Moscow to lift visa controls on Baltic Russians

The Kremlin decree follows increasing tensions between Moscow and the ex-Soviet republics over the treatment of the Russian-speaking minorities in both countries, many of whom have refused citizenship or been unable to pass new language tests. Moscow has repeatedly dismissed EU criticism of its own human rights record by raising the treatment of Russian speakers in the Baltic States, which it says face discrimination. According to the decree, former Soviet citizens residing in Latvia or Estonia can enter and exit Russia without visas on condition they possess either a Latvian non-citizen passport or an Estonian foreign-resident passport. Both types of document have been issued to large numbers of Russian-speaking residents in the two Baltic states who do not have citizenship. Russia has a policy of trying to lure back many ethnic Russians who continue to live across the former Soviet Union to help counter its own declining population.

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Estonian parliament approves EU Lisbon Treaty

Ninety-one of Estonia s 101 lawmakers voted in favor of the treaty while just one opposed it. The remainder did not take part in the vote. The treaty, signed by EU heads of state and government in December last year, will make the bloc s much needed institutional reforms possible. The new treaty replaces a more ambitious European Union (EU) constitution that was rejected by French and Dutch voters in referendums in 2005, plunging the bloc into the worst crisis in its half-century history. The treaty must be ratified by all 27 member states of the EU before it can take effect on January 1, 2009, as planned. Ireland is the only EU country that will hold a referendum on June 12 on the EU Reform Treaty as stipulated by its Constitution.

Estonian Q1 growth stalls at just 0.1 pct yr

The figure was down from a 0.4 percent growth flash estimate by the office. Quarter-on-quarter, gross domestic product (GDP) contracted 0.5 percent, revised up from a fall of 1.9 percent. Deceleration of GDP growth was influenced by the decrease in domestic demand and exports, theE statistics office said in a statement. The first quarter figure compared with growth of 4.8 percent in the last quarter of 2007. Compared to the same quarter of the previous year, domestic demand decreased by 0.7 percent at constant prices due to a decrease of 0.4 percent in private consumption. Capital investments grew by 5.2 percent due to investments in construction by the general government sector, the office said. Exports decreased by 5.4 percent and imports by 3.8 percent at constant prices compared to the first quarter of the previous year, it added.

Russian shipment fall forces Estonia rail job cuts

Transit trade has fallen dramatically as Russia reoriented its resource rich export trade away from Estonian ports, leaving railway and port volumes down on previous years. It is not possible to confirm how many workers will be fired, it could be several hundred, but the reasons are many, said Urmas Glase, spokesman for the state-owned company. The fall in transit trade was the main reason as the railway required less staff. Upgrades and automatisation of lines in the south meant fewer workers were needed, he added. He said the number of trains from Russia had fallen from the highs at the beginning of 2007 of around 35 trains a day to 16 a day in May this year. The management board will decide on the fate of the workers in June, Glase added.

Foreign Policy In Focus Estonia

The movement played an important role in the downfall of the entire Soviet Empire. Over the previous several years, nonviolent uprisings had helped topple Communist dictatorships in Eastern Europe as well as right-wing dictatorships from Southeast Asia to Latin America. Earlier in the century, Gandhi s movement in India demonstrated the power of nonviolent action in leading a country to independence against even the powerful British Empire. The people of Estonia, along with their neighbors in Latvia and Lithuania, similarly showed how sustained nonviolence could be successfully waged against the Soviet occupation of their country. Music was a key part of this struggle. Music around the World Music has played a key role in nonviolent struggles around the world. With updated lyrics to traditional African-American Gospel music that stressed emancipation and resistance, song energized the U.S.

US Navy ends search for downed WWII plane off Estonian coast

Three days after the crash, Estonia was annexed by the Soviet Union. Neither the Soviet Union nor Russia have acknowledged shooting down the plane. Some believe the Soviet military recovered the Kaleva s wreckage some years after its disappearance. This week, three U.S. Navy underwater search vehicles found no signs of the plane and called off the search after six days, said Martin Ammond, senior surveyor aboard the USNS Pathfinder. There is no indication of a large human-made object in this area, Ammond said. I have a high level of confidence that the plane is not there. The search, which began Friday, centered around the tiny island of Keri, some 0 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of Tallinn, where Finnish and Estonian experts had believed the plane was lying at a depth of 300 feet ( 0 meters) somewhere near the island.

Estonian seaman captured by Somali pirates

Lehmann Timber, a ship of the Hans Lehmann fleet of Luebeck, Germany, was intercepted by bandits in a speedboat in the Gulf of Aden near the Somalian coast. The crew managed to send a distress signal to another ship situated at a distance of 50 kilometers. Gustav Jakobsen, trustee for Lehmann, said the company was working non-stop to have its people released. There is also a German warship near the Somali coast, which has not yet interfered. We ve communicated with the crew. They re doing all right and the situation is under control, Jakobsen said. He said he did not know the ship s exact location in Somalia s territorial waters or the size of the ransom demand. According to the latest information, the ransom is set at about one million US dollars, the Estonian daily reported.

Salaries in Estonia too high for Elcoteq

The reason for Elcoteqs sharp cut backs in Estonia are the ever-increasing labour costs. Elcoteq has recently reduced the number of employees at two plants in Estonia from 3500 to 2000 staff. Meanwhile, equipment has been auctioned off too. In recent years, wages have increased by 20 per year in Estonia. This has led to the fact that Elcoteq and a number of Estonian companies too, have moved their production to other countries. Behind the sharp increase in wages is the lack of workforce and a high inflation. In Tallinn exists practically no unemployment. Source http: evertiq.com

iPhone in Estonia!

Another piece of the international iPhone puzzle has been jammed into place. When we detailed the contracts signed between Apple and telcos worldwide, there was a conspicuous gap in the map, above and to the right of Western Europe. That has been filled by this press release from TeliaSonera, cellphone provider for the Nordic and Baltic markets: TeliaSonera today announced it has signed an agreement with Apple to bring the iPhone to Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia later this year. The number of countries expecting a new toy on June 9th is fast approaching 50. One notable exception is still Spain, despite strong evidence that Telefonica will be carrying the Iberian Stupendabrick. We re expecting that announcement mañana.