BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Glamourous Tiiu

A most graceful silhouette !

Lancôme

TIIU KUIK at the arrivals for the Lancome Colour Design Awards at the ex-Saatchi Gallery in London. The model is wearing an outfit created by MA fashion students at Central Saitn Martins College of Art and Design inspired by Lancome's latest collection.

Estonia Business : Week 21, 2005

Monday, 23rd of May, 2005

Turnover of Keil M.A. up by EEK 50 million
The net turnover of OÜ Keil M.A. increased up to EEK 181.9 million and profit before taxes reached EEK 10.1 million in 2004. Respective figures in 2003 were EEK 123.3 million and 9.2 million. Keil M.A. is an official representative of MAN bus and truck factory in Estonia. For the year 2005, the company prognosticates a net turnover of EEK 180 million.
Äripäev

Tuesday, 24th of May, 2005

The sale of Tartu Brewery up 12 percent
In first four months of the year, the sale of AS A. le Coq Tartu Õlletehas increased 12 percent up to 26.2 million litres compared to respective period last year. The sale of long drinks (37%) increased the most. Export of Tartu Brewery went up by 75 percent to 3 million litres. The main export articles of Tartu Brewery are beers, long drinks, juices and juice products.
Äripäev

Friday, 27th of May, 2005

Viisnurk tripled results
The return on sales of AS Viisnurk in the 1Q was EEK 61.9 million and net profit reached EEK 3.9 million. The company managed to triple the results compared to last year. In the 2Q, the company sold its divisions of woodworking and sports goods. Viisnurk still has divisions of furniture manufacturing and construction materials.
Äripäev

Delta's barricades added at U.S. embassies around world

*Delta Scientific has installed its counterterrorist systems at U.S. embassies in Estonia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Ivory Coast, Guatemala, Nepal, Lithuania and Madagascar as well as the U.S. Consulate in Florence, Italy.

Delta Scientific, headquartered in Valencia, with its manufacturing plant in Palmdale, now supplies barricade systems to more than 170 U.S. embassies and consulates in more than 130 countries.

Delta blockades meet or exceed U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense certification standards. The company's permanent vehicle barricades range from surface-mounted and shallow-foundation designs to .........

Ratification of EU constitution should continue : Baltic states

*Leaders of the Baltic countries expressed their wishes Monday to move out of the shadow of France' s rejection of the European Union (EU) constitution and push forward the ratification process.

Estonia's Foreign Ministry said the French no should by no means be an obstacle to other countries that are yet to decide on the treaty. The ratification process should move on as planned, it said in a statement.

Latvian Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis said his government respects the French people's choice. But other nations, including Latvia, should continue their efforts to approve the constitution, he said.

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus said the French decision is bad but not disastrous, arguing that the French were not saying no to Europe. He asked Paris to make a decision on the referendum results that is acceptable to all EU members.

Lithuania continues to support the idea of a strong, unified and prosperous EU, he said.

RUSSIA'S BALTIC POLICY BEFORE WORLD WAR II

MOSCOW (Valentin Falin, for RIA Novosti) -Without making references to events of the Middle Ages or even the rule of Peter the Great in Russia, it is worth starting on Russia's Baltic policy with some historical background.

The development of state interests in the Baltic region proceeded for nearly a thousand years, taking the form of armed fighting and dynastic deals. For example, Catherine the Great bought Livland, a Baltic province, from the Danish crown. For a century before World War I, the situation in the region did not change much.

During World War I, Kaiser Wilhelm's troops occupied Lithuania and a number of Latvian regions. Acting on the order of General Paul von Hindenburg, the Eastern Protectorate was created in Belarus, Lithuania and Courland occupied by Germans in June 1915. The Baltic Germans proclaimed it a zone of German colonization. Land taken from Letts in Courland was to be handed over to about 60,000 families of German settlers.

In Lithuania the occupiers established the Lietuviu Tarybos (Lithuanian Council) led by Antanas Smetona in October 1917. On December 11, the council proclaimed the "restoration of Lithuanian statehood" and adopted an act of eternal allied relations between the Lithuanian State and Germany, which were to be reinforced by a military covenant, a customs union and a common currency, the Reichsmark. Yielding to public pressure, the council issued a .............

Markko Märtin to speed on home roads this summer

The top Estonian rally driver Markko Märtin has found a slot in his tight WRC schedule to grace the local fans by attacking the gravel roads at the “E.O.S. Peugeot Rally” that takes place in South Estonia on July 22-23.

"Rally sport has become hugely popular in Estonia but few people have the opportunity to attend the WRC events in Europe and elsewhere," Märtin told a news conference organised in Estonia's capital Tallinn. The closest thing to the home event has been the Finnish Jyväskylä WRC rally that drew 10,000 Estonian fans last ........

French vote 'non' to EU Constitution

May 30, 2005

French voters were said tonight to have resoundingly rejected the EU Constitution, sending a defiant message to France’s political establishment and dealing a blow to plans for further European integration.

As polls closed around the country, the three major French polling organisations all reported a “no” vote of around 55-56 %, in line with opinion polls before today’s vote.

The rejection of the treaty, drafted by a panel headed by Valery Giscard d’Estaing, the former French president, leaves the ........

SERGEI LABROV : RUSSIA IS WAITING FOR ESTONIA'S RESPONSE TO CRITICISM

KALININGRAD, May 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russia hopes for Estonia's response to criticism concerning the observance of the Russian-speaking population's rights in that country, said Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

When journalists in Kaliningrad asked the minister to comment on Estonian parliamentarians' criticism of Russia, Sergei Lavrov said as follows :

"As for criticism, we are open to any criticism, when it is to the point. When we hear some concrete requests addressed to us, we examine them thoroughly if they are based on real facts and, should the need to do so arise, we take measures to rectify the situation.

"As regards the situation around the Russian-speaking population in Estonia, criticism of Estonia's policy is concrete and is voiced not only by Russia, and not so much by Russia, as by the European institutions, i.e., the EU, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Council of Europe.

"We hope that Estonia will give concrete replies to this concrete criticism and to concrete recommendations offered by European structures," Sergei Lavrov stressed.

The Russian minister gave his comments on the document drafted by the Estonian parliament's foreign commission and containing recommendations to the country's government to pursue a tougher policy towards Russia. Yesterday, the Estonian parliamentarians submitted this document to the Cabinet.

The document recommends that the Estonian government should "systematically criticize Russia for human rights violations and also look for like-minded politicians in the EU who are also ready to toughen their policy towards Russia.

Luxembourg’s new proposals for the future budget

of the European Union are more favourable for Estonia than before.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet participated in the European Union Foreign Ministers Conclave, where the EU’s financial perspective for the years 2007-2013 was discussed.
The Luxembourg Presidency had prepared a revised negotiating box for yesterday’s talks, the amendments proposals of which this time are according to Foreign Minister Paet more favourable for Estonia than before. "A fair solution has been reached in the computing of the structural aid ceiling, because now individual economic growth indicators are taken into consideration instead of using the former growth indicator of 4.14%. This indicator was a result of grouping the new member countries and was considerably lower than Estonia’s estimated economic growth." Foreign Minister Paet acknowledged. The Foreign Minister welcomed the attempt by the Presidency to find a solution for the question of own resources. According to Paet, the Presidency considers a new approach for Great Britain’s rebate or such payback to be important. This would, after the year 2013, ensure a so-called clean budget from which no rebates will be made.
The Luxembourg Presidency’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn expressed hope that all these recent changes will contribute to finding a compromise and reaching a political agreement at the European Council in June.
Estonia’s Foreign Minister acknowledged the Presidency’s attempts to find a balance between the positions of 25 Member States. According to Paet’s assessment, "it is important to reach an agreement in June in order to ensure the political and economic development of the European Union. The Presidency has done significant work in that name and the revised negotiating box is clearly better than the former one. Thus, the probability of reaching an agreement in June has considerably grown".
The financial perspective will be under discussion also at the next Foreign Ministers Conclave as well as at the Finance Ministers meeting in June and also at bilateral meetings of the Presidency with Member States.

How NATO fighters protect the Baltic !

In the April 2005 issue of the British periodical Air Forces Monthly, a small article written by Mick Britton describes how the more established members of NATO patrol Baltic air space, for “NATO treaty requires the policing of the air space of its members . Even though there is no specific threat, even from their Russian neighbour.”

The task is theirs because Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have no jet fighters of their own, only the Lithuanian Air Arm has 6 Czech built (and aging) jet trainers. This means members of NATO take three month turns defending the Baltics with 4 jet fighters (with 4 in reserve at home) that they base in Zokniai, Lithuania.

Zokniai, which was the largest Soviet airbase outside Russia housing approximately 55,000 personnel, had gone to .............

Collectivist folly

The fact that in most European Union countries the majority of the electorate is only vaguely - if that - familiar with the entire text of the proposed new Constitution seems to matter little. For better or worse EU member states have chosen to either have the proposed Constitution ratified by national parliaments or take it to the people, have a referendum decide. As all 25 nations have to approve, all it takes is for one No to derail the locomotive. Chances are good that this rejection will be delivered over the next few days - either Sunday by the French, or June 1st, when the Dutch cast their ballots.

Referendums, if nothing else, polarize a nation, especially when jingoistic fears are raised. Consider only the times Canada has been dragged - or has been threatened to be dragged - through the mudslinging that were the hallmark of the Quebec referendums. With French Canada two Ouis for federalism have not been enough, the Nons still hope for a third kick at the can. In France proper, the "Oui" for the Constitution treaty looks dicey ; here one would prefer a "Non".

As of writing the French vote was too close to call, most polls see the Nons to be ahead by a nostril whisker. In the Netherlands it is not even that close - various polls are ..............

Some example to be followed by some other countries

Les français pourraient se sentir rassurés en lisant ce qui suit (dommage que le texte soit en anglais) et voter utilement dimanche 29 mai !

176,000 new EU workers come to UK

Staff and agencies
Thursday May 26, 2005

More than 175,000 workers came to Britain from eastern and central Europe in the 11 months following last year's EU expansion, new government figures showed today.

Earlier government-commissioned research had estimated that between 5,000 and 13,000 people from the eight former communist accession states would come to the UK annually, but the total from last May to the end of March this year was 176,000.

Home Office figures show that 40,000 workers from the so-called "A8" states signed on to the worker registration scheme in the first three months of this year .................

CEO Europe starts new partnership with CVO Group

CEO Europe joins forces with CVO Group, the Number 1 recruitment service in Central and Eastern Europe, to develop its presence in 10 countries of this region: Finland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, and Romania.
Taking advantage of CVO Group’s strong presence and expertise in theses regions, CEO Europe will push its innovative Management on demand TM solution to these markets.

CEO Europe and CVO Group’ clients will equally be able to benefit from the recruitment and interim management solutions offered in theses countries. Since their integration into the European Union on May 1st 2004, the CEEC (Central and East European countries) represent real opportunities of growth within the proximity of the European Union.

With this partnership, CEO Europe extends its ...........

SKYPE : A Giant Leap for Internet Communications

*People who are not computer geeks or who usually utilize their computers only to send e-mail messages might not know what VoIP means.

It's an acronym that stands for Voice Over IP (Internet protocol). Put simply, it's technology that allows people to send their voice over an Internet connection. It's not a new idea, actually, but there is a company that has taken a step further with surprising results.

One day last year, a friend of mine asked me to talk over the Internet. I thought we would utilize the means we were used to -- text messages or chat rooms -- but he proposed a new program: Skype. I hadn't ever heard of it, so, fueled by curiosity, I downloaded it.

The program is available for several operating systems including Linux, and it takes more or less for granted that users have a broadband connection. After one year of heavy tests, I think I have got the reason why millions of people use it every day: an amazing quality of sound.

In technological terms, Skype represents a step ahead compared with .............

Next call for Net phoning : Regulation

*STOCKHOLM At this week's VON Europe conference on Internet phone service, there has been no shortage of accolades for Skype, the unparalleled poster child of this fledgling business. It is being called "the iPod of IP communications," and its chief executive, Niklas Zennström, was mobbed like a pop star by news media and admirers.

But just as Skype is setting off on its victory lap, storm clouds are gathering. As phone calling over the Internet takes off around the world and as the services become richer and more complex, regulators are beginning to give it a harder look.

With the rapid development that characterizes the field - which uses the Internet instead of ..........

Central & Eastern Europe : The moral majority

Estonia’s legislators have drafted an advertising bill that could drastically reduce the scope of advertisers to target particular groups of consumers. If passed it would also introduce guidelines on the ‘good morals’ required of advertisements. Evelin Parn-Lee reports

Estonia’s advertising laws have been in force for almost a decade. Based on heavy criticism, directed mainly at legal uncertainty and insufficient supervision of the current law, a working group within the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has ..........

KN Top of the class

TALLINN - In my time at The Baltic Times, I’ve done some mildly intrepid stuff. I’ve scaled the sheer slopes of an 80-meter-high mountain of industrial waste ; I’ve attempted to buy illegal alcohol on the black market ; I’ve been menaced by hordes of vicious stray dogs ; I’ve even sat through a modern Estonian opera.

But nothing could have prepared me for my latest assignment. A restaurant review – well, it sounds innocuous enough. But to review yet another new restaurant in Tallinn – a restaurant with a British chef (yes, you read it right: a British chef!)… oh, the sheer horror of it.

The first thing you notice about the cuisine anglaise on offer at KN restaurant is that it’s not, thank God, particularly anglais at all. Like the best of  ..........

Film and photo exhibition

June 2-29 – Soprus Cinema, in cooperation with Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, has brought a unique program, “My beloved enemy Klaus Kinski,” to Tallinn. The photography/film exhibition will capture the work of inseparable friends and colleagues, director Werner Herzog and actor Klaus Kinski. The still frame photo exhibition will take place June 2 –29 at the National Library of Estonia. At the same time, Soprus Cinema will be playing a collection of Herzog’s films June 3-8. If the exhibition is anything like the men’s relationship (at times the two friends came close to killing each other), it’s sure to be filled with drama and excitement.

In the Baltics, value-added is a business strategy best played by the Danes

RIGA - “We’re a nation of traders. We have no raw materials, so we live from commerce. The more globalized the economy becomes, the better we do,” says Per Christensen, regional coordinator of Baltic trade at the Danish Embassy in Riga, and the scale of Denmark’s presence in the Baltics confirms his words.

After the Baltics, Denmark is the smallest country on the Baltic Sea in terms of both land and population. In the words of Nikolaj Harris, first secretary at the Danish Embassy in Vilnius, “It’s remarkable that such a small country should have such a large presence here.”

At the end of 2004, Denmark was the ...........

In brief :

TALLINN :

**The Ministry of Economy and Communications said it would soon complete a draft law that intends to limit the number of producers of wind energy entitled to sell electricity at a special fixed price.

**The EU budget negotiations for 2007-2013 are a bread-and-butter issue for Estonia, and therefore the nation’s leadership is keen to convince Brussels to revise calculations used to measure aid limits.

**Before the ink had dried on the historic border treaty with Russia, the document came under attack by nationalist forces, putting the president on the defensive while Moscow complicated an already delicate situation by saying that Estonia should ratify the treaty first.

**Executives of Tallinna Vesi (Tallinn Water), the water utility for the Estonian capital, said last week that they have presented the company to around 30 foreign institutional investors in the course of their roadshow that is still taking place.