BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Estonian yard to build windfarm catamarans for Sure Wind Marine

BLRT Marketex in Estonia and Sure Wind Marine Ltd in the UK have entered into contract to build four 19.5m windfarm service catamarans.

The catamarans will be available for projects throughout Europe and built to DNV class and dual UK MCA and German Stability rules to ensure full flexibility.

“This is first major contract for BLRT Marketex in windfarm service industry, which marks a new stage in development of our company. Our extensive experience in small vessels´ building gives us the strong confidence in success of this project. We strongly believe in potential of this growing industry and are proud to build boats in close cooperation with experienced operators and designers to achieve best performance,” said Vladislav Markin, head of BLRT Marketex's shipbuilding division.

Dominic Abraham, Managing Director of Northumberland-based Sure Wind Marine, said: “We are very pleased to be building vessels at such a well-equipped yard with an experienced team.

Routes Europe 2013 launches

Routes Europe 2013 officially opened this week. Next year’s event will take place from 20-22 May 2012 in the Estonian capital, Tallinn. The event expects to attract more than 700 high-level figures from airlines, airports, tourism authorities and other industry stakeholders to discuss the development of air routes in Europe.

Airlines already having confirmed their attendance for next year include Air Baltic, Air Europa, easyJet, Norwegian.com, Flybe and Meridiana.

“We are looking forward to taking Routes Europe to Tallinn in 2012, as this will be the first time we have taken the event to the Baltic Region,” said David Stroud, executive vice president of airports for the event’s organiser, UBM Aviation. “The event, which is the largest of our annual regional events, is expected to attract more than 700 delegates who should expect a high level of hospitality from this historic city,” he added.

Estonia targets MICE buyers

Estonia plans to boost its MICE business in 2012 with new venue developments and increased marketing activity.

The Estonian Tourist Board plans to run two fam trips for up to 100 European event planners in April and autumn 2012.

Estonian Tourist Board market manager Helina Andruskevitsus said: "People think Estonia is not so well-developed so we are trying to get buyers out on fam trips. We had a fam trip this year and it was very successful."

New developments are also set to boost Estonia´s appeal in 2012, including the reopening of the Tallinn TV Tower in May. The landmark building will offer a restaurant, viewing platform, two conference rooms each holding 100 delegates and a ground floor meeting room for 50.

The Estonian Maritime Museum Seaplane Harbour is also set to open in May, with event space for 700 delegates.

Christy McGhee

Karmen Pedaru | Interview December / January 2012

Interview December / January 2012 is finally on newsstands and the double issue packs a considerable holiday wallop not least of which includes an interview with Donatella Versace that features two electric portraits of Karmen Pedaru (Ford) by Patrick Demarchelier. Karmen’s sea-themed looks were taken from the Verace Spring 2012 collection and were styled by Karl Templer. For the feature, Donatella speaks with musician Nikki Minaj. For a model who walked in the spring Versace show, it is thrilling to once again see Karmen Pedaru wear the signature clothing of the house the late Gianni Versace made famous.

Credits include: Publication, Interview December / January 2012; Title, “Donatella Versace”; Photography, Patrick Demarchelier; Styling, Karl Templer; Hair, Eugene Souleiman for Wella Professionals; Makeup, Diane Kendal for Sunday Riley; Manicure, Maki; Casting, Michelle Lee at KCD; Set design, Nick Des Jardins at Mary Howard Studio; Production, Dana Brockman at Viewfinders; Retouching, Gloss Studio New York; Special thanks, The Waldorf Towers and Industria.

Estonia can send illegal border crossers back to Russia

The implementation protocol of the readmission treaty between Estonia and Russia came in force on Monday, enabling to send illegal border crossers back to their citizenship or residence state, LETA/Delfi reports.

The protocol was signed in September this year in Moscow.

Estonia has concluded implementation protocols of the readmission treaty also with Moldova, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

In 2010, 111 cases off illegal border crossing were discovered at Estonia’s exterior border and 169 illegal border crossers were detained.

The majority of the illegal border crossings took place involuntarily, during fishing on border lakes or at sea or due to navigation errors. Five cases were attempts of illegal immigration.

Juhan Tere

Tallinn's toppled tree to be trimmed

After twice toppling down over the weekend, Tallinn's Christmas tree will be going back up - albeit in a shorter form - on Tuesday morning, municipal officials have said.

High winds from the storm that lashed the Baltic coast on Sunday again brought down the tree, which stands at the center of the capital's busy Christmas market. Nobody was hurt in that incident either, and in both cases the falling tree also missed the nearby wooden sales huts.

Ivo Parbus of the Central Tallinn District Administration told uudised.err.ee that the tree would be remounted on the square with additional measures taken to ensure its stability. These include cutting an additional four meters from its base.

The tree, which originally stood at 24 meters, will now have the much more modest height of 17 meters.

The same storm, named Berit, also knocked over the municipal Christmas tree in the nearby town of Keila, in addition to causing power outages throughout the country.

Steve Roman

Children's home operators sentenced for torturing charges

A husband and wife who ran a foster care home have been sentenced by Tartu County Court for torturing children.

According to the terms of their plea bargain, Margot Konks, 36, and Maido Konks, 38, pled guilty to the torture of four children.

On November 28, Margot Konks was sentenced to 18 months suspended with three months probation, and Maido Konks received a six-month sentence with the same amount of probation.
 
The married couple ran a non-profit organization in Tartu municipality that offered a family-style foster home to children from orphanages.

Over a three-year period from 2009 to this year, four children, current ages 5, 7, 9 and 12, suffered a number of abuses at the hands of Margot Konks. Three were also abused by Maido Konks. The abuse ranged from corporal punishment to the increasingly cruel and unusual. According to the accusation, Margot Konks ordered a child to place fingers in the door of a cabinet, then closed the door on the child's hand. Konks also applied stinging nettles to the children's skin, according to the accusation.

The couple pled guilty to some of the counts.

Aeroflot could enter the Moscow-Tallinn route

A third carrier, Aeroflot, will most likely start servicing the Tallinn-Moscow route besides Estonian Air And UTair, LETA/Äripäev.ee reports.

Russian news portal ATO.ru published on Friday a report on Aeroflot’s plans to increase its route network considerably in 2012. The list of completely new destinations includes also Tallinn.

Tallinn Airport board member Erik Sakkov said that naturally he cannot confirm the plan of Aeroflot flying to Tallinn but did not express major disbelief over the news either.

Juhan Tere

Estonian doctors opting for nordic region

Estonia is increasingly losing doctors to the wealthier countries of Finland and Sweden, Eesti Paeevaleht reported, citing union representatives and social ministry data.

About 1,000 Estonian doctors are working mainly in Finland and Sweden where they earn wages up to four times higher than at home, the Tallinn-based newspaper reported. Some 80 percent of final-year medical students at Tartu University, the only one providing higher medical education, have started studying Finnish, the newspaper said.

Seaman falls overboard and drowns

A crew member on a Swedish tugboat anchored near the island of Hiiumaa fell overboard on the morning of November 28. He was found drowned a few hours later. 

The Police and Border Guard received the distress call at 5.35, wrote uudised.err.ee.

The helicopter team was sent out immediately and by 9:00 the body of the Swedish sailor was found. The sailor's body was later transported to Tallinn. 

The accident took place five nautical miles northeast of Hiiumaa on the Karl Erik tug, Urmo Kohv, spokesperson for the Police and Border Guard, said.

Ingrid Teesalu

Estonia misses the mark in Russian broadside

NATO-member Estonia, ignoring Moscow’s efforts to co-ordinate a joint missile defense system between Russia and NATO, blames Russia for the heightened atmosphere of mistrust that threatens to boil over into another arms race on European soil.

The Baltic country says it is Russia that must change its tune and stop seeing the 28-member military bloc as the enemy.

"I do hope that Russia will change its rhetoric…and will cease to see European countries and members of NATO as enemies of Russia,” Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet said.

Estonia’s comments come on the heels of President Dmitry Medvedev’s announcement that Russia will possibly deploy Iskander missiles in the Kaliningrad region, as well as in the south and west of the country, in order to counter any risk posed by the European missile defense system.

Medvedev’s move came after many months of tough negotiations between Moscow and NATO, which failed to integrate Russia into the European missile defense system.

The Estonian minister proceeded to offer vague verbal promises about the missile shield which failed to go to the heart of Russia’s concern.

Tallinn to allocate €110,000 to non-existent "ombudsman"

The Tallinn City Council will allocate around 110,000 euros for the capital’s ombudsman – a recently established position that so far has remained unoccupied. 

Under the amendment to the city statute introduced March 24 this year, the Tallinn City Council was supposed to appoint the official starting from July 2011. 

According to Toomas Vitsut, chairman of the council, although the ombudsman institution was established six months ago, it does not mean that someone had to occupy the position immediately! 

Vitsut refrained from commenting on whether a candidate will be found by January 2012. "We have considered various options, yet so far we have not reached a decision," he said, adding that establishing the ombudsman institution served the interests of democracy and would help to resolve disputes between municipal authorities and residents. 

The 25,000 euros allocated this year will be transferred to next year's budget, Vitsut told uudised.err.ee!

Ingrid Teesalu

Estonian Air to add flights on Tallinn-Moscow route

Estonian national airline Estonian Air announced that due to increased demand it will add six extra flights between Tallinn and Moscow from 30 December 2011 to 9 January 2012.

“Traditionally Russian tourists’ interest to visit Estonia during the holidays is great and for that reason we have decided to offer additional flights on the named route,” said Rauno Parras, Estonian Air’s Commercial Manager. “Estonia continues to be an exciting and attractive destination among Russians, and according to National Statistics Office tourism from Russia increased most in absolute numbers which also reflects in our Tallinn-Moscow route developments."

The flights to Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport are operated under the code sharing agreement with Aeroflot Russian Airlines.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Children's pocket money stands at €2.5 million/month

Estonian children receive a total of 2.5 million euros of allowance money each month, said Piret Suitsu, head of Swedbank’s Institute of Private Finances. 

According to Suitsu, both schools and parents should educate children to more responsibly manage their money. Saving allowances is not a widespread habit among youth, said Suitsu, adding that the amount of children’s pocket money was "somewhat comparable" to the sums in Nordic countries.

In addition, children significantly affect the purchasing decisions of their parents, which both businesses and advertising companies are well aware of, Suitsu told Kuku Raadio.

Young people are financially dependent on their parents for a long time, according to Suitsu. “Research shows that parents even support 30-year-old employed offspring.”

If a person needs to purchase something more expensive or has run out of money before the next payday, a common solution is to turn to the parents, Suitsu said. 

Ingrid Teesalu

Carmen Kass : Vogue - Japan - January 2012

"Formed by nature" : Carmen Kass by Cedric Buchet for Vogue - Japan January 2012

International ballroom dance competition in Tallinn

Estonia is hosting its most high-profile competitive dance event of the year - Tallinn International Open Cup 2011 - this weekend.

The two-day competition, featuring standard and Latin American dance, is the 11th World DanceSport Federation event to be held in Tallinn.

Estonian duos Vladislav Inostrantsev/Marina Nikolajeva (ranked 73 in the world), and Konstantin Gorodilov/Yuliya Krepchuk (ranked 83 in the world), took the stage on Saturday in the Latin American dance category.

The competitive bar will be high on Sunday, when standard competition takes place, as 13 of the top-50 pairs are registered for the event.

Among others are Estonian duo Andres Liiv and Kristin Vaha, who recently placed 14th in the world. The last time Estonians were successful in achieving such a high ranking was in 1999.

The event takes place in Tallinn's Saku Suurhall. Both days begin at 9:00 and finals begin at 19:00.

Ott Tammik

The Christmas market opened yesterday

According to the organizers, the Christmas Market has never been just a venue for vending, but rather a cultural experience that includes Father Christmas, the design of the market and a varied concert program on weekends that involves actors from VAT theatre, dozens of choirs and dance groups, writes LETA.

The cultural program of the Christmas Market began on November 26 with a concert by Luther's studio chamber choir; true arrival of Christmas season will be celebrated today, Sunday, when at 14:00 the first Advent light will be lit.

Several church choirs will be singing and the lights will be lit on the Christmas tree brought to the heart of Tallinn from Harju county Hirvli village. The Advent candles will be lit every Sunday at the same time. Together with closing program of the European Capital of Culture 'Happy End' on December 22, the Christmas Market will celebrate the beginning of winter; on December 24, the Mayor of Tallinn will declare Christmas peace there.

After the New Year different ethnic groups will present cultural programs. The Christmas Market will be open from 10:00-19:00 until January 8, 2012. Tallinn Christmas Market has been chosen as one of the most beautiful Christmas Markets of Europe.

Juhan Tere

In the 3rd quarter the average monthly gross salaries grew

According to Statistics Estonia, in the 3rd quarter of 2011, the average monthly gross salaries were EUR 809 and the average hourly gross salaries were EUR 4.82. Compared to the 3rd quarter of the previous year, the average monthly gross salaries grew 6.6% and the average hourly gross salaries by 4.7%.

The real wages which took into account the influence of the change in the consumer price index and which shows the purchasing power of wages and salaries, increased 1.2% in the 3rd quarter of 2011. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, the real wages increased after the decrease lasting for eleven quarters.

According to the Wages and Salaries Statistics Survey, the number of employees increased by 2.5% as at the end of September compared to the same period of 2010.

Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2010, the average monthly gross wages and salaries increased the most in mining and quarrying (13.4%), and decreased only in other service activities (10.2%).

Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2010, the average hourly gross wages and salaries increased the most in real estate activities (12.2%), and decreased the most in other service activities (11.4%).

The average gross wages and salaries were 785 euros in July, 817 euros in August and 826 euros in September.

In the 3rd quarter of 2011, the employer’s average monthly labour costs per employee were 1,096 euros and the average hourly labour costs were 7.64 euros. Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2010, the average monthly labour costs per employee increased by 6.7% and the average hourly labour costs by 4.1%.

Estonia in EU's top 3 for share of overweight women

Estonia is currently placing third in the EU for the proportion of obese women, according to a recent study conducted by Eurostat in 19 member states.

Obesity was defined as the Body Mass Index (BMI) of the person exceeding 30.

This study somewhat counterbalances the image proposed in a 2010 report by the World Health Organization which, measuring the whole population's average BMI by country, found Estonian women to be Europe's slimmest.

The highest share of obese women - 24 percent - was recorded in the UK. Latvia and Malta shared the second place with 21 percent, while Estonia was third with 20.5 percent.

The lowest percentage of obese women was found in Romania (8 percent) and Italy (9 percent).

In Estonia obesity is a much more common problem among the female population. The share of overweight men in Estonia is significantly lower - 16 percent, which puts them in the 11th place in the EU.

According to the study, obesity occurred more often among women with a less advanced education level, while in men overweight was more of a problem among those having a higher education.

Ingrid Teesalu

Kaia Kanepi cripples Daria Gavrilova to reach the semis – OrtoLaakarit Open 2011

Top seeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi slew Russian qualifier Daria Gavrilova with a bagel at the OrtoLaakarit Open 2011, an ITF event taking place on the hard courts in Helsinki, Finland. She barely sweated in the opening set, registering a 6-0, 7-6(2) victory over the 17-year-old Russian. By doing so, Kanepi not only advanced into the last four but also inched towards her maiden year-to-date title.

World number 34 Kanepi gave a top notch performance and crushed the qualifier, ranked 351 spots below her, on their first encounter. It took her one hour and twenty-three minutes to cruise past Gavrilova and secured a semi-final place.

The Tallinn resident Kanepi breezed in the opening set and after unleashing flurry of groundstrokes, she quickly swiped in entire serves. The Estonian encountered zero breakpoint and cashed in half of the six breakpoint opportunities to her advantage to hand a bagel to Gavrilova. She also formulated a higher first serve share of 64 percent as compared to the Russian’s 56 percent and registered a perfect 100 percent win on it.

The beaming Estonian carried the same spark in the final set and got the first blood in the second game to take a 2-0 lead. She lost her edge in the proceeding game but broke Gavrilova’s serve again in the fourth game and eventually went 4-1 up. However, Kanepi lost her serve again in the seventh game and after exchanging another break in the, she took the set to a tie-breaker. After the Russian netter the opening point, Kanepi went into a six point killing spree before Gavrilova earned another point. She eventually clinched the set with a 7-6(2) win.