the context of globalisation, exemplifying our ideals. The celebration of the year of the flag is a blue, black and white thread that links the major events of this year, such as the anniversaries of Johan Laidoner, Konstantin Päts, Jüri Vilms and other Estonian statesmen and days of great cultural and historical importance.
It should be also remembered that 2 April of this year marks 150 years from the birth of Martin Lipp, author of the Estonian flag song “Eesti lipp”.

One of the aims of the flag year is to promote a new distinction and growth in the perception of the sacredness of the blue, black and white flag in Estonia and to encourage people to decorate their homes with the tricolour more often. Every initiative is therefore welcome for informing the public more extensively about the procedure for using the Estonian flag and flag culture, and to commemorate those who suffered repressions as a result of displaying the flag.

Prime Minister Parts Made a Political Statement at Riigikogu

Tallinn, Stenbock House – Prime Minister Juhan Parts made a political statement at Riigikogu. Please find the full text of the statement below.

Dear Members of Riigikogu,

The time has come for this government to resign.

There is nothing unusual about the opposing parties expressing no confidence in the ministers.
I am glad to see that no actions of my government have given reason to an expression of no confidence until now.

However, it is obvious that if parties of coalition join in expressing no confidence in a minister, the working and cooperation capacity of this government are gone for good.

For this reason I have decided to end the term of office of this government. In accordance with § 8 and 9 of the Government of the Republic Act , I shall, therefore, resign during the session of the Government this Thursday.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Estonia who gave us this opportunity to carry the responsibility of governing the state. I am extremely grateful to the members of the Government and the Members of Parliament for their hard work during these past two years.
And I would like to express my gratitude to our partners in coalition who made the work of this government effective.

This was the 37th Government of the Republic of Estonia
It is regrettable how often the governments in Estonia change.
However, I do believe that our state will pull through this change of government as well.
Estonia is a member of the European Union and NATO. Never before had the national interests of Estonia been so well guaranteed on the international level, never before had Estonia been so powerfully represented in international organizations, never before had Estonia had such a high authority within these organizations.
The birth rate in Estonia has risen to a level equal to the situation ten years ago.
The demographic issues are as hazardous to the independence of Estonia as external threats.
Unemployment is falling and has reached the lowest level in the past six years.
None of this has been achieved at the expense of economic growth. Quite the contrary :
This government succeeded in what is considered to be almost impossible in Europe – equal growth of economy and social security.
There was a 6.2% growth in our national wealth last year.
The government debt is among the lowest in Europe and the state budget has remained in balance, there has even been a surplus.
However, who knows how long the state can resist the temptation with the loan interest margin having been decreased to as low as zero percentage points.
Estonia is doing great and we can only hope that no political power will gamble with such success.

Time, and not tomorrow’s newspapers, will reveal the impact of the activities of this Government on the international level, in the field of economy and in other fields of activity.
Any ruling government would have hopefully made many of those decisions ; while making the decisions, this government was able to avoid much shortsightedness, populism, and stupidity.
Today, I would like to express my most sincere gratitude to all of you who have worked with the government in order to secure the positive trends characteristic to the current state of affairs in Estonia.

Together we have made decisions for the future that will last longer than this government. Estonia will be given to the next government in good shape.

Dear members of Riigikogu, governments fall because of states of emergency in a country, as a result of political competition or cross-purposes.
Only time will tell which of the latter two caused the end of this government.
There appear to be no state of emergency in Estonia at the moment.
I consider this issue a matter of principle.
I hope that today the scandal that has been created around the topic of planning struggle against corruption and drug related crime ends and that the successful attacks against one politician and one party will not be transformed into attacks against our enforcement agencies.
Let them perform their tasks

Dear members of Riigikogu, you know as well as I do that there is a lot that remains unfinished by this Government. The Coalition Agreement is concluded for four years.
Perhaps the result of this recent vote was an introduction of a new coalition.
In any case, I do hope that the new government will be formed as a majority coalition and without unfounded delay, so that they could continue work from where my Government left off.

Thank you !

Parts, ESTONIAN Premier vows to resign

TALLINN -- Prime Minister Juhan Parts told Estonian lawmakers Monday he would resign, after they brought a no-confidence vote against his justice minister.

"The time of this government is over," Parts said during remarks to the parliament, adding that his resignation would take affect Thursday.

The announcement was unexpected and left lawmakers in the Riikogu, or parliament, stunned.

They had convened to vote on a no-confidence measure against Justice Minister Ken-Marti Vaher.

Lawmakers had wanted Vaher to step down because of his unpopular proposal to set up a system of quotas for the number of corruption cases that regional prosecutors would have to meet annually.

Parts, who leads the Res Publica party, said the government coalition could no longer effectively govern the Baltic country of 1.4 million.

Parts has stood by Vaher, praising his work and saying he did nothing to deserve losing his post.

Estonia ready to stretch out hand of friendship to Russia

TALLINN.  (Interfax) - Estonian President Arnold Ruutel discarded claims that he has missed a historic chance to normalize relations with Russia by his refusal to attend celebrations in Moscow on May 9 marking the 60th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany.

"Doubtlessly I was prepared for criticism. But I think that such accusations are unfounded. Estonia is ready to stretch out a hand of friendship to Russia. That would be better for Estonia, Russia and the entire world if we settle our disagreements and improve mutual understanding in a constructive dialog," Ruutel told Interfax.

"I told Vladimir Putin in Moscow in January that we should discuss events in modern history so that they did not burden present-day and future relations," he said.

"This would be in the interests of Estonia to do that together with Russia, not against it. Estonia and Russia have quite a lot of common interests in various spheres. President Putin confirmed that the interest in the development of bilateral relations is mutual," Ruutel said.

As for his personal attitude to the May 9 celebrations, Ruutel said, "In 1945 I was a young man, whose life was divided into two periods, a quiet and safe country life in the independent republic of Estonia before 1940 and then confusion and uncertainty, during the battles in my village and the other horrors of war. Since that moment I became a witness to the destiny of my people and, sometimes, a participant in the complicated events that now give us numerous reasons for disputes about what is true in modern history."

ESTONIA Business : WEEK 11. 2005

Tuesday, 15th of March, 2005

Alcohol production grew 71 % in February
In February, Estonian alcohol manufacturers sold alcohol 71 % more than in January at the domestic market. Liviko preserved its leader’s position also in February, having sold 603,100 litres of hard liquor in Estonia.
Export of hard liquor grew 30 percent on February compared to the same period last year. Liviko is also the leader in export with 204,300 litres.
Äripäev

Last year’s turnover of Eckero Line grew 30 %
Previous fiscal year’s turnover of Ekcero Line that drives on the route of Helsinki-Tallinn grew by 30 % up to over EUR 43 million (EEK 672.8 million). Eckero Line did not publish its last year’s profit number, but noted that it was satisfying.
Postimees

Balteco earned EEK 20 million in profit
Baltic’s biggest bath manufacturer AS Balteco earned a profit of EEK 20 million by the turnover of EEK 163.7 million in 2004.
Turnover increased 14 % compared to last year.
Balteco exported 60 % of its production in 2004. Main export markets of the company were Russia (18 %), Ukraine (9.1 %), Sweden (6.3 %), Latvia (5.3 %), Norway (4.5 %) and Finland (4.5 %).
Äripäev

Wednesday, 16th of March, 2005

Domina Management : hotel occupancy rate increased
Occupancy rate of Domina City hotel that belongs to Domina hotel chain increased in February reaching 64 % and the occupancy rate of Domina Imaris hotel reached 32 %. In comparison to the same period last year occupancy rate of Domina City and Domina Imaris hotels increased by 10 % and 11% respectively.
Eesti Paevaleht

Thursday, 17th of March, 2005

Most part of the increasing number of Helsinki ferry line passengers belongs to Tallink
Last year one million passengers more travelled on Tallinn-Helsinki ferry line in comparison to a year before and 50 % of that million passengers belonged to the market leader Tallink. Last year a bit more than 3 million passengers travelled on Tallinn – Helsinki ferry line, which is 0,5 million more than in 2003. New ships like Victoria, Regal Star and Autoexpress 3 helped to increase the number of passengers by one fifth. This year no additional vessels will be added to the line. Eckero Line was also able to increase their number of passengers on the main ferry Nordlandia to 800 000 people. Due to the withdrawal of Finnjet from Tallinn- Helsinki line Silja Line’s numbers decreased from 1,3 million passengers in 2003 to 1,2 million passengers in 2004. in 2004 Nordic Jet serviced 412 000 passengers and Viking Line serviced 862 000 passengers.
Äripäev

Friday, 18th of March, 2005

Last year 957 000 foreign tourists visited Tallinn
In 2004 the number of foreign visiting tourists increased substantially. 957 000 foreign tourists spend at least one night in Tallinn hotels, which is 31% more that in 2003. The number tourists increased mainly thanks to the vacationers, the number of business tourists stayed the same.
In 2004 the number of foreign visiting tourists in Stockholm constituted to 899 000, in Helsinki – 767 000 and in Riga – 620 000.
Eesti Päevaleht

USA proposes discussion on abolition of visas to Estonia

The United States Consul in Estonia Paul O. Mayer presented the Foreign Ministry a note in which the United States asks Estonia to set up a joint working group to discuss a programme for the abolition of visas.
Estonia is ready to setting up the joint working group and it could be done in the next few weeks. The United States has set a number of terms constituting a precondition to the abolition of visas for the Baltic States.