BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

55-nda Aasta Eesti Mängud Lakewoodis

Eesti Spordiliidu korraldusel peetakse Eesti Mängud Lakewood, NJ-s, 31. juulil - 2. augustil 2009. a. Mängude kava on järgmine:

* Reedel, 31. juulil:  kell 11:00 e.l. - Golfi vôistlused 10-ne minutilise gruppide vahega Lakewood Country Club’is, www.thelakewoodcountryclub.com , korraldavad Andrus Ers  ja Eddie Tomson;

- 7:30 p.l. - Keeglimängu (bowling'u) vôistlused Brunswick Lakewood Lanes'is (732-364-8080), 101 Locust Street, Lakewood, NJ, korraldab Toomas Tomson (847-271-6426);
- 10:00 p.l. - Tants noortele DJ saatel Eesti Majas, korraldab Markus Maasikas.

* Laupäeval, 1. augustil:  kell 9:00 e.l. - Kergejôustiku võistlused noortele ja masteritele Lakewood High School’i staadionil, 855 Somerset Ave (7th St. juures), korraldab Reino Truumees (201-274-4756);
- 10:45 e.l.  - Tennis Pine Park’is Lakewood’i Country Club’i taga, korraldab Eric Pallop (609-658-3305);
- 12:30 p.l. - Ujumise vôistlused Ocean County YMCA’s, 1088 West Whitty Road, Toms River, NJ, 08755-3279  (732-341-9622), korraldab Carl Skonberg (201-891-5337);
- 1:30 p.l. - Võrkpall Eesti Maja platsil, korraldab A.J. Laupa ja Carl-Erik Skonberg;
- 6:15 p.l. - Isiklik auhindade jagamine noortele;
- 7:15 p.l. - Defilee, üldauhindade jagamine parimate sportlastele ja valguspidu Eric Pallop’i korraldusel: esinevad Long Island’i Lastekodu noored ja Chicago'st esineb Esmaspäev, jt. Sellele järgneb tants orkester Esmaspäeva saatel.

* Pühapäeval, 2. augustil:  Vôrkpall ja päevitamine Jenkinson'i rannas, Jenkinson South, Point Pleasant'is.

Another close loss for Tall Blacks

The Tall Blacks have been beaten again by Estonia, going down 57-54 in game two of the eight-match European tour.

A narrow defeat for the Tall Blacks in the second basketball test against Estonia, going down 57-54 in Tallinn.

Kirk Penney was again the top scorer for the Tall Blacks with 17 points, while Tom Abercrombie finished with 11.

The Tall Blacks now head to Treviso for a four nations tournament against Italy, Canada and Portugal, starting Sunday.

Yesterday, the Tall Blacks went down 58-49 to Estonia after leading 45-43 going into the final quarter.

Trade deficit decreases in May

Estonia trade deficit narrowed to EEK 0.5 billion in May from EEK 2.9 billion in the previous year, the Statistics Estonia said Friday. The report said the marked decrease in the deficit was mainly due to a steep fall in both import and export of machinery and equipment.

Exports at current prices dropped 31% year-on-year to EEK 8 billion, while imports fell 41% to EEK 8.5 billion. In April, exports were down 38% annually, while imports fell at the same pace of 41%. The trade deficit stood at EEK 1.7 billion in April.

In May, export of machinery and equipment decreased 34% year-on-year, while the imports fell by 50%. The trade surplus came in at EEK 69 million. This commodity group has a 20% share in total exports and a 18% share in total imports, which is the biggest share respectively amongst the the total exports and imports.

Mineral products has the second highest share in the total of both exports and imports, at 16% and 18% respectively. Mineral exports were down 14% annually, while the imports fell 36%. The trade deficit was EEK 191 million.

Meanwhile, total exports were up 5% month-on-month in May, while imports fell 10%. The trade deficit in the month decreased more than threefold compared to April, the statistical office said.

Estonian banks earned a total loss of 1.9 bln kroons in Q2

Juhan Tere

The Bank of Estonia reported that banks operating in Estonia earned a total loss of 1.9 billion kroons in the second quarter of 2009, writes Postimees Online/LETA.

The profitability of branches of foreign banks has decreased – their loss formed 30% of the total loss in the banking sector in the second quarter.

According to the central bank, the banks’ financial results were most affected by devaluing of loans that amounted to nearly 2.3 billion kroons. The devaluations of loans in the first half of this year form 1.6% of the banks’ loans portfolios.

According to the baseline scenario in the Bank of Estonia’s economic outlook drafted this spring, the losses on loans might this year grow to up to 4% of the loans portfolio.

In addition to the growing losses on loans, the banks’ profitability was also adversely affected by the smaller net interest rate revenues that were by nearly 25% smaller than last quarter.

The capitalisation of the banking sector stays high, estimated the Bank of Estonia.

The capital adequacy indicator fell by 0.5 percentage points in June due to growing losses earned by banks, amounting to 21.8%. This is, however, sufficiently higher than the 10-per-cent minimum standard for capital adequacy.

Estonia should allocate more EU aid to exports

Juhan Tere

Independent experts state that in using EU grants, Estonia should pay more attention to exports and to developing a knowledge-based economy, writes Postimees Online/LETA.

On Friday, the Ministry of Finance presented a recently published report, which includes a compilation of proposals from experts independent from the Government for accelerating the use of EU benefits in order to create better conditions for Estonia to exit the economic crisis.

The most important points underscored in the report on independent experts’ proposals mostly concern the need to improve the efficiency and speed of implementation of measures that would contribute to developing a more competitive economic structure. The report lists the opinions of experts on where more benefits should be directed in order to invigorate the economic environment.

“Estonia should deal on a larger scale with problems that are included in an economic crisis such as unemployment and social security,” said leading consultant of Ernst & Young Baltic Tauno Olju, who is the analysis’ project manager on behalf of independent experts.

The minister of finance Jürgen Ligi stated that in the context of economic decline, the priorities and plans need to be reviewed. “The extra funds that can be used in the form of EU aid are very important right now when the State budget has no other resources to increase the subsidies and aid programmes that would boost the economy,” he said.

During the years 2007-2013, Estonia can use up to 53.3 billion kroons of EU structural funds’ resources, the priority areas and financing volumes of which were determined in 2007 when the economy was in the growing phase

Perekonnapaev Joekaaru lastelaagris

On Sunday, the July 26th, there will be a Family Day held at Jõekääru Children's Camp in Udora, Ontario, Canada.
The program starts at 11am with the Church Service. It is an opportunity to enjoy the performances of our talented children and take a look at their art skills in Timmase Arthouse.
Everyone is most welcome! Campsite available for tenting.

Additional info and driving directions at www.joekaaru.com

Latvia ready to sign loan agreement with Estonia

Understand who can !

The money will be lent to Latvia within the framework of the European Union aid package, Estonia's "PM Online" informs.

According to the Latvian Finance Ministry, the ministry is ready to sign a separate agreement with Estonia on the allocation of the EUR 100 million loan to Latvia in 2010. The conditions of the loan, such as the interest rate and the return date, have not yet been announced, and negotiations with Estonia have not yet begun.

The Estonian Finance Ministry said that the loan would be granted to Latvia in the second half of 2010; the matter will be discussed in more detail during the work on Estonia's state budget for 2010.

As reported, the European Council approved the aid package for Latvia in a meeting in Brussels on January 19. According to the European Council's decision, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Estonia and Norway were to allot EUR 1.9 billion to Latvia altogether in 2011.

Big amounts of cash move from Estonia to Russia

In 303 cases people have declared cash amounts of more than EUR 10,000 (more than EEK 156,461) to take out from Estonia, in total amount of EEK 2,73 bln, Estonian Tax and Customs Board (MTA) told Eesti Päevaleht.

The main destination is Russia. In most cases the amount had been below EUR 6 mln.

According to the declarations EEK 23.5 mln has moved from Russia to Estonia in 5 months. MTA discovered undeclared cash in amount of EEK 3.021 mln in the first half-year, mainly it was Russian roubles.

“The amounts that cross border belong mainly to the companies, but are being declared by private persons,” MTA said.

MTA couldn’t tell whether the trend is going up or downward, since the amounts are quite different even from month to month.

A person who takes large amount of cash in or out of the country, must file a declaration and document that proves where the money has come from. Declaration must include the information of declarer or cash’s owner, the amount and currency of cash, its origin and recipient, transportation method, money’s consigning and destination country.

A person who contacted Eesti Päevaleht said that usually the declared money is in the trunk or coffer, without any special security measures.

Nordea Bank Estonia’s First Half-Year Profits EEK 107 Million

In spite of the recession, Nordea Bank Estonia that belongs to the largest Nordic banking group managed to stay profitable and ended this first half-year with net profits of EEK 107 million.

Assets of Nordea Estonia grew by 20% to EEK 47,8 billion during the first half-year compared by the same period last year.

The loan and leasing portfolio of Nordea Estonia amounts to EEK 400 billion, which is 18% more than at the same time last year. The corporate loan and leasing portfolio amounts to EEK 25 billion or 17% more than a year ago. The private portfolio grew by 13% to EEK 14 billion. At the end of June, loan losses made up 0,272% of the whole portfolio.

The deposits of Nordea Estonia’s clients exceeded EEK 11 billion by the end of June. Compared to the first half of the last year, the deposits increased by 39%; in a year, coporate deposits increased by 48% and private deposits by 39%.

According to the head of Nordea Bank Estonia Vahur Kraft, the performance of the bank during the first half of the year matched expectations. "I am glad to see to see that people have started saving to weather difficult times. Our increased deposit volumes testify to that. In spite of difficult times, we have stayed firmly on track, the market conditions are triggering an increase in provisions," Kraft said. He added that the aim of Nordea Bank is to offer its clients comprehensive banking service by providing professional advice on how to better manage one’s resources through the difficult spot. „We want to be an honest and reliable partner to our customers."
As at the end of July, Nordea Bank had 103 819 clients, 22 branch offices and 497 employees. By the end of the quarter, the bank had issued 75 634 bank cards, its online bank had 68 688 users.

Estonia’s State Forest Management Centre earned 18 mln kroons in H1

Juhan Tere

The State Forest Management Centre in Estonia generated 524 million kroons in sales revenue and net profits of 18 million kroons in the first half of the year, writes Äripäev.ee/LETA.

Sales of felled timber decreased by a fifth in the first six months.

96% of 502 million kroons of the sales revenue in the first half of the year was earned from sales of timber. The State Forest Management Centre sold 1.04 million cubic metres of felled timber in the first half of the year – a fifth less than during the same period of time last year.

The average sales price was 484 kroons per cubic metres. The prices of sold timber has fallen by 36% in a year.

“Decreased market demand and the resulting price decline have forced the State Forest Management Centre to decrease the volume of cutting and sales,” said CEO of the State Forest Management Centre Aigar Kallas. He added that due to reorganisations made last year, the company has also managed to cut costs and has been able to make ends meet. “For example, labour costs have fallen by nearly a hundred million kroons in comparison to last year,” he added.

Construction of the Patriarch Alexius II square in Tallinn started

Construction works on the Patriarch Alexius II Square that were commissioned by the Tallinn City Government were launched at the Lasnamäe city district on July 21, writes the National Broadcasting/LETA.

The construction works on the square will cost 6.5 million kroons.

The square that is named after Russian Patriarch Alexius II who was born in Estonia will be established before the Russian Orthodox church that is being built at Lasnamäe.

Flora serve for famous match point

by Mikhail Malkin

Club president Aivar Pohlak hopes Estonian contenders FC Flora will not throw away their good work after winning 1-0 at Brøndby IF last week, telling uefa.com: "We have not finished our task yet."

Moment of euphoria
Pohlak, who is also president of the Estonian Football Association, admitted that his professional detachment slipped a little as Flora capped a fine defensive performance with a winner in Denmark last week, scored by defender Tõnis Vanna. "It has been a long time since I reacted to a goal like that," he told uefa.com of the strike that handed Flora their first European win since 2005. "It was incredible: I clutched my head and fell to my knees."

Unfinished business
However, the thrill of that moment will mean little unless his side can complete their mission in Tallinn on Thursday, as they look to book a UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie against Legia Warzawa or FC Olimpi Rustavi. "We have not finished our task yet," Pohlak said. "If we go through, all will be well. If we don't, then it will be no use to complain about bad luck and say we played decently in one match."

Patient game
The two clubs met in the 2006/07 UEFA Cup second qualifying round, when Brøndby drew 0-0 draw in Tallinn before winning 4-0 back at home. This time round, Flora hold the cards ahead of the second leg, with Pohlak saying: "We know the second game will be decisive and more difficult, but it will be very nice to go to the stadium knowing that this strong Danish side need a goal at all costs and not us." He hopes the patient defensive game that paid off in Denmark last week will serve his side well again, adding: "Brøndby are still favorites and that is obvious. I don't think we should take the bull by the horns against a team of such a high standard."

©uefa.com 1998-2009

Jet-lagged Tall Blacks fail in final quarter

The New Zealand Tall Blacks have dropped the opening game of their eight-game European Tour to Estonia 58-49 in Tallinn.

Shooting guard Kirk Penney scored a game-high 23 points but could not prevent a fourth-quarter offensive drought that saw the Tall Blacks drop their tour opener at Saku Arena.

Penney, in his first game as New Zealand captain, shot 9-of-18 from the field (2/8 3pt, 3/4 FT) with five rebounds in 35 minutes to lead the Kiwis, who arrived in Estonia less than 48 hours before the game, following a draining 35-hour journey from New Zealand.

"To tell the truth, I expected worse," said a disappointed yet buoyed Tall Blacks head coach Nenad Vucinic, who coaches in Tallinn at BC Kalev/Cramo.

"You never put across to the players that you think that but when you've traveled across the world and play an experienced team after just four days preparation, it's going to be tough."

"We expected that we'd struggle to contain their team as well as we did. They're bigger than us and they're more experienced than us. It was a good first performance for the guys."

The Tall Blacks led 49-47 inside the final period but the travel fatigue caught up with them, allowing the final 11 points of the game to fall by nine points as they were outscored 15-4 over the last 10 minutes.

In complete contrast to fourth, it was a third-quarter scoring run that put New Zealand in position for the win.

From July 27th, 2009 Enterprise Estonia will be at a new location in Tallinn

On July 27, 2009 Enterprise Estonia will move its activities in Tallinn to a new location at Lasnamäe 2, 11412, Tallinn.

The bureau will be situated in the vicinity of the Sikupilli shopping centre and Tallinn Bus Terminal. You can view the exact location on the map here:  http://www.eas.ee/index.php/kontakt/kontakt-asukoht

All phone numbers and e-mail addresses of Enterprise Estonia will remain the same.

The main reasons for moving a bit farther away from the city centre included a more favourable rent and better parking facilities for our clients.

The customer service will be located on the ground floor of the new bureau and there is also a parking lot near the building. It is only a few minutes walk from the new bureau to the nearest bus and tram stops. In connection with the moving, some disturbances may occur in the Enterprise Estonia customer service during the period July 24-27. However, we will do everything in our power to make the move to the new location as smooth as possible for our clients.

Back in touch with the Medieval Times

Together with the intellectual and cultural life there has also been lively trading throughout the centuries of which Tartu’s Hanseatic history speaks. Thus for several years the Hanseatic Days have given color to the summer cultural life in Tartu. This year has been no exception, as Tartu returned to its Medieval past on July 17 – 19.

Among those who seven hundred years ago started the Hanseatic League, those who traded goods and different cultures, were our ancestors. The grain grown on the fields here, and the handicrafts made by various masters have long traveled thousands of miles, and in exchange people have received goods and cultures from other countries. The River Emajogi has been measured by hundreds of fully loaded barges, the roads had the dust turned up and down by thousands of hooves and wheels. Tartu has heard discussions and lectures, war cries, secret whispers and songs in very different languages and dialects. 

All this is around us today – see and hear this passage of time when you look at the tower of Jaani Church, hear the bells of the Town Hall, go to the song festival or visit Hanseatic Days Festival.
Regardless of economic boom and bust, people need the cultural entertainment that the Tartu Hanseatic Days have offered for years in the most diverse and best form. Both the people of Tartu and the tens of thousands of visitors who came to Tartu, from near and far, enjoyed the Medieval party. See you in Medieval times next year!

Russian rights !

Starting from July 21, Russian security services will have the right to open and inspect postal items without the decision of a court, according to a new order from the Ministry of Communications.

Secret services will be granted access to all the personal electronic information databases of the state postal service. Post offices are planned to be equipped with special isolated rooms for the inspection of the postal items of average citizens. None of these actions will require a court order.

The order does not even mention that, according to Russian law, any inspection of post should be made after a court decision only.

Legal basis
The Russian Constitution proclaims “the right to privacy of correspondence, of telephone conversations, postal, telegraph and other messages.”
Moreover, a decree of Russia’s Supreme Court of 2000 ruled that postal operators may grant access to Contitution of the Russian Federation.

Article 23

1. Everyone shall have the right to the inviolability of private life, personal and family secrets, the protection of honor and good name.
2. Everyone shall have the right to privacy of correspondence, of telephone conversations, postal, telegraph and other messages. Limitations of this right shall be allowed only by court decision.

Article 24

1. The collection, storage, use and dissemination of information about the private life of a person shall not be allowed without his or her consent.
2. The bodies of state authorities, local governments and their officials shall ensure for everyone the possibility of access to the documents and materials directly affecting his or her rights and freedoms, unless otherwise provided for by law.
personal postal items for special service organizations only in cases where they are provided with the necessary documents from a court. Any other demands have no legal basis and contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

Tall Blacks touch down in Europe

After almost 40 hours of travel, the Tall Blacks arrived in the Estonian capital of Tallinn ahead of the first game of their eight-game tour of Europe.

The Tall Blacks, coached by third-year head coach Nenad Vucinic, start a stretch of eight games in 12 days across four countries against Estonia on Thursday morning (4am NZ time).

With four debutants in the 2009 team and three players with 10 games or less experience at the international level, Vucinic, his assistant Chris Tupu and video technician Dillon Boucher have a tough job to quickly mold a young team.

After two games against Estonia in Tallinn and Rakvere on back-to-back nights, New Zealand head to the northern Italy town of Treviso for a four-nation tournament, with three straight games against Portugal, Italy and Canada.

They then travel north for two games versus Belgium in Kortrijk and Antwerp, then finish the tour with a one-off game against Finland in Helsinki.

"When you look at teams like Finland, Estonia, Portugal and Belgium, you don't really regard them as the highest level in the world," Vucinic said.

"But when you look at the strength of the European championship you will find that those teams can compete against the best. They've got some NBA players in their squads and they've got experience, they've been professional players for some time.

Estonia’s State spending exceeded revenue by 3.6 bln kroons in H1

Great and what is coming next .... !

Juhan Tere

According to the Ministry of Finance of Estonia, in the first six months of 2009, the State budget collected 39.4 billion kroons of revenue, writes the National Broadcasting/LETA.

This was 46.3% of the amount planned in the current State budget for the entire year.

Spending from the State budget amounted to 43 billion kroons in six months – 47.1% of the amount planned for the entire year.

Hence, the spending exceeded revenue with 3.6 billion kroons.

The biggest budgetary risks are the shortfall of tax revenue, the activities of local governments and public institutions that affect the Government sector’s budgetary position and negative developments on the labour market, commented the ministry.

The tax revenue collected in the State budget in six months amounts to 29.6 billion kroons – 46.6% of the amount planned in the budget for the entire year. The tax revenue is in a slight shortfall in comparison to the planned amounts in the budget, but thus far the revenue collection has been affected by the individuals’ income tax returns – nearly a billion kroons more than last year.

The situation on the labour market continues to adversely affect the social tax revenue. The decline in consumption also has a negative impact on the excise taxes’ and value added tax revenue.

Construction price index in continuous fall ...

According to Statistics Estonia, in the 2nd quarter of 2009 the percentage change of the construction price index was -8.8% compared to the 2nd quarter of 2008. The construction price index fell for the second quarter in succession compared to the same quarter of the previous year.

In the 1st quarter of this year the construction price index fell 4.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, but in the 2nd quarter the fall deepened. In the 2nd quarter the fall of the construction price index was mainly influenced by the 17% decrease in the labour costs. The price indices of building machines and building materials are also in the falling trend. Of building materials, the index was mainly influenced by the fall in the prices of products of concrete, metal products, and of doors and windows.

In the 2nd quarter of 2009 compared to the 1st quarter of 2009, the change of the construction price index was -3.9%, mainly influenced by the decrease in the labour costs.

In the 2nd quarter of 2009 the percentage change in the repair and reconstruction work price index was -3.6% compared to the 1st quarter of 2009 and -8.4% compared to the 2nd quarter of the previous year.

Economic results of the Estonian unit of Swedbank in Q2 2009

The recession continued in all Baltic States in the second quarter, as expected. Economic decline in Estonia should reach 13-15 per cent this year according to the forecasts of Swedbank analysts.

Similarly to the previous quarter, the results of the bank in the second quarter were affected by the overall deterioration of the economic environment – the quarterly loss of the Estonian unit of Swedbank amounted to EEK 372m. The operating profit earned by the Estonian until amounted to EEK 717m and provisions for covering potential loan losses comprised EEK 1.086 billion.
The revenue of the Estonian unit decreased in the second quarter by 3.7% to EEK 1.185 billion and operating expenses by 2.1% to EEK 468m. The bank has managed to keep the cost-benefit ratio below 40%.
Deposits increased by 0.3% during the quarter whilst the loan portfolio decreased by 1.9%.

“Considering the current economic situation, the performance of the bank in the second quarter met our expectations,” said CEO of Swedbank Estonia Priit Perens. He added that the loss made in the first half of this year comprises less than a fourth of the profit earned in the successful previous year.