BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Estonia submits smoke sauna customs to UNSECO heritage list

Estonian culture minister Rein Lang signed on Wednesday an application to submit the smoke sauna customs of the South East Estonian Võrumaa region to the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

The aim of the list is to introduce the knowledge, skills, customs and traditions that go from generation to generation and that communities consider important nowadays and take care to make sure they last.

The decision on including the smoke sauna customs and traditions in the list will be decided at the end of 2014.

Compiling the application was led by the Võrumaa region's voluntary smoke sauna cooperation assembly that worked for three years together with local people, universities, local municipalities and the state to compile the application.

Currently there are 257 cultural phenomena in the UNESCO representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity, of which three from Estonia: the Kihnu cultural space, the Baltic song and dance celebrations (together with Latvia and Lithuania) and Seto Leelo, the Seto polyphonic singing tradition.

Gazprom may build a lubricant plant in Estonia

Gazprom Neft, a manufacturer of lubricants that belongs to Gazprom, Russian gas giant, is considering Estonia, Latvia and Finland as a location for its new plant to produce lubricants, writes Eesti Päevaleht.

The company is holding talks with three partners at present. It is believed that in Estonia, the most suitable location for the plant is Paldiski or Muuga ports.

Representatives of Gazprom and Port of Tallinn did not wish to comment the project to the press.

The project is expected to cost up to EUR 40m.

Gazprom Neft has 14% of the Russian market and has plants in Russia, Italy and Serbia. The company plans to increase its production capacity from 450,000 tons to 660,000 tons a year.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Tallinn to sell off city-owned apartments

The City of Tallinn today proposed to sell off its remaining stock of lone, city-owned housing, scattered across the town. Around 181 apartments will be offered to their current residents at market value, according to a press release.

"Owning hundreds of lone apartments across Tallinn is financially unsound for the city, burdening district administrations with the responsibility of having membership in tens of apartment cooperatives and investing in renovations," Deputy Mayor Eha Võrk said in the release.

"The fact that these are not discount prices is attested by the fact that fewer than half of renters submitted a request to buy their apartment," Võrk said. The city describes most of the apartments as old, modest, and in need of major renovations.

Estonian Air pays fine for cancelling aircraft order

Estonian national carrier Estonian Air has recently reached agreement on return of two excess aircraft and paid the contractual penalty, writes Postimees.

The company’s press spokesperson Ilona Eskelinen confirmed that the airline had agreed on return of two Embraer E190 aircraft that had been ordered, but that Estonian Air did not need as its network has been downsized. Eskelinen said that the aircraft had been ordered, but not yet delivered.

Erkki Raasuke, chairman of the supervisory board of Estonian Air, said in early March that the airline needs about EUR 8m to pay contractual penalties for terminating existing contracts. Some of the contractual penalties are believed to have gone to the manufacturer and the rest to the aircraft leasing company.

In addition, Estonian Air has four Embraer E170 aircraft that it does not need. Eskelinen says that the airline is looking into possibilities to return them as well. At present the airline has ten aircraft, but uses only half of them. The biggest problem is with three Bombardier aircraft since they are small and the demand on the market for such small airplanes is small.

Estonian Air will hold a press conference this week to talk about the return of aircraft, financial results and the current state with restructuring. The airline reportedly needs EUR 37m for restructuring.

Toomas Hõbemägi

FRANCE 24 now available on DTT in Estonia

FRANCE 24 has concluded a major distribution agreement with leading Estonian operator LEVIRA and is now available on Digital Terrestrial television (DTT) throughout the country.

FRANCE 24, English version, is now available 24/7 on channel 9 as part of the new DTT pilot network deployed by LEVIRA.

This new agreement represents more than 140,000 households across the country.

FRANCE 24 is also available in Estonia 24/7 in English on the cable offers of STV (channel 83), Starman (channel 703), and on the IPTV offer Elion (channel 67) and on various other offers in the region.

For further information: http://f24.my/lEKrhj

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About FRANCE 24 :
FRANCE 24 is a 24/7 international news channel in French, English and Arabic. It reaches 206 million homes on the 5 continents by cable, satellite, ADSL, mobile phones, tablets and connected TVs, and its “New Media” universe (also in the three languages) is viewed 15 million times a month.
www.france24.com

Contact
Damien Amadou : +33 (0)1 84 22 74 32  - [email protected]

The annual growth of the Dwelling Price Index slowed down

According to Statistics Estonia, in February 2013, the producer price index of industrial output changed by 0.3 % compared to January and by 4.3% compared to February 2012. In 2012 compared to 2011, the prices of apartments increased by 7.4% and prices of houses by 7%.

In the 4th quarter of 2012 compared to the 3rd quarter, the Dwelling Price Index changed by -1.4% and compared to the 4th quarter of 2011 by 5.8%. Compared to the previous quarter, the prices of apartments decreased by 2.8% and the prices of houses increased by 1.7%. Compared to the 4th quarter of 2011, the prices of apartments have increased by 4.6% and the prices of houses by 8.4%.

The Dwelling Price Index expresses the changes in the transaction square metre prices of dwellings purchased by households. The Dwelling Price Indices have been compiled for apartments and houses (including detached, semi-detached and terraced houses).

Dwelling Price Index, change over previous year, 2006–2012

The Dwelling Price Index is published on the base 2010 = 100. The time series start from the 1st quarter of 2005. The annual index is calculated as the average of four quarters.

For further information:

Egne Säinast
Leading Statistician
Price Statistics Service
Statistics Estonia
Tel +372 625 9280

Poll : support for Reform Party down by half in Tallinn

A new poll by TNS Emor that covered the period between December 2012 and February 2013 showed that only 18% of citizens of Estonia who are residents of Tallinn would vote for Reform Party in the upcoming local elections, writes Eesti Päevaleht.

In comparison, from June until August 2012 the popularity of Reform Party in Tallinn was as high as 30%, writes Eesti Päevaleht that commissioned the poll.

Centre Party’s popularity has increased from 27% in June-August to 32% in December-February. Also Social Democrats increased their popularity from 20% to 22%, while IRL climbed from 16% to 21%. About 750 respondents took part in the poll.

The paper writes that since also non-citizens are allowed to vote in local elections and they make up 45% of voters in Tallinn, the actual picture may be different.

Aivar Voog, analyst of TNS Emor, says that although the poll did not study the popularity of political parties among non-citizens, the findings paint a certain trend.
Voog said that the period from December 2012 until February 2013 was also the time when Reform Party was struggling with scandals.

Estonia registers EU's 2nd largest growth in labor costs

Estonia posted second-highest growth in average hourly labor costs in the fourth quarter of 2012 with 6.7%,according to Eurostat..

Estonia was second only to in Romania (7.6%) and was followed by Bulgaria (5.1%) and Lithuania (5.4%).

Average hourly labor costs in Latvia increased 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Average hourly labor costs increased in all member states for which data are available.

Meanwhile, Lithuania saw a 4.7% increase in hourly labor costs, the fifth largest increase in the EU.

Overall, average hourly labor costs increased 1.3% in the EU, and 1.3% in the eurozone.

Toomas Hõbemägi

IRL MP compares coalition partner to Tallinn mayor

Andres Herkel, a member of the junior coalition party who recently stepped down from senior posts in the party, blasted the ruling Reform Party in his blog, calling them the equal of a longtime nemesis, the politician Edgar Savisaar.

"The conflict between Savisaar and anti-Savisaar has long been replaced by a situation where other parties have become Savisaarized to an outstanding degree," he wrote. Savisaar, the Tallinn mayor, has over the years been criticized for various practices that are hallmarks of corruption and close ties to Russian Federation politicians.

In his statement, Herkel said none of the four parties in Parliament can any longer be considered clean.

"Clean parties would not try to respond to a demonstration against them with a fictitious counter-protest, which is what the Reform Party did in spring," said Herkel.

Anti-European populism may begin to influence government policies in Northern Europe : Ilves

Estonian President, Toomas Hendrik Ilves said in a speech at the opening day of the highly regarded foreign and security policy conference, Brussels Forum 2013, on Friday, anti-European populism may even begin to influence government policies in Northern Europe, which has so far been responsible, reported BC the president's office.

Ilves participated in a discussion about the European economic crisis and cultural differences between northern and southern Europe. As the countries with balanced economies tend to be a part of the northern, Lutheran cultural space, the people taking the floor at the conference were asked whether the current economic crisis could be a reflection of differences between civilisation.

According to President Ilves, the different economic situation of European countries serves not as much to demonstrate the cultural gap between the South and the North, rather the haughty attitude of Western Europe towards Eastern Europe.

"While the East-European countries – such as, Estonia, Lithuania and Poland – have fulfilled all the rules and done everything to assist others, we can still see certain frightened concern about the East-Europeans," stated the Estonian president.

60% Tallinn residents used public transport in February

According to the data of public surveys, in February, 60% of Tallinn's inhabitants used the public transport means motivated by possibility to go by transport for free, reports LETA, referring to Tallinn municipality.

At the same time, after introduction of free tickets in the public transport for Tallinners, every fifth automobile was left at the parking lot.

The number of drives on private vehicles decreased by approximately 10 – 20% during the month, the statistics of Tallinn city proves.

An overall 87% of Tallinners moved in the capital city by means of public transport.

This is by two percentage points more comparing to January.

Start taxing road use : transport commissioner to Estonia

Estonian transport commissioner Siim Kallas made headlines last week by saying that Estonia should start taxing its roads because the current system of excise duties is not sustainable.

Speaking at an economic conference on EU funding hosted by Postimees, Kallas said that 23 countries in EU are already taxing use of its roads one way of another.

“This makes Estonia a unique country because it does not tax road use. I don’t see that Estonia can continue such policy for long,” said Kallas.

Views proposed by Kallas were opposed by Economy Minister Juhan Parts who said that taxing road use would increase the transport costs of local transport companies. Parts said that if one looks at cargo flows on Estonian roads, about 90% is carried by local road carriers.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Kiiking : Estonia's extreme swing set

Remember when we were kids playing on the swing set and we'd try to swing so high that we'd fly over the top bar and come down the other side? No, I never made it either. But in Estonia, they've taken a childhood dream and made it an extreme sport.

It's called kiiking. Using a special swing with steel arms instead of chains, the kiiker stands on the swing and pumps back and forth until he or she gets enough momentum to make a full 360-degree turn. The best kiikers can go around several times. The longer the shaft of the swing, the harder it is, and according to the "Guinness Book of World Records," the record for kiiking is with a 7.02-meter (23-foot) swing used by Andrus Aasamäe of Estonia on August 21, 2004.

Kiiking has taken off in the Baltic states and in Scandinavia. Here we show a video of the Estonian army taking a little time off from defending the nation to practice kiiking.

Sean McLachlan

Skiing the ash heap : Estonia's new winter sports destination

Once known only as the tallest ash pile in the Baltic states, Tuhamägi in northeast Estonia was given new life last month when it opened as the region's largest downhill ski spot. ERR News staffer and highly unskilled skier Steve Roman risked life and limb to bring you this review.

It was a project that had been making headlines for years, mainly for its bizarre edge. Developers had been taking an artificial hill near Kiviõli, one of seven such mammoth residue heaps that grew up around Ida-Viru County's oil shale industry, and turning it into the Kiviõli Seikluskeskus, a recreation center offering options for winter sports as well as motocross, biking and hiking in the warmer months.

So when my girlfriend invited me to tag along with her and her office mates to try out the newly opened center, I jumped at the chance. Mainly it was out of curiosity - I wanted to see just how far 6 million euros of generosity from the EU, national government and the town of Kiviõli could go in terms of transforming an industrial eyesore into something resembling an Alpine resort - or at least a decent getaway by Baltic standards.

Then reality set in. Going along would mean I would actually have to ski, something I hadn't done since high school. A long time has passed since those days. Empires have risen and fallen. Continents have drifted. If anything, it was going to be an interesting weekend. We arrived late on a Saturday afternoon. Tuhamägi is about two hours from Tallinn by car, and when driving up we noticed two things: First, it really does look artificial, like an enormous, white pimple on the otherwise flat Ida-Viru County landscape; and second, it's damn popular – the lines for the lifts looked daunting.

On checking into the Tuhamäe Hostel, a sharply decked-out, 30-bed facility just a few steps away from the slopes, we learned from the staff that the new attraction indeed had no shortage of visitors. The ski crowds are heaviest between noon and 18:00 on Saturday and Sunday. The hostel itself has been fully booked every weekend since February 4, the day of the Kiviõli Seikluskeskus's grand opening. Most rooms are occupied on weekdays as well.

European Council decides to continue with reforms

Brussels – The heads of state and government of the European Union discussed economic issues at the meeting of the European Council today. The main topics were economic policy decisions that would alleviate the current crisis and achieving a balance between the austerity policy and steps that support economic growth. The attendees agreed to stick to the chosen goal of improving the competitiveness of Member States and maintaining financial discipline. States must continue carrying out reforms and performing the economic programme to achieve growth in the future.

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip said at the meeting that Member States must perform the obligations they have assumed and honour the agreements they have made. He emphasised that the recently strengthened stability and growth principles should not be allowed to weaken again. “They are the basis for the creation of new jobs,” he said.

He also said that the majority of Member States have launched reforms and that results are already being seen. Success has been achieved in ensuring that the budgets of Member States are in structural balance, and this course must continue. “The foundations of the euro area are much stronger today than they were a year ago,” said Ansip.

The prime minister explained that Estonia and the other Baltic States have been successful in the implementation of the austerity policy. “Economic growth in our region has been the fastest for several years now and unemployment is decreasing,” he said.

Private Public Partnership is becoming a burden for City of Tallinn

City of Tallinn is already spending 5% of its annual budget on paying a small group of companies that have won private public partnership or PPP contracts from Tallinn for renovating the capital’s school buildings and building municipal houses, writes Äripäev.

Entering into PPP contracts with private companies seemed like the right thing for the City to do at first, but the fees the City is paying to the contractual partners is now becoming a burden for the city budget and is starting to restrict the capital’s investments. For instance, PPP payments is now reason why the Tallinn City Government cannot afford to urgently repair the city’s rapidly disintegrating streets.

This is also one reason why the City has decided to start no new PPP projects this year. Deputy Mayor Mikhail Kõlvart said that although PPP has helped the City to renovate a lot of school buildings in a short period, PPP payments have become a major burden. “There may be too many such projects. The future of PPP projects is not entirely clear,” he mentioned.

By the new act on financial management of local governments, PPP amounts are included in the local government’s loan burden that cannot exceed 60% of the local government’s net budget revenues. City of Tallinn’s loan burden is at present 55%.

The businessmen who have entered into PPP contracts with the City of Tallinn include Jaanus Otsa, Olaf Herman, Tiit and Toomas Kõuhkna, Aivar Tuulberg and Raivo Rand.

Toomas Hõbemägi

BPT Baltic Opportunity Fund acquires Coca-Cola Plaza in Tallinn

BPT Baltic Opportunity Fund, the most recently launched real estate fund from BPT, has acquired its third asset, the Coca-Cola Plaza in the central business district of Tallinn, Estonia, the company said in a statement, writes LETA.

The Coca-Cola Plaza is the largest combined cinema and retail complex in Estonia. Constructed in 2001, the complex has approx. 9,930 sq m of usable space. Its anchor tenant, Finnkino, is the market leading cinema operator in Finland and the Baltic States.

The property is located in the central part of Tallinn on Hobujaama Street. It is located within the CBD in the area between the medieval Old Town, the City Harbour and Viru Square.

With this acquisition, BPT successfully closes its third acquisition for its latest Baltic real estate fund, BPT Baltic Opportunity, bringing the total acquisitions so far to EUR 32 million: “Adding the Coca-Cola Plaza we now have a strong seed portfolio in place for the Fund. The acquisition also demonstrates that for an experienced local buyer it is possible to acquire core assets close to development costs at square meter prices between EUR 1,000-1,300 and starting yields around 8-8.5%. This has been our focus all along and it’s great to be able to show it to the market,” says fund manager Tarmo Karotam.

Tallinn allegedly firing officials for "Not paying party fees"

Edgar Savisaar, the mayor of Tallinn and head of the Center Party, has allegedly asked for the resignations of the heads of three city departments and one adviser to a deputy mayor for not paying part of their salaries back to the party in fees.

In an email sent on March 1 and obtained by Postimees, the party's secretary general Priit Toobal proposed sacking the four city officials, citing the reason as "having not met their obligations to the party."

According to the daily, Savisaar responded within a few minutes saying: “Taking into account the request, and the fact that the people named have problems fulfilling the obligations of their offices, I ask for their letters of resignation by next Monday.”

No one talks about collapse of eurozone anymore : Ansip

TALLINN – Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip discussed developments in the euro area with Luxembourg's Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Jean Asselborn on Tuesday, Postimees Online reports.

Ansip said that the situation in the eurozone has considerably improved in the past year and the outlook for the future in the eurozone and in the European Union as a whole is more optimistic than before.

"No one talks about the breaking up of the euro are anymore," said Ansip. "The euro area and the European Union are certainly more stable than a year ago."

Ansip and Asselborn agreed that the EU should not create new crisis measures anymore but should make efforts to adhere to existing agreements and set aims.

Ansip also expressed gladness that heads of governments and states reached an agreement on the next EU budget.

Ansip still envious of salary of Enterprise Estonia's new CEO

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip is convinced that 6,500 euros a month that the new head of Enterprise Estonia will be receiving is not justified, reported ERR.

“This is almost twice more than 2,890 euros that the head of PRIA, another agency that is distributing EU aid in Estonia, is receiving every month. Also the head of the Environment Investment Centre or KIK is receiving twice less. There can be no justification,” said the PM in the parliament's Q&A yesterday.

Ansip added that while in general, a comparison with private sector salaries shows that heads of state enterprises are earning less than executives in the private sector, there were some organizations where top wages were unjustifiably high.

“I am still envious of these executives,” said Ansip who earns 3,999 euros a month as PM. He has also discussed possibilities to set caps to the salaries earned by chief executives of state enterprises and foundations.

Tõnis Palts, Estonian businessman and member of IRL, said that Ansip is going down the populist way by criticizing high wages of heads of state enterprises.