BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

The Internet society is not happy with the election results

After the municipal election results came to knowledge, anti-centrist calls to de-register from Tallinn have appeared in the Internet and several social nets.

Such a suggestion has found both, followers and opponents. Among the cons of such a measure, people mention, that the result of it can be doubtful and probably will not lead to any changes.

The lack of the plan are obvious to the Tallinn's inhabitants too, still they don't consider them to be essential – for instance, in Tallinn it is difficult to get a place in the Kindergarten or to enlist the child into a school, nevertheless it is much more difficult in over cities and districts.

The idea to de-register from Tallinn was also mentioned by the Eesti Ekspress journalist, Yuku-Kalle Rayd, who personally urged to think about de-registration, to stop the taxes from getting into Edgar Savisaar's hands.

Tiiu Kuik - Elle - Norway

Carmen Kass : Clown

Transforming Estonian übermodel Carmen Kass into a sinister high-fashion harlequin through photograph and moving image alike, a surreal and dreamlike vision takes a nightmareish twist at the hands of Nick Knight and Panos Yiapanis in this representation of Autumn/Winter 2009-2010 fashion.

Taken from Jack The Ripper's third victim, the title Dark Annie sets the tone for this haunting and foreboding film, in which cloudy shadows and barely-glimpsed reflections at the periphery of one's vision are not as benign as we may wish.

Watch it here...Download Dark Annie-Carmen Kass

Novatours in Estonia lost nearly a half of its turnover in 9 months

Juhan Tere

Novatours generated 140 million kroons in sales revenue in the first nine months of 2009 while a year ago it amounted to over 270 million kroons, writes Äripäev.ee/LETA.

CEO of Novatours Raimondas Usheckas stated that the charter tourism market has started showing signs of recovery, but the pre-crisis level will not be restored at least during the next two years.

“In the beginning of this year, we set ourselves more modest objectives than usually and can now state that we did better than we expected,” he said. Usheckas added that this season, the enterprise has sold out nearly all planned flights and added two extra flights to Turkey for the end of October that were sold in record short time – in two weeks.

CEO of Novatours Estonia noted that the economic depression in the Baltic region not only affected the economic indicators, but also the relations between travel agencies and customers. “Customers have started valuing more highly the stability of service providers, their reliability and experience and travel agencies have become more flexible and more attentive towards the needs and preferences in different target groups,” he explained.

Novatours Estonia was founded in 2004.

Aripäev urges Swedish banks to abstain from using the term "Baltic countries"; situation in Estonia is better !

Juhan Tere

The Estonian business newspaper Aripaev urges Swedish banks to abstain from using the term "Baltic countries", pointing out that the situation in Estonia is different from the situation in Latvia or Lithuania.

Commenting the quarterly reports from the Swedish banks Swedbank and SEB that were released earlier this week, Aripaev editor in chief Meelis Mandel urges the banks to report separately on each country, not the Baltic region.

"Let me make one proposal to you in this connection: perhaps in future reports you could report separately about Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, instead of talking about the overall situation in the Baltics? The reason is that, with the exception of Finns, the rest of the world is still regarding us as one region and you are reinforcing the notion that there is no difference between the three countries," wrote Mandel.

"Whereas, as you well know, albeit small, we are still separate countries and if you look, for instance at change in provisions, you can clearly see that the development in Estonia is different from that of Latvia or Lithuania. I am sure that it would also serve your interests if you were to emphasize it in your communication to foreign investors," Mandel stated.

Windows 7 finds adoption in Eastern Europe

Nathan Eddy

Users in Eastern Europe appear more eager to adopt Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 7, than their Western counterparts, suggests a report from NetApplications.

As Microsoft prepares to launch its Windows 7 operating system around the globe, technology firm NetApplications found the software is finding a receptive audience in Eastern Europe. The leading adopter of Windows 7, Slovenia, shows a 6.9 percent adoption rate, compared with that of Germany, Europe’s largest economy, with just 2.4 percent. The second fastest adoption rate was in Lithuania, at 6.3 percent, with Estonia, Belarus, Romania and Latvia all reporting adoption rates of 5.6 percent or above. “Upon analysis of global Windows 7 usage share, we noticed a distinct pattern,” NetApplications said. “Russia and many Eastern European countries already have significant share of Windows 7 usage. We are sure these are all properly licensed users.”

Denmark, Sweden and Finland represented the three first Western European countries on the list, according to NetApplications. The runup to Windows 7’s launch in Europe was a wobbly event: In order to comply with European antitrust regulations, Microsoft decided to ship Windows 7 without its Web browsing application, Internet Explorer (IE), in European Union member states. Windows eventually scrapped plans for a “Windows 7 E” edition, but not before proposing to the European Commission allowing users to download a competing browser from a "ballot" screen instead of providing a version of Windows completely without IE.

New competition for the "Environmental Award of the Year"

The Ministry of the Environment announces new competition for the Environmental Award of the Year. The competition is organised in three main categories and all individuals, institutions, companies and organisations that have contributed to the conservation of the environment in the last year are invited to participate.

Candidates for the Environmental Award and the Junior Environmental Award of the Year can be nominated by everyone; nominations can be made by others or by the candidates themselves. Companies can apply for the Environmental Award for Business and it is permitted to nominate oneself in this category.

In order to nominate a candidate, the applicant should fill out the questionnaire of the competition and submit it to the Ministry of the Environment by e-mail or regular mail, appending any relevant materials to present the nominated achievement. The questionnaire can be downloaded from the homepage of the Ministry of the Environment at www.envir.ee/keskkonnategu.

The nominations will be assessed by two panels of environmental experts and representatives of the public and non-governmental sectors.

President Ilves to President Zatlers : Latvia is not alone with its worries

“The reforms and budgetary cuts that many countries are addressing, under pressure from and with the support of international organizations, are essential for improving the financial state of these countries, for their own future,” President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said at the meeting with Latvian Head of State Valdis Zatlers.

“It is only the purposeful and decisive action of the government and parliament that can help the societies that have fallen into economic crisis to emerge from this crisis and improve their economic situations. Therefore, it is important that agreements are adhered to – both domestically and internationally,” the Estonian Head of State said.

Presidents Ilves and Zatlers recognized that the financial and economic situations in the Baltic countries differ, that the problems of the three countries are dissimilar, although the successes and failures of each country affect the reputation of the entire region.

“Of course, while we are responsible primarily for resolving our own problems, we are also responsible for all three Baltic countries,” President Ilves said. “I am sure that Latvia will be able to solve its own problems. I believe in Latvia. Latvia is not alone with its worries. Estonia and Lithuania, as well as the entire European Union, stand by it as firm allies.”

Speaking of the future of the European Union, Presidents Ilves and Zatlers stressed the importance of enacting the Lisbon Treaty, so that we can continue as a more dynamic, more integrated and stronger Europe.

The importance of the Baltic Sea Strategy, which depends on all the local countries making a contribution, was also discussed at the meeting.

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Arco Vara sells EUR 11 million holdings

Estonian real estate group Arco Vara sold its holdings in three joint ventures for a total of EEK 172mn (EUR 11mn), as announced by the company. The company sold its stakes in Tallinn Olympic Yachting Centre, Floriston Grupp and Arco Business Centre.

Estonia : SEB and Swedbank - Quarter 3-2009

Swedish bank's SEB Estonian subsidiary recorded EEK 589mn (EUR 37.6mn) net loss in Q3/2009, the bank announced. For Jan-Sep 2009 overall, bank suffered a loss of EEK 1.2bn vs.
On Swedbank.ee side, the net loss for the same quarter was EUR 20,6mn.

SEB profit in Q3 beats forecasts ; Baltics more stable ....!

Nina Kolyako

Swedish banking group SEB posted a better-than-expected third-quarter operating profit on Wednesday and said growth in non-performing loans in the troubled Baltic region was slowing.

Operating earnings in July through September fell to 388 million Swedish crowns ($56.1 million) from a year-ago 2.5 billion, above a mean forecast of a 273 million profit seen in a Reuters poll.

SEB said in a statement it had decided not to apply for an extension of a Swedish government guarantee programme, put in place to help financial institutions through the worst financial crisis in decades. The bank has not yet utilised the programme, writes LETA.

"We see continued stability in the Nordic region and decelerating growth of non-performing loans in the Baltic countries," SEB CEO Annika Falkengren said.

Quarterly net credit provisions and losses of 3.3 billion crowns landed below a mean Reuters poll forecast of 4.1 billion.

SEB's results come a day after rival Swedbank cheered markets with upbeat comments forecasting slower growth in loan losses in the second half of the year, even after posting a third straight quarterly loss.

The bulk of Swedbank's provisions in the third quarter related to the Baltic States.

SEB in Estonia earned an operating loss of 1,223 million kroons in the first nine months of 2009, writes Äripäev.ee.

589 million kroons of the loss was generated in the third quarter.

Volume of real estate transactions in Estonia fell by 51% in Q3

Juhan Tere

The total monetary value of real estate transactions carried out in the third quarter of 2009 in Estonia was by 51% smaller than during the same period of time last year, writes Postimees Online/LETA.

The Land Board reported that the monetary volume of real estate transactions amounted to nearly 4.787 billion kroons in the third quarter.

The number of real estate transactions completed fell by a quarter in a year, to 9,291. In the third quarter last year, the number of real estate transactions reached 12,407 and their total worth amounted to nearly 9.694 billion kroons.

In comparison to the second quarter of this year, the number of real estate transactions in the third quarter was by five per cent and their monetary value by 10% smaller.

A total of 17,477 hectares of land – 23% less than a year ago and nearly 30% less than in the second quarter – exchanged owners in the third quarter of 2009.

Most transactions – a total of 3,978 – were carried out in the Harju County and their total value reached more than half of the total value of all transactions – to 2.861 billion kroons.

Estonia likely to meet Maastricht criteria to adopt Euro In 2011

Estonia is likely to meet all the Maastricht criteria to adopt the euro in 2011, though there are several risks associated with meeting the budget criterion, the country's central bank said Wednesday.

Postponement of the adoption of the euro will delay the resumption of the economy, Eesti Pank said in a report. The adoption of the euro will help restore confidence, bringing in new investment and to create jobs.

Hence, the bank recommended to continue efforts to keep this and next year's fiscal deficit below 3% of gross domestic product, the criterion set by the European Commission to get entry into the Eurogroup.

The central bank forecasts budget deficit of 3% of GDP this year and 2.8% next year. "Fulfilling the budget criterion might be slightly complicated, but hopefully we will be able to make the last effort," it said.

Trade surplus for Estonia long way off!

TALLINN - Exports of goods from Estonia in August this year reached 7.8 billion kroons (500 million euros), while imports came in at 9.3 billion kroons, reports news wire bbn.ee.

Compared to August of last year, the value of exports of goods decreased by 30 percent, or 3.4 billion kroons; imports dropped by 31 percent or 4.1 billion kroons.

These figures led to a foreign trade deficit of 1.5 billion kroons, which is nearly a third smaller compared to the same month the previous year.

A. Ansip reaffirms goal to join eurozone

Speaking at the Pärnu Management Conference “Kannapööre“ (U-turn), Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said that he believes that Estonia does not need a u-turn. We have the firm goal of joining the Eurozone and keeping our competitive and employment oriented tax policy. Also, Estonia’s birth rate is finally starting to improve again and our life expectancy is on the rise.

“You must not demolish a country during a crisis,” said Prime Minister Ansip, saying that Estonia’s strength has lied in its perseverance and consistency. “A conservative budget policy and keeping our finances in order definitely have been good for Estonia. It is a sign of the reliability of the business environment, which already is bringing new investments to Estonia,” he added. “Yes, economic development is cyclic in its nature and every upturn is followed by a downturn. But more importantly at the moment – every downturn is again followed by an upturn,” noted the Prime Minister.

Speaking at the Pärnu Management Conference today, Prime Minister Andrus Ansip assured that the government aims with its financial policy to adopt the euro on first occasion and to keep the kroon as strong as possible until then. The Prime Minister said that the budget deficit of the government sector must not exceed three per-cent of our GDP neither in this year nor in 2010.

Swedbank reports third straight loss

LONDON - Swedbank on Tuesday reported its third straight quarterly loss but said it's seeing signs that credit quality in the Baltic region is beginning to stabilize.

Swedbank /quotes/comstock/22u!e4:se0000242455- (SE:SWEDA 65.50, 0.00, 0.00%) , a Stockholm-based lender with a heavy exposure to the Baltic region, swung to a third-quarter loss of 3.34 billion krona ($482 million), after earning 2.47 billion krona in the year-earlier period.

Consensus estimates were for a 2.14 billion loss.

The loss came after the group took impairments of 6.1 billion krona, virtually all of which was in the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as well as Ukraine.

The loan-loss level in Ukraine was a staggering 76.4%, and 6.9% in the Baltics, and yet only 1.95% for the group.

The lender now carries 35.77 billion krona of impaired loans. It also has $1.42 billion of U.S. real-estate exposure coming from Lehman Brothers collateral, though it's not had to take any fresh provisions there.

Tiiu Kuik - Harper´s Bazaar - Russia - October 2009

Estonia is trying to attract the EU IT agency in Tallinn

Juhan Tere

Several Estonian ministries, the Estonian Association of Information Technology and Telecommunications (ITL) and a number of people are making great efforts in order to bring to Estonia the EU IT agency with its annual budget of nearly 600 million kroons and 120 employees, Postimees/LETA writes.

Although the decision on the agency’s location will be made next year, Estonia is working hard to bring the institution here.

“Having met in this issue with representatives of different ministries, heads of our foreign representations and heads of IT companies, I can assure that the work to bring the IT agency to Estonia is under way intensely for a long time already,” said European Parliament member Kristiina Ojuland.

ITL President Taavi Kotka said that the IT agency is extremely important for Estonia, creating it here would be the best help ever for the whole Estonian IT sector. “Estonia would nicely manage to build it up,” said Kotka.

Estonian IT visionary Linnar Viik said that although Estonia’s wish to get the IT agency is justified and Estonia a strong candidate, the efforts made so far are like trying to find someone in a mist since currently it isn’t even known whether, when and what kind of an agency the IT agency will be. “Our joint efforts will get a clearer content when exact information exists about the creation of the planned agency and it is clear what is expected of candidates,” he said.

Interior Ministry adviser Piret Lilleväli said that the agency would work with giant volumes of data, for example it would have to administer the Schengen information system (SIS) that is used by the police and border guard in all Schengen states.

airBaltic to stop flying between Tallinn and Vilnius

Juhan Tere

The Latvian airline airBaltic will stop operating flights between Tallinn and Vilnius next week, writes Postimees Online/LETA.

From the beginning of next week – since October 26 – the Tallinn Airport’s flight plan no longer includes flights from Tallinn to Vilnius operated by airBaltic.

The aviation enterprise’s Vice President Janis Vanags stated that he is not yet prepared to comment on the decision, but will do so soon.

Estonian Air will continue operating flights between the capitals of Estonia and Lithuania.

Commentary from airBaltic specially for BC

"As airBaltic flies connected flights Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius FIVE times per day (in winter season) and offer better prices on connected flights, people tend to migrate for cheaper connected flights. So, our five connected flights per day in a way created too much competition for ourselves, so we suspend the direct flight until the end of March 2010 (winter season typically shows lower passenger demand), and we are ready to put the direct flight back as soon as passengers find that they need something extra to the existing five connected flights!"

Estonia doesn’t participate in refugees’ housing project

On Thursday the government decided not to help housing refugees, ERR News reports.

United Nations Organization estimated that there about 750,000 people who need to be taken elsewhere from wars. Those are people, who continuously suffer due to violence and in lack of food and water.

The European Union decided that participating in that project is voluntary and currently up to 13 member countries are dealing with the subject.

“Estonia doesn’t intend to participate in transplanting project since our budget doesn’t allow that and our society is not ready for it today,” Uku Särekanno, advisor of internal affairs in Estonia’s office in EU said.

In European Union a country to where refugee arrives first, should take care of him/her. In reality it doesn’t work that way and immigrants move all across Europe.