BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Tallinn heat prices to keep rising into October

October 1 will see a 5 percent higher ceiling on heat prices come into effect in the capital.

Under the change, cleared by the Competition Authority, a megawatt-hour will cost 68.82 euros not including VAT, the Tallinna Küte utility said. That will be the fourth consecutive month of increases. The price was 63.82 euros in July.

The utility said that the price of heat sold by Eesti Energia's Iru power plant had risen by 15 percent. Tallinna Küte generates about half of its thermal energy in its own units from natural gas and buys the rest from Iru, Tallinn Power Plant and smaller producers.

Close to 30 percent of the heat is generated from alternative fuels - wood chips and peat - at Tallinn Power Plant while the rest is from natural gas.

Kristopher Rikken

Soviet WWII cannon unearthed on Hiiumaa

An intact, 15-ton cannon barrel left over from World War II was brought up yesterday from a dig site near Hiiumaa island's Lehtma port.

A team working for the Hiiumaa Military Museum spent three hours removing the 180-millimeter cannon, part of one of several field guns the Soviet Union had installed on the island at the beginning of the war to guard its western front, ETV reported. Fragments of the other cannons have been found on the island.

The presence of a large object at the site had been discovered by accident three years earlier by members of a local volunteer organization, but the museum had not been able to properly investigate until recently, said its director, Ain Tähiste.

Tähiste called the discovery the nation's biggest military find of the year and said it was unlikely that other Soviet cannons in such a good shape exist anywhere else in the world.

The gun will be on display at the museum until September 15.

Robin Ilves

Estonia approves European Stability Mechanism

TALLINN— Estonia's parliament on Thursday gave the official green light for the newest member of the euro zone to participate in the planned European Union bailout fund, a move that puts the Baltic nation on the hook for up to €1.3 billion ($1.63 billion) worth of assistance for debt-ridden countries in the currency area.

Joining the European Stability Mechanism has been a much-discussed topic in Estonia during the summer. In July, the Supreme Court of Estonia dealt a victory to the country's pro-ESM finance minister, Jürgen Ligi, by delivering a verdict that joining the ESM isn't against the country's constitution, despite outcry by the opposition. The court's decision needed to be followed by approval in the parliament.

With the green light, Estonia now has to pay about €150 million as a down payment to the ESM. If there should be a need to pay in extra money, the parliament will need to approve this decision.

Estonia is the newest and among the poorest members of the euro zone with a state budget only slightly over €6 billion a year. The law was supported by 59 members of parliament, with 34 voting against it.

Liis Kängsepp

Estonian Air criticized for changing ticket terms retroactively

Estonian Air has reportedly retroactively changed the terms of tourist class flights on October 1 or later, eliciting disapproval from the Consumer Protection Board.

Estonian Air said on Tuesday that it would divide tourist class customers into three price categories according to carry-on baggage and catering services. The changes will affect plane tickets that were purchased before August 28 for flights that depart on or after October 1.

“The previous on board conception, where every passenger in short-distance flights was given a roll and passengers for long-distance flights were given a sandwich is not sustainable at the current expense level,” Estonian Air spokeswoman Ilona Eskelinen told Postimees.

Customers told the newspaper that Estonian Air had notified them that they would have to pay extra for catering, although they had already paid for it when they purchased their tickets.

Clients have the option of getting a full refund, but it is difficult to refund a planned family vacation. “The agency certainly does not approve of Estonian Air's retroactively changing conditions and the case in question could be a misleading and dishonest sales tactic,” said Consumer Protection Board spokeswoman Siiri Erala.

Spokeswoman Eskelinen said the airline will try to work out disagreements with customers in the coming days. “We will try to approach each client individually and as flexibly as possible,” she said.

Ott Tammik

Tartu University suspects two young scientists of large-scale fraud

Two young scientists in Tartu University are suspected of large-scale fraud involving EU aid funds, reports Eesti Päevaleht.

The investigation into the dealing of Viljar Veebel who is a lecturer of the University’s Institute of Public Sciences and Ulrika Hurt who is former project manager of the University’s Europe College was opened by Volli Kalm shortly after he became the new rector of Tartu University.

The prosecutor’s office has also opened a criminal investigation. Veebel told Eesti Päevaleht daily yesterday that they both deny any wrongdoing. It is namely claimed that over several years the two scientists have taken out large amounts of money for own purposes from a program that injects EU funds into higher education.

The program in question is BeSt that focuses on developing new e-study courses. It is managed by the Archimedes Foundation and helps university lecturers to reimburse certain costs. Initial reports show that the two scientists have applied and received more than 60,000 euros in funding from the program without justification.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Average monthly gross wages and salaries increased to 900 euros in Estonia in Q2

According to Statistics Estonia, in the 2nd quarter of 2012, the average monthly gross wages and salaries were 900 euros and increased by 5.0% compared to the 2nd quarter of the previous year. The increase was smaller than in the previous quarters.

Compared to the 2nd quarter of 2011, the irregular bonuses and premiums per employee grew 19.9% and influenced the growth of the average monthly gross wages and salaries by 0.4%age points. The average monthly gross wages and salaries without irregular bonuses and premiums increased 4.6%.

Compared to the same quarter of 2011, the growth of the average gross monthly wages and salaries in the 2nd quarter of 2012 was smaller than in the previous quarters (6.3% growth in the 4th quarter; 6.9% growth in the 1st quarter).

157 native languages spoken in Estonia

According to the preliminary results of the Population and Housing Census (PHC 2011), 157 native languages are spoken in Estonia. The previous census of 2000 indicated that 109 languages were spoken as native tongue.

Estonian is the most common native language (886,859 speakers - 68.5%), followed by Russian (383,062 - 29.6%) and Ukrainian (8,012 - 0.6%).There are a total of 25 languages with over hundred speakers in Estonia.

Sign language could also be reported in the census and 147 people stated Estonian sign language as their native language.

For the first time, the latest census enabled respondents to report their knowledge of Estonian dialects.131,243 people, i.e., 10.1% of Estonian permanent residents, were able to speak a dialect.

The most common dialects include Võru (87,048 speakers, incl. 12,549 speakers of Setu subdialect), Saarte (24,520, incl. 1,320 speakers of Kihnu subdialect), and Mulgi (9,698).

Detailed information on native languages and dialects is published in the statistics database. A map of Estonian dialects can be found at http://eki.ee/murded.

The 11th population census in Estonia was conducted from 31 December 2011 until 31 March 2012. Previous censuses were carried out in 1881, 1897, 1922, 1934, 1941, 1959, 1970, 1979, 1989 and 2000. The next population census will be conducted in Estonia in 2020/2021.

http://pub.stat.ee/px-web.2001/Dialog/Saveshow.asp

Tiiu Kuik - Gravure 6 - Alex Freund

Tiiu Kuik keeps it natural in the latest issue of Gravure Magazine, lensed by founder Alex Freund.
Wearing a wardrobe of lightweight selects styled by Megan Ross, Tiiu evokes a nymph-like atmosphere in a waterside setting.
Beauty artist Elisa Flowers creates understated hair and makeup for the Estonian to wear during her sunny outing.
Joanna

Hey Esto skiers & boarders

Didn’t expect to see that subject line in your inbox did you? Well now that we grabbed your attention…here goes the first of many trip announcements to follow…

The 2013 East Coast East Ski Trip will take place on March 7 – 10 at Jay Peak Vermont

For those of you that have been yearning for an Esto Jay experience…your dreams have come true! A little further for Estos coming from the south but a little closer for our Canadian friends…either way a mountain that has a legendary reputation…namely the most snow in eastern North America!

Plus...if you haven’t visited Jay Peak recently…they’ve undergone a massive transformation that includes new upgraded accommodations, base lodge, conference centre and a year round water park that will wow both kids and adults. In other words, something for everyone.

That said…please mark your calendars for the 2013 group trip. And for our early birds who want first dibs on the best accommodations…booking options/instructions are attached. So switching back to summer…enjoy your Labour Day weekend but it’s not too early to…………..

THINK SNOW!!!!!!!

Andrus Ers & Aini Maripuu - [email protected]

"Watching the dark" by Peter Robinson

He’s still soothed by Bach and still drives his shabby Porsche – but intimations of his own mortality are starting to ruffle the equanimity of Detective Chief Inspector Alan Banks.

Banks is also used to wrestling with his own personal demons, a good preparation for the down-to-earth Yorkshire cop as he follows the labyrinthine trail of some truly evil ‘cons’ in Peter Robinson’s latest crime mystery.

People trafficking, a missing teenage girl, migrant labour scams, the back streets of Estonia’s capital city and a murdered policeman provide the sleazy backdrop to this subtle and intriguing thriller. Watching the Dark is Robinson’s 20th DCI Banks novel and, far from losing the plot, the master crime writer continues to seduce with his finely-tuned storylines, gritty cast of characters and hard-hitting, contemporary themes.

The ITV1 series DCI Banks, adapted from Robinson’s novels and starring Stephen Tompkinson and Andrea Lowe, has raised the profile of the books to a new level. Here we find the tough inspector investigating the death of ‘one of our own’ when the body of DI Bill Quinn, from the Leeds force, is found in the tranquil grounds of a St Peter’s Police Convalescence and Treatment Centre.

He has been shot through the heart with the bolt from a crossbow after appearing distracted and edgy, ‘as if he was carrying a burden,’ the previous evening. Compromising photos of Quinn with a very young woman are found in his room but Banks is not convinced about their authenticity and wants to probe further into the murdered man’s background, knowing only too well that the solution to a crime ‘more often than not lies in the victim’s character.’

Estonian people declared nearly 5.3 bln euros of income for 2011

Estonian people declared nearly 5.3 billion euros of income for 2011, LETA/Postimees Online cites the final Tax and Customs Board data.

643,545 people declared their incomes, by 15,886 more than for 2010. 561,453 income tax declarations were submitted, by 16,701 more than last year. The average annual gross income per person grew by 5.7% in a year. The average gross income was 9,746 euros in 2011, versus 9,216 euros a year earlier.

The majority of the declared income was wage income: 503,658 people declared 4 billion euros of wages. This means that the average wage was 669 euros a month, by 34 euros more than a year earlier.

The number of people who declared income earned abroad and taxable in Estonia grew by 37.6%. 2.05 billion euros of tax-deductible expenses were declared, around the same as for 2010.

Juhan Tere

Latvenergo wants to increase electricity market share in Estonia to 20%

The Estonian household electricity market will open up completely on January 1, 2013, and Latvian power utility Latvenergo wants to increase its market share in Estonia to 20%, Latvenergo board member Zane Kotane said in an interview with the Latvian State Television's morning show "Labrit, Latvija!" today.

At the moment, Latvenergo share of the Estonian market amounts to 7% and the company's goal is to increase it to 20%, emphasized Kotane.

There are 600,000 households in Estonia, and a part of them could become Latvenergo clients, writes LETA.

Latvenergo share on the Lithuanian market constituted 18% at the end of 2011, said Kotane.

As reported, as of November 1, only households will be able to purchase electricity at a regulated price in Latvia, according to amendments to regulations regarding the trade and use of electricity approved by the government yesterday.

Estonian households will be the first ones in the Baltic States to stop purchasing electricity at regulated prices. As of January 2013, they will begin using the services of competing electricity providers.

It is expected that state-regulated tariffs for households in Latvia and Lithuania will be lifted by 2015.

Alla Petrova

Masiulis suggests returning to joint Baltic airlines idea

VILNIUS - After the talks that Latvia considers to sell a half of the airline airBaltic and the suggestion by Estonian politicians to join airBaltic and Estonian Air together, Lithuanian Minister of Transport and Communications Eligijus Masiulis says that back in 2009 this idea was proposed at the meeting of three Baltic ministers.

"The return to this subject only confirms our insights that the Baltic aviation market is too small for each of three countries to have cost-effective airline company," says the minister.

According to Masiulis, the competition and cost growth will force companies to seek for the cooperation and the unification, writes LETA/ELTA.

The Baltic States may also benefit from the experience of the Scandinavian countries and the development of the airline SAS.

Lithuanian Ministry of Transport and Communications is going to offer all three countries to work together on the economic evaluation of the establishment of such company.

Estonian ministries want 333 mln euros extra budget funds for 2013

Estonian ministries have sent extra applications to the finance ministry to boost the budgets of their governance spheres for the year 2013 by hundreds of millions of euros as compared to the initial state budget plans, LETA/Eesti Päevaleht writes.

"Before the negotiations between ministers, finance ministry had received extra applications for 172.5 million euros," finance ministry spokesman Rainer Laurits said. "82.2 million euros of it was applied for personnel costs – for wage growth and creation o new jobs," Laurits pointed out a shocking fact. This means that ministers wish to create more jobs instead of reducing staff.

Finance minister Jürgen Ligi said that actually the extra wishes of ministers have grown already to 333 million euros. "It naturally makes me sad that although I have for years shown that I don’t hide money and treat all equally, they go overboard with extra applications. The applications are not in line with the real situation in the administrative sphere," said Ligi.

Ligi said that we are still a decreasing nation and thus the state apparatus cannot grow. The state also has to be careful in increasing spending because of the deteriorating European economic forecasts. "Once we have clarified the situation in the government, the wishes for extra jobs and 20% wage increases will hopefully disappear by themselves," said Ligi.

Juhan Tere

Estonia scores EuroBasket victory in Iceland

The Estonian National Basketball Team pulled into the number two spot in its EuroBasket qualifying group on Monday by beating Iceland 86:67 in Reykjavik.

"It happened just as we expected. At the beginning of the match we created a 10-point gap and managed to hold the advantage until the end of the game," shooting guard Gert Dorbek told journalists.

Forward Kristjan Kangur was the clear hotshot of the evening, scoring 26 points.
"The Icelandic team tried very hard, but we earned this victory," said Estonia's head coach Tiit Sokk. "We did a very good job in defense."

Estonia's hold on the number two position in Group A is mainly by virtue of having played more games than Israel and Serbia, and the ranking is set to change tonight when those two teams face off in Tel Aviv.
Estonia's next chance at qualification points will come on August 30 when it plays the Slovak Republic in Levice.

Steve Roman

Estonian Aviation Board warns Estonian Air

The Estonian Aviation Board issued a precept in the middle of August to the national carrier Estonian Air; although the sides don’t agree to reveal its content, the reason could have been the aviation firm making several people responsible for the flight safety sphere redundant recently, LETA/Postimees writes.

Estonian Air announced of personnel changes in July. According to its press release, the plan was to reduce the number of office staff by 15%, meaning that 19 people lost jobs. The names and positions were not revealed.

The company's PR manager Ilona Eskelinen admitted yesterday that the precept concerned the organisation's structural changes started in July.

The newspaper says that although the precepts were issued to Estonian Air and its subsidiary Estonian Air Regional on August 16 and 17, neither the board nor the company have informed the public of it. This is one the one hand good news to passengers since the board doesn't consider the company's situation so bad that flights would have to be cancelled but also shows the state-owned company's secretiveness.

Estonian Air has a month since receiving the precept to respond to the Aviation Board and propose solutions.

Juhan Tere

Doubts over Finnish-Estonian gas pipeline project

Energy experts interviewed by Yle say plans by the gas company Gasum to construct a pipeline from Estonia to Finland will not guarantee the supply of cheap natural gas.

In April, Gasum unveiled a project to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) paid for in part by EU funds. Financial support for a liquefied natural gas import terminal will also be requested from the EU. The project also includes an import terminal to be built on the Finnish coast.

Energy experts interviewed by Yle point out that the project, valued at a half a billion euros, does not guarantee the supply of cheap natural gas. Since the 1970s, imports of natural gas from Russia have been via a direct pipeline. As an alternative, Gasum plans a terminal either at Inkoo or Porvoo through which LNG could flow.

Finland hopes the EU will provide as much as half of the almost 400 million euros needed for the terminal. The gas networks of Estonia and Finland would be joined together by means of a pipeline costing some 100 million euros.  

The Energy Division of the Ministry of Economic Affairs believes tanker imports of natural gas would be preferable. ”Lower prices prevail in those areas where the LNG alternative is used and where the network is open to competition,” says Esa Härmälä, the Ministry’s Energy Division Director.

First zoo-bred mink released into wild

The first of the European mink raised in captivity at Tallinn Zoo have been released into the wild on the island of Saaremaa.

The 10 animals are wearing transmitters so scientists can track them. The European mink is critically endangered in the wild.

Some of the species brought to Saaremaa in the past, such as wild pigs and deer, have started becoming a nuisance. But Tiit Maran, a Tallinn zoo official who runs the mink program, says that if the mink survive, they should not be a nuisance to humans.

Maran said Saaremaa farmers may be worried about the introduction of mink alongside the marten. "But compared to what Saaremaa's large marten population does, the problem is negligible," Maran said. It should also not pose a threat to crayfish populations, he said.

Hiiumaa has a similar experience of trying to maintain dwindling populations of European mink and a local resident interviewed by ETV, Gennadi Kotsur, said there was no problem. Complaints from farmers over damage have turned out to be caused by martens, not mink.

Maran says that populating the two islands will give a possibility for long-term preservation. "And if all goes according to the worst-case scenario as it seems right now, at some point there might be only two islands in the world where the animals survive," Maran said.

Estonian parliamentarian may be punished for supporting Pussy Riot

Tallinn - The authorities of the Estonian city Narva intend to punish Juku-Kalle Raid, a parliamentarian and editor-in-chief of the newspaper KesKus, for organizing an action to support the punk group Pussy Riot.

The authorities believe Raid has ignored the ban on the action on the territory of the Narva Museum, Alexander Ludwig acting deputy mayor of Narva, told the portal Rus.err.ee.

On Saturday morning, a group of young people wearing balaclavas led by Raid put a pro-Pussy Riot poster on the museum's bastion Victoria. The protesters earlier intended to put the poster on the wall of the Narva Fortress, but the city museum prohibited that, saying "the action has no relation to the mission of the museum." "In addition, this action was not authorized by the city administration and the museum," the museum said in a press release.

The poster, which was written in English, Russian, and Estonian, was on the wall of the bastion for some two hours before it was taken down by Narva residents.

"A meeting will be held in the city council on Monday, August 27, to decide what measures the city will take on the parliamentarian who has violated the ban," Ludwig said.

Estonian Air and SimpliFlying invite agencies to create world record-breaking initiative

Estonian Air, together with SimpliFlying, is launching a competition to Turkish marketing agencies and travel agencies for the best business ideas on filling up a 85-seater airplane. The winning agency will not only get the opportunity to create a ‘world’s first’ or ‘world’s highest’ record with an entire plane at its disposal, it will also get to keep 25% of the revenue generated from filling the plane.

“Estonian Air has always been interested in new and innovative ways to run our airline business and this competition will demonstrate the level of creativity from agencies in Turkey,” said Tero Taskila, CEO of Estonian Air.

To join the competition in creating a world record-breaking initiative, agencies will need to submit their ideas in the form of a presentation or a video by August 30 to [email protected]

Agencies can propose ideas such as having their clients organize a corporate retreat at 35,000 feet by “buying out” the whole plane, or convincing a stand-up comedian to host the world’s highest comedy show and sell the tickets to his show through Twitter and Facebook, or even auctioning the seats on a Grouponlike platform.

“This is a chance for Turkish agencies to be adventurous and showcase their creative spirit to the world. After all, this is their plane to fill,” said Shashank Nigam, CEO of SimpliFlying, an aviation consultancy on customer engagement strategy.

The plane will be flying from Istanbul to Tallinn, Estonia on September 9, 2012 and back on September 11, 2012. Passengers of the flight will be also treated to a free Tallinn City Tour and two nights stay at stylish 4-star hotel, Radisson Blue Hotel Olümpia, at a discounted rate.