BONJOUR L'ESTONIE

Savisaar ordered to repay over 100,000 euros to Tallinn City Government

The party financing oversight committee ruled this week that in 2003 municipal elections several politicians including Edgar Savisaar violated the political advertising law by running personal election campaigns that were declared as public information campaigns and paid for by legal persons such as Tallin City Government.

The committee ruled that the candidates who benefited from the election campaign must repay the funds to the legal persons.

This means that Edgar Savisaar should repay over 100,000 euros to the Tallinn City Government which ahead of the elections ran an extensive campaign in outdoor and TV media promoting healthy lifestyles.

For instance, a poster announcing the opening of the Hiiu stadium featured Mayor Edgar Savisaar, Deputy Mayor Arvo Sarapuu and Jaanus Mutli. Karin Tammemägi, head of the North Tallinn city district government, was ordered to repay 280 euros in costs.

The list includes Reform Party member Urmas Kruuse, former mayor of Tartu and current Minister of Health and Labour.

Toomas Hõbemägi

Rally Italia Sardegna: Kruuda to return to WRC2 with new Peugeot

Karl Kruuda will join the R5 revolution in Sardinia next week when he returns to the World Rally Championship at the wheel of a Peugeot 208T16. The 21-year-old Estonian ace is switching to the new-generation machine having made two appearances in the 2014 WRC2 category in a Ford Fiesta Super 2000.

Kruuda, who won his class on Rally Sweden in February and holds a strong fourth place in the WRC2 title standings, says a new car will mean a new approach to the gravel event, which takes place from June 5-8.

“I still have a lot to learn about the car because I've only done one small test and one local rally in Estonia,” said Kruuda. “That means I don't have the confidence yet to push to the limit of the car. I will take it a bit easier at the start, not like my last WRC rally in Portugal where I was pushing quite a lot. The main goal is to bring the car to the finish and if there are problems then we will use the rally to solve them.”

Having spent much of his recent career driving normally aspirated Ford Fiestas, Kruuda says he's still adapting to the turbocharged Peugeot, which is being run by the Tagai Racing Technology team from Hungary.

Mediterranean diet may keep kids slimmer

Children who eat a Mediterranean-style diet are less likely to be overweight or obese than other youngsters, a new study suggests.

Kids who closely followed a diet rich in fish, nuts, grains, vegetables and fruits -- the so-called Mediterranean diet -- were 15 percent less likely to be overweight or obese than those who did not follow that type of diet, the researchers found. This was true regardless of age, sex, wealth or country.

Researchers looked at the weight and eating habits of more than 9,000 children in eight countries: Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden. The youngsters' weight and body fat were checked at the start of the study and again two years later.

Swedish children scored highest and those in Italy were second in terms of following a Mediterranean-style diet, while youngsters in Cyprus were least likely to follow the diet, according to Dr. Gianluca Tognon of the University of Gothenburg in Sweden and colleagues.

"The promotion of a Mediterranean dietary pattern is no longer a feature of Mediterranean countries," the researchers said. "Considering its potential beneficial effects on obesity prevention, this dietary pattern should be part of [European Union] obesity prevention strategies and its promotion should be particularly intense in those countries where low levels of adherence are detected."

The study was scheduled for presentation Tuesday at the European Congress on Obesity in Bulgaria. Until they're published in a peer-reviewed medical journal, findings presented at meetings are usually considered preliminary.

More information : The American Heart Association has more about a Mediterranean-style diet.

Robert Preidt

Russians are world's 2nd highest spenders on alcohol

Russian consumers ranked second only to Estonians in terms of the amount of money they spent on alcoholic beverages last year, Euromonitor International said in a report. While Estonian consumers spent 6.5 percent of their cash on beer, wine or spirits in 2013, Russians spent 5.8 percent, or $61.5 million, on alcohol.

Beer was the preferred tipple for Russians, with $27.5 million spent on it, whereas $21.9 million was sunk into spirits and $12 million on wine, Lenta.ru reported. A large proportion of consumers' money in Belarus, Peru, Latvia and Lithuania also went toward buying alcohol.

The highest per capita spender on alcohol in 2013 was Finland, followed by Switzerland, Norway, New Zealand and Estonia. The latter is expected to become the world's leader in per capita spending on alcohol by 2021.

The report said that between 2008 and 2013 Hong Kong recorded the highest growth of per capita expenditure on alcohol. The global average for consumer expenditure on booze was 1.5 percent, while per capita consumer alcohol spending in 2013 stood at $86.

The level of per capita consumer expenditure on alcoholic drinks in a country is directly influenced by government policies, such as alcohol bans, high taxes on spirits or advertising bans, the report said, adding that the share of consumer spending on alcohol sheds light on countries' income levels, consumption habits and demographic trends.

Missing observers near Donetsk are from Estonia, Turkey, Switzerland, Denmark

VIENNA - Four observers of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that went missing on Monday near the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk are nationals of Estonia, Turkey, Switzerland and Denmark, Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for Ukraine’s mission in Ukraine, said on may 27.

Bociurkiw told ITAR-TASS that it is still impossible to establish contact with the monitors.

The OSCE special observer mission in Ukraine said Tuesday it has lost contact with its team working in the Donetsk Region. According to an OSCE news release, the organization was last in touch with the group of four monitors at 18.00 local time on Monday, when the group was involved in planned patrols of Donetsk's eastern part.

The OSCE said it is continuing efforts to establish contact with the group, adding that the Ukrainian government and regional authorities have been informed.

Deaths from air pollution rise

Four Australians a day are dying because of air pollution, an international report has found, which puts the cost to the country at almost $6 billion a year. The OECD research into the economic costs of air pollution found Australia is one of 14 nations where deaths from poor quality air have increased over recent years.

In Australia's case, 882 people died from ambient air pollution in 2005. By 2010, this had increased to 1483. Only one other OECD member nation, Estonia, had a bigger increase in air pollution-related deaths than Australia.

The lift in deaths has also led to an increase in the number of "life years" lost in Australia to air pollution. The OECD estimates Australians collectively lost 20,631 life years in 2010. The ultimate cost to the country because of air pollution, from increased use of medicines to people too sick to do what they would like, is now estimated to be $6.25 billion.

The Department of Environment Regulation said air quality in Perth was rated "poor" on three days last year. A spokeswoman said the Perth Air Quality Management Plan directly targeted vehicle emissions and smoky wood heaters. The Diesel National Environment Protection Measure also assisted with managing diesel engine emissions.

Associate Professor Ben Mullins of Curtin University's School of Public Health said Perth's air quality was generally good.

Reform takes 2, leaves Centre with 1

The results of the European Parliament election have been announced, with ruling party Reform Party claimed two seats in the European Parliament elections with one seat going to Centre Party, IRL, Social Democrats and Indrek Tarand as an independent.

Ethnically Russian politician Yana Toom caused an upset when he won the seat of the Eurosceptic Centre Party, ahead of all other politicians in her party, including longtime political heavyweight Edgar Savisaar and Jüri Ratas.

The six MEPs who will represent Estonia next term will be Andrus Ansip and Kaja Kallas (Reform Party), Indrek Tarand (independent), Marju Lauristin (Social Democrat), Yana Toom (Centre Party) and Tunne Kelam (IRL).

Ansip got 45,037 votes, Indrek Tarand got 43,490, Marju Lauristin got 26,871, Yana Toom got 25,263, Kaja Kallas got 21,504 votes and Tunne Kelam got 18,773 votes.

There were several other surprises including the fact that in IRL, Kelam handily beat Ergma, getting 2.5 times more votes and that Jüri Ratas was not the second-most popular Center Party candidate after Edgar Savisaar.  

U.S. House of Representatives passes “Black Ribbon Day” legislation recognizing Victims of Soviet Communist and Nazi regimes

U.S. House of Representatives passes “Black Ribbon Day” legislation
recognizing Victims of Soviet Communist and Nazi regimes

Washington, DC – Legislation designating August 23 as a “Black Ribbon Day” commemorating the victims of both Soviet communist and Nazi terror passed yesterday in the U.S. House of Representatives. It is a culmination of an ongoing two-year effort by the Joint Baltic American National Committee, Inc. (JBANC) seeking passage of this legislation.

Congressman John Shimkus of Illinois, the co-chairman of the House Baltic Caucus, sponsored the legislation and effectively shepherded its passage in the House. The legislation, part of a National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4435), will now be taken up by the Senate. A conference committee of both houses will work out differences.

On the eve of the bill’s passage, JBANC contacted all House member offices individually to muster needed additional support for the resolution’s passage. JBANC stressed the importance of passing the legislation this year since it marks the 75^th year since the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1939. The pact divided Europe between Nazi Germany and the USSR and ushered in WWII. Ultimately this led to the 50 year Soviet occupation of the Baltic countries. This year will also mark 25 years since the “Baltic Way” was organized in 1989. This human chain united some two million Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians in an iconic demonstration of their resolve for freedom and independence.

JBANC’s appeal to Congress also highlighted the ongoing violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty and Putin’s concurrent aggression, a haunting reminder of Hitler’s and Stalin’s maneuvers leading to the outbreak of the Second World War.

NATO cannot defend Baltic States

Nato will be unable to defend Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania if Russia invades, German news magazine Spiegel reported on May 19, citing German government sources and leaked Nato documents.

German defense and foreign ministry officials told Spiegel it would take Nato six months to put together a response. “We wouldn’t even show up in time for the Russians’ victory celebration,” one German official said.

German mep Elmar Brok, a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (cdu) and head of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs spelled it out plainly: “At present, the alliance could not protect the Baltic countries with conventional military means,” he said.

Nato documents express a similar concern. “Russia’s ability to undertake significant military action with little warning presents a wider threat to the maintenance of security and stability in the Euro-Atlantic area,” states a draft copy of a restricted internal nato assessment, according to Spiegel. “Russia can pose a local or regional military threat at short notice at a place of its choosing. This is both destabilizing and threatening for those allies bordering or in close proximity to Russia.”

Two Estonian real estate developers to go into prison

In 2006, one of Estonia’s largest banks SEB lent almost 3 million euros to two Estonian real estate developers who promised to build an office building and parking lot in central Tallinn, but actually invested it in real estate in Spanish Costa del Sol, writes Äripäev.

The real estate businessmen in question were 42-year-old Kaido Kaljusaar and 41-year-old Andres Lauri. To be more believable for banks, they set up a company called Arco Kapital which sounded similar to the listed real estate developer Arco Vara.

The bank was paying out the loan in tranches according to expense reports which the two businessmen were forging because no construction works were going on in the property in Veerenni street.

Eight years later, the Supreme Court decided to reject the appeal of the two real estate businessmen which means they now will be serving a real three-month prison term as shock sentence. The developers themselves claim that they are innocent and are simply victims of unfavourable business climate.

Toomas Hõbemägi

http://news.postimees.ee/2803160/businessmen-pull-mega-wool-over-banker-eyes

Estonia is among the 30 most competitive states in the world

Estonia is on the 30th position in the fresh 2014 global competitiveness report of IMD as compared to the 36th position last year, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

Latvia was on the 35th and Lithuania on the 34th place.

The previous time Estonia was in the top 30 was in 2008 (23rd place) and the highest place in the list was scored in 2006 (19th).

The top list is based on the states' 2013 economic results and polls of company managers than took place in February-March this year as well as background information, altogether 333 indicators.

The top position in the list went to the United States, followed by Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sweden, Germany, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark and Norway. Ukraine is on 49th place.

Check .pdf here

Estonian government approves cohabitation bill regardless of sex

TALLINN - The Estonian government on Thursday approved a controversial cohabitation bill that regulates finance, inheritance, care and visitation rights for cohabiting couples regardless of their sex, Estonian Public Broadcasting (ERR) reported.

The bill sparked heated public debate, during which Estonian religious and conservative campaigners demanded a referendum on the issue. They accused the initiators of the bill were undermining family values, while proponents pointed out that the majority of children in Estonia were already living with single parents or unmarried couples.

The report said that the bill takes into account the position of the Chancellor of Justice Indrek Teder, who said that current laws do not offer enough legal protection to cohabiting couples and that same sex couples were entitled to the protection of the same basic rights. The lack of legal regulation therefore violated the constitution in her opinion.

Cohabitation can be registered at a notary by a couple where at least one party is an Estonian resident, and neither is married or under another valid cohabitation contract. The cohabitation contract will be included in the population register and marital property register.

If approved by the parliament, the bill should enter into force on Jan. 1, 2015.

Economy ministry wants to cancel the sale Tallinn's TV tower

A few months before the new Estonian government came to power, the previous government declared a sales offer of state-owned telecommunications company AS Levira, which administers also the landmark Tallinn TV tower, but the new economy minister Urve Palo intends to stop the sale of Levira, LETA/Eesti Päevaleht writes.

"Yes, I intend to raise the issue of sale of Levira at the cabinet meeting in the near future and make a proposal to stop the sales process," Palo said.

Palo said that there are two reasons for stopping the sale: first, security and second, the symbolic meaning of the TV tower. Eesti Päevaleht wrote that the Security Police has issued an evaluation about selling shares of Levira too.

The 314 metres-high TV tower is the symbol of Estonia regaining independence, which the Soviet army tried to conquer in August 1991. The building was re-opened to public in 2012, after thorough renovations and became a major tourist attraction at once. It had to be open for public for the next five years. If sold, the new owner could close it in 2017.

Levira was formed in 1997, providing broadcasting, media and IT infrastructure services in Estonia, the Baltic states and Nordic states. The Estonian state has a 51% stake in it and French company TDF 49% of shares. The economy ministry announced in February that the state's 51% stake will be sold together with TDF's 49% of shares. Thus the aim of the sales offer is to sell 100% of Levira's shares together.

President Ilves proclaims controversial VAT law amendments

Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves yesterday promulgated the amendments to the Value-Added Tax Act. At the end of 2013 he refused to sign the amendments into law. The revised amendments were adopted by the parliament on May 7.

The law makes it mandatory for businesses to disclose in an annex to the VAT declaration the other party in all transactions exceeding 1,000 euros.

Businesses can apply for a transition period until June 20, 2015 for the switch to the new system was added to the bill.

A major change in the adopted law compared with the bill rejected by the president is that the data to which the obligation to maintain confidentiality of secrets applies do not have to be reported in the annex to the VAT declaration.

Toomas Höbemägi

Commission approves regional aid map 2014-2020 for Estonia

The European Commission has approved under EU state aid rules Estonia's map for granting regional development aid between 2014 and 2020. The map is based on the new regional aid guidelines adopted by the Commission in June 2013 (see IP/13/569), which set out the conditions under which Member States can grant state aid to businesses for regional development purposes. The guidelines aim to foster growth and greater cohesion in the Single Market.

Commission Vice President in charge of competition policy Joaquín Almunia said: “The new regional aid map establishes a clear framework allowing the Estonian authorities to support businesses throughout the country. In addition, the map facilitates the preparation and implementation of regional development programmes co-financed by European Structural Funds.”

Under Estonia's regional aid map, the entire territory of Estonia will be eligible for regional aid. The map also sets the maximum aid levels (so-called "aid intensities") for large companies carrying out projects in the country at 25% of the total investment cost. These percentages can be increased by 10 percentage points for medium sized and by 20 percentage points for small companies. The map will be in force between 1 July 2014 and 31 December 2020. As compared to the previous map, the aid intensities have decreased by between 20 and 25%, because of the growth of the Estonian GDP on the one hand and the overall reduction of aid intensities by 5% on the other hand.

In EU, household electricity prices rose by 2.8% in H2 2013

In the EU, household electricity prices rose by 2.8% on average between the second half of 2012 and the second half of 2013, after an increase of 6.0% between the second half of 2011 and 2012, reports LETA/ELTA.

Household gas prices increased by 1.0% on average in the EU between the second half of 2012 and 2013, after a rise of 8.2% between the second half of 2011 and 2012, Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, said.

Change in electricity prices ranged from a decrease of 15% in Cyprus to an increase of 22% in Estonia.

Between the second half of 2012 and the second half of 2013, the highest increases in household electricity prices in national currency were registered in Estonia (+22%), Greece (+20%), Romania (+17%), France and Lithuania (both +10%). The highest decreases were observed in Cyprus (-15%), Hungary (-14%), Spain (-9%) and Bulgaria (-8%), while prices remained stable or nearly stable in Latvia, Malta and Finland.

Estonia to raise bank capital requirements to 12.5% from 1st of August

Estonia's central bank said on Tuesday it would raise the minimum capital requirement for the eurozone country's banks to 12.5 percent on August 1 to cover systemic risks in the small open economy.

The central bank said in October last year it would add 2 percentage points to the European Central Bank's (ECB) minimum capital requirement of 8 percent, and an additional 2.5 percentage points in line with ECB rules for capital conservation buffers.

"Estonia's small, open economy poses a systemic risk for banks due to external factors such as a sudden worsening of the economic situation, which could quickly lead to loan servicing problems in the private sector and a worsening of bank finances," Ardo Hansson, Estonia's central bank governor said in a statement.

Estonia's banking sector is 95 percent controlled by large Nordic banking groups, such Swedbank, SEB, Danske and Nordea.

Reporting by David Mardiste, editing by Louise Heavens

Every third new company in Estonia is founded by a woman

Around 20,000 new companies a year have been founded in Estonia over the past three years; every third new entrepreneur is a woman and every fifth founder of a new company has had experience with entrepreneurship before, LETA/Public Broadcasting cites a study on new companies compiled by SEB.

43% of the founders of companies are in the 26-35 years age group and half of them have higher education, or they are acquiring it. The key elements for starting a company is personal belief, self-confidence to start and succeed as an entrepreneur.

"The fear of business failure and readiness to enter business in different ages is changing. The profile of people starting with business is becoming wider and starters' knowledge base is becoming more mature. It is not an unimportant fact that every third new company in Estonia today is founded by a woman, which is a very positive trend," said SEB's business innovation leader Mart Maasik.

Tallinn opens new cruise quay

Royal Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, became the first ship to berth at the Port of Talinn’s new €9.34 million cruise quay on 17 May.

Bringing more than 3,000 cruise guests to Tallinn, the 330-metre long Royal Princess – also the largest ship to visit Estonia to date – helped to officially open the new quay during a symbolic unmooring ceremony. The rite was performed by Allan Kiil, board member of AS Tallinna Sadam; Urve Palo, Estonia’s minister of economic affairs and communications; Taavi Aas, Tallinn’s deputy mayor; and Leho Alliksoo, head of the Estonian branch of BMGS construction company.

Built by BMGS next to the existing cruise ship quay in the Old City harbour, the new quay is 421 metres long, 20 metres wide and has a depth of 11 metres. It has been outfitted with an electricity supply, outdoor lighting, communications equipment and pipelines for supplying ships with utility water and removing wastewater.

The new quay will enable the port to moor cruise ships up to 340 metres in length, up to 42 metres in width and a draft of up to nine metres.

Second pillar pension funds volume grew by a fifth in Estonia in 2013

In 2013, the asset volume of Estonian second-pillar or mandatory pension funds grew by 291 million euros or by 20%, reaching 1.771 billion euros by the end of 2013, LETA/Postimees Online reports.

In comparison, the volume of voluntary pension funds grew by 9 million euros – from 96 million euros to 105 million euros, Estonian Financial Supervision Authority report indicates.

The total number of unit holders in mandatory pension funds rose by 2,710. The number of unit holders in mandatory pension funds stood at 708,812 as at the end of 2013.

Money in mandatory pension funds continued to migrate from larger management companies to LHV Asset Management in 2013. The market share of Swedbank Investment Funds fell from 42% to 41%, the market share of SEB Asset Management from 23% to 22% and the market share of Danske Capital from 11% to 10%. At the same time, the market share of LHV Asset Management grew from 17% to 19%.