BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Consul quits over drug duties

TALLINN - Estonia’s honorary consul in Argentina has quit his job due to the increasing number of Estonian citizens caught acting as drug couriers in South America.

A record 25 Estonians are being held in South American nations, all charged with attempting to smuggle drugs out of the continent.

This has led to an increased workload for honorary consul Peet Pullisaar, who has been called on to assist the alleged drug couriers with legal matters.

Pullisaar’s role is mainly ceremonial. Estonia’s honorary consuls around the world receive no payment for their work, which normally involves organizing cultural events and assisting citizens with minor administrative matters.

“Because of the increased extra duties I'm unable to continue doing my main work like I have been doing it until now," Pullisaar said.

Foreign Minister Urmas Paet released Pullisaar from the role on Sept. 20.

Metro Baltic Horizons buys 80% of EUR 26 millions Tallinn project

LONDON - Metro Baltic Horizons PLC said it has bought an 80% shareholding in an 26 mln eur residential development project in Tallinn, resulting in full investment of all its initial public offering funds.

Separately, the property investment company, which listed on the AIM on December 2006, reported a pretax profit of 7.28 mln eur for the six month period ended June 30. As at June 30, it said net asset value after deferred tax liabilities was up 20 pct to 112 pence or 1.67 eur.

The company added it looks forward to the future with considerable confidence, saying it continues to see extensive deal flow and attractive investment opportunities in its target cities.

Alta Capital poised to take over Kalev chocolate

TALLINN - Alta Capital Partners, a venture capital firm, announced that it was purchasing several food-producing subsidiaries of AS Kalev, including the regionally famous chocolate and candy producer.
The Estonia-based Alta Capital said in a statement that it was acquiring stakes in Kalev Paide Tootmine, Kalev Johvi Tootmine, Kalev Chocolate Factory, Vilma and Maiasmokk for 880 million kroons (56 million euros).
The Estonian dairies Tere and Meieri Transport are also slated to be taken over as part of the deal, though the value of this transaction is not being disclosed.

The deal, which was finalized on Sept. 20, must be approved by competition authorities.
Kalev is one of Estonia’s – and the Baltics’ – best known brand names and boasts a long line of popular consumer products. For the ambitious Alta Capital, which recently acquired Rigas Piensaimnieks, Latvia’s largest milk producer, the acquisition represents a major step in solidifying its position on the Baltic food market.
In the words of Alta Capital CEO Indrek Rahumaa, “This acquisition complements our portfolio in the Baltic Sea region. There have been many wise investments in the companies, starting from production and ending with marketing, and we are only now beginning to see their returns.”
He stressed that Alta Capital’s philosophy is “to acquire strong companies with competent teams and to grow the value on a long-term basis.”

Estonia passes ‘optimistic’ 2008 budget

TALLINN - The government on Sept. 20 approved a draft state budget for 2008 that one analyst has described as overly “optimistic.”

Overall the budget next year is expected to grow 25 percent, and revenues are projected to reach 96.3 billion kroons (6.2 billion euros) and expenditures 93.6 billion kroons. As is tradition, the budget provides for a surplus of 1.3 percent of gross domestic product.

For years now Estonia has boasted one the largest budget surplusses in the European Union.

Metro Baltic buys Tallinn stake

LONDON - Property investment firm Metro Baltic Horizons raced ahead today as it reported "strong" progress in the first half and bought an 80% stake in a residential development project in Estonia.

The group, focused on the Baltic State capitals and St Petersburg, said the Tallinn development has an estimated total gross development cost of around €‚26m.

In addition, Metro (Xetra: 725750 - news) posted a pre-tax profit of €‚7.29m for the six months to 30 June and said net asset value per share after deferred tax liabilities was up 20% to 112p, or €‚1.67.

The total property portfolio is now valued at €‚52.6m and the company remains excited by the prospects for St Petersburg where demand for high-quality space is forecast to outweigh supply.

"'We continue to see extensive deal flow and attractive investment opportunities in our target cities and, subject to the availability of finance, there is considerable potential to increase the scale of the Company's investment and development activities," said chairman Robin James.

"We look to the future with considerable confidence."

Lasnamae’s autumnal image problem

By Joel Alas

TALLINN - Of all of Lasnamäe’s curses, the worst it has to bear is stigma. The area’s external ugliness is the least of its concerns, although that’s what draws gasps of horror from first-time visitors.
Built in the 1970s to house migrant labor, Lasnamäe is unequivocally Tallinn’s most loathed, derided and feared suburb. Yet it remains home to over 100,000 people who manage to cultivate life within the canyons of monotonous Soviet housing towers.

The debate over the livability of Lasnamäe has flared again with the release of a bleak-yet-beautiful film that dissects the nature of society within such Soviet-era mass housing suburbs.
The movie, “Sugisball” (“Autumn Ball”), has captured international attention, winning the Orizzonti Prize at the recent Venice Film Festival – the highest award ever bestowed upon an Estonian film.
Based on a book of the same name, the film follows the lives of several inhabitants of apartment towers. The monotonous rows of identical grey buildings aren’t the focus of the story, yet they overwhelm every scene and seem to infect each character.

The work opens with a shot of a man on a balcony surveying his surrounds. His hands grip the rail and his face distorts with pain. It seems suicide is on his mind.
There isn’t much light in the film, aside from a few moments of black comedy. Only at the end is the viewer given a fleeting glimpse of hope. For the most part, the message of the film carries a weight of negativity.
Director Veiko Õunpuu shot the movie last November, capturing the dull grey skies and ice-crisped grasses of a snowless winter in Lasnamäe.

EPI Baltic I invests in retail real estate in Tallinn

Evli's EPI (Evli Property Investments) Baltic I fund has made its fifth investment, acquiring a retail building in Tallinn in a transaction signed on 19 September 2007. The building was completed in 2007 and is located  at A.H. Tammsaare tee 49. It has a floor area of approximately  11,000m2. The building in its entirety is leased to Rautakesko AS, which
operates a K-Rauta hardware store in it.

"Considering the market, the property is an excellent cash-flow investment with a high-standard tenant and a long lease. It is a perfect fit in the EPI Baltic I real estate portfolio," says Maria Söderman, Investment Manager at Evli Property Investments Ltd, the fund's management company.

Founded in April 2005, EPI Baltic I is the first Finnish real estate equity fund and it invests in the Baltic real estate market. The fund was closed finally in December 2005 when its equity commitments reached the preset EUR 50 million maximum.

Estonia's already onto m-voting ... !

TALLINN - Estonia's ruling Reform Party is preparing an amendment to allow people to vote by mobile telephone.

The party presented its ‘m-voting’ proposals Sep. 27 in order to prepare a bill along with its other coalition partners next week. If the partners give the initiative the thumbs up the legislation will be sent to parliament.

The head of the Reformist faction, Keit Pentus, said Estonia has always been at the forefront of information technology innovation.

In her words, the use of an ID card linked to a cell phone is no longer fantasy, and m-voting would make involvement in governance more accessible and convenient.

The idea of introducing m-voting was put forward in August by the Reformist deputy speaker of parliament, Kristiina Ojuland, who believes a viable scheme could be in place in time for the 2009 local elections.

In Ojuland's opinion, a mobile phone ID application would enable voters to identify themselves and give a digital signature.

She said that since April mobile ID SIM cards have been available which incorporate a person's mobile identity in addition to the usual SIM card functions that allow providers of Internet services to identify users.

Estonia attacks down to online 'flash mob'

Iain Thomson in Helsinki

Russian government not to blame, says F-Secure

The online attack that took down government servers in Estonia was most likely down to an online 'flash mob' and not the Russian government, according to researchers.

Sean Sullivan, a senior researcher at F-Secure, told vnunet.com that hackers created tools designed to damage the government servers, and then spread the word online so that individuals could deploy the tools more widely by acting together as a 'mob'.

"You do not need infrastructure for this. You just set up the tools and the mob will take care of the rest," he said.

"Whether the [Russian] government was involved or not is irrelevant. It was the work of a flash mob that took down the servers."

Sullivan added that the situation was similar to that which took down online camera retailer PriceRitePhoto.

ISP : Wireless : If it works, who cares how ?

TALLINN - There are no less than six different systems a computer user can choose to access the Internet in the Baltics.

But to the average user, the jumble of acronyms and system names is meaningless. “They don’t care how the Internet gets to them, as long as it gets to them,” says Veljo Haamer, editor of the wifi.ee Web site. If they did care, they might be overwhelmed by the choice.

Estonia offers all the wireless systems available in the rest of the world, plus a few extra. It’s miles ahead of its Baltic neighbors, which have only just started to catch on to the wireless craze.

Estonia passes ‘optimistic’ 2008 budget

TALLINN - The government on Sept. 20 approved a draft state budget for 2008 that one analyst has described as overly “optimistic.”

Overall the budget next year is expected to grow 25 percent, and revenues are projected to reach 96.3 billion kroons (6.2 billion euros) and expenditures 93.6 billion kroons. As is tradition, the budget provides for a surplus of 1.3 percent of gross domestic product. For years now Estonia has boasted one the largest budget surplusses in the European Union.

Priorities have been identified as domestic security, education, social affairs and infrastructure developpement.

Tallinn’s planning problems revealed

TALLINN - Tallinn City Council’s chief architect has revealed a worrying snapshot of the city’s development – there are no controls over building aesthetics, public transport expansion plans are dependent on European Union funding, and authorities prefer a “self-regulating” traffic system to road expansion.
Endrik Mand, who was recently appointed chief architect, said the council had little power to encourage or direct development, but relied on developers to drive the city’s future.
Mand addressed a seminar hosted by the British Estonia Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 19. His comments surprised some audience members, who had hoped to hear more detail of the city’s future traffic and development plans.

But Mand said there were few road schemes in the works. The much-discussed “northern vein” – which is hoped to ease traffic around the heavily congested port area – is stalled, awaiting EU funding.
“The technical project is in existence, but it’s a question of money,” Mand said.
EU money is also required to fund the city’s tram line extension. Plans to create new tram lines to the suburbs of Mustamae, Pirita and the airport at Ulemiste are in the “final stage,” yet Mand said the city must apply for European money before they can progress.

Estonia to join the Schengen area

Estonia plans to join the Schengen area in 2008. The daily reflects on the pros and cons: "The free movement of persons is one of the cornerstones of the EU.

The introduction of the new regulations means that we will be free from restrictions we were forced to live with only after the collapse of communism - for instance passport controls on the border with Latvia... But there are still a few question marks : the regulations provide for a single visa that is valid for all EU countries.

Estonia will no longer have any control over who enters the country and who doesn't. For example, people can apply to the Portuguese embassy for a visa that entitles them to enter Estonia. This raises the question of whether for instance members of the 'Nashi' youth organisation, which supports the Kremlin, could gain entry to Estonia this way."

Estonian choir music

Hi everyone,

On Wednesday, October 10th, the Mixed Choir of Estonia Society from Tallinn is performing in Calvary Lutheran Church in Silver Spring 7.30 pm. This is their last concert in the USA tour and the next day they will leave back to Estonia. They will be singing songs from Estonian composers like Tormis, Kreek, Mägi, Pärt. More information about the choir can be found from their website http://www.esskoor.ee/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=62

The concert is free, but donations are encouraged to support the concert organization (Baltimore/Washington's Mixed Choir proposed the donation amount - 15 $ for employed people/7$ for students).
I will attach a file with the flyer-poster, so some of you can print them out and post them where you can.

I ask for everyone's support and help in spreading the word about the concert so the choir would have a good big audience!

On behalf of the Baltimore/Washington Estonian Mixed Choir.
Ingrid Stamm

Estonian Air passenger number rose 16 %

* In August Estonian Air passenger number rose 16.2% on regular flights, which is approximately twice as much as Tallinn Airport regular flights passenger growth in the same period.

After a relatively moderate first half-year, the passenger figure has picked up in the second half-year owing to increased number of flights and better availability of cheaper fares.

The load factor of Estonian Air reached record level of 76% in August on regular flights, which is 7% up from August 2006. Estonian Air flew 744 regular flights in August a 9% rise from the same period in 2006. The regularity of Estonian Air flights was 99.9%.

The biggest demand for tickets in August was on seasonal and South European routes like Barcelona, Milan, Dubrovnik, Simferopol, but even to Hamburg, Kiev and Oslo.

Land route plan for sea pipeline ?

HELSINKI - Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland intend to submit a proposal to the European Commission that the route of the Nord Stream gas pipeline should run overland, press reports suggest.

"Solidarity is essential within the European Union, and all member states should have been involved already in the planning phase", said Estonian foreign minister Urmas Paet in the wake of the government’s rejection of a requested survey of the Estonian sea bed.

However, the plans for a land-line are likely to receive short schrift from Nord Stream. In any case, Finland has yet to rule out routing the pipeline along the Finnish coast and is making increasingly encouraging noises to Nord Stream in the wake of the Estonian decision.

"The decision by the Estonian government is regrettable", said Martti Poutanen from Finland’s environment ministry.

Speaking to the country’s national news agency, Finnish Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen said that the possible routing of the Russian-German pipeline along the Finnish territorial waters is purely an environmental issue.

"We regard the construction of a gas pipeline as an advantage. Central Europe needs this connection, as it will enhance energy security in Europe. The project will nevertheless have to be carried out in a way that provides a maximum level of ecological sustainability," said Vanhanen.

Presidents nominated for Euro award

VILNIUS / TALLINN – Both Lithuania's President Valdas Adamkus and Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves have been nominated for a European of the Year award.

The awards are annually organized by the weekly European Voice belonging to The Economist Group. It nominates 50 personalities that have had the biggest effect on politics and the law to receive the award.

Adamkus was nominated as a result of his famous ‘staircase diplomacy’ contribution to EU negotiations. During bad-tempered meetings that saw Poland becoming isolated from other EU member states, Adamkus revealed a sprightly turn of pace in repeatedly using back staircases to act as a go-between and eventually helped broker a compromise deal.

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves was nominated for his robust stance on relations with Russia, including his leadership during the ‘bronze soldier’ riots of late April.

Other nominees include French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Police find $1 mln worth of drugs in Tallinn apartment

TALLINN - Estonian police have discovered over $1 million worth of various drugs in an apartment in Tallinn, Estonia, the police press service said Monday.

Policemen found more than 70 kg (154lb) of hashish, 1.5 kg (3lb 50z) of cocaine, 0.3 kg (11oz) of heroin, and several packs of marijuana in the apartment.

Two people were detained on suspicion of drug storage and trafficking.

Warsaw gamble looks a safe bet for Olympic

TALLINN - Estonian casino operator Olympic Entertainment Group has applied to have its shares listed on the Warsaw bourse in addition to its current listing on the Tallinn stock exchange.

OEG is already the biggest gaming company in the Baltic region where it operates 35 casinos in Estonia, 37 in Latvia and 12 in Lithuania under the Olympic Casino brand name. In addition it possesses a portfolio of casinos in Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and Romania and a subsidiary company recently commenced operations in Slovakia.

OEG employs more then 3,000 people, is the full member of the European Casino Association (ECA) and is also a major sponsor of the Estonian and Polish Olympic Committees. The latter sponsorship deal suddenly looks like a very wise investment.

“The Myth of Genocide: Repressions by Soviet authorities in Estonia in 1940-53” book to be presented at REGNUM press center

Read it in Russian

* “The Myth of Genocide : Repressions by Soviet authorities in Estonia in 1940-53” book by Alexander Dyukov will be presented at REGNUM press center on September 25.

The author brings together and systematizes sources about true history of the Soviet repressions of those times in Estonia. Without taking positions of “revisionism” or rehabilitation of Stalinism, the author draws special attention to the fact that repeatedly presented by Estonian top officials (President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, Ambassador to Russia Marina Kaljurand, former prime minister Mart Laar) data about victims of repressions by Soviet punitive agencies in Estonia directly and peculiarly derive from and repeat statements made by the Nazi propaganda.

Alexander Dyukov comes to a conclusion that the repressions in Estonia were not selective grounding on ethnic character (which means they were not genocide) and that the total number of victims of repressions is overestimated by Estonian politicians by 2.5 times and the number of those killed in repressions by 6 times.

The presentation will be held on September 25, at 12:00 Moscow time at REGNUM press center (Moscow, Ul. Pravdy, 21-1).

Accreditation by phone (495 225 3415) or by e-mail .