Eesti in brief - 2008-04-03

  • 2008-04-03
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Urmas Paet,  met Georgian Prime Minister Vladimer Gurgenidze, who was visiting Tallinn. They spoke about development cooperation, Georgia's possibilities  with NATO and the EU and so-called "frozen conflicts" in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.  Paet declared his support for an action plan for Georgia  to become a member of NATO. Since Georgia is one of Estonia's main partners  in development cooperation and priority areas are supporting Georgia's education and economic system, as well as improving good governing customs and democracy.

An American appraisal delegation is visiting in Estonia from March 31 to April 4. It will judge work on Estonia's border guard, security and migration institutions to see if Estonia is ready to join the U.S. visa free zone.  The committee, which is made up of U.S. Internal Security specialists, will observe Estonia's migration and border guarding processes, and look at methods of fighting against terrorism, human trafficking and organized crime. They'll visit Tallinn's harbor and airport, and they will get to know the system of issuing documents. On March  12 Home Secretary, Juri Pihl, and Michael Chertoff, Minister of Internal Security in the U.S.A. , signed a memorandum of mutual understanding, which is one pre-condition for Estonia to join the U.S. visa-free zone.                  

Last year Estonia didn't get any closer to its goal of being among the five richest European countries 's it still languishes in 23rd place. According to Euro stat the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown by 1,800 euros per person, but other countries haven't slept as well. In a comparison of 31 countries, fifth place has Denmark, whose  GDP is 30,000 euros more than Estonia's. According to Eurostat the richest country is Luxembourg. In the last elections the ruling coalition claimed Estonia could  become one of the among five richest countries in five years. That was one year ago. Prime Minister Andrus Ansip still says that goal is achievable.

From April 14, Estonian Air adds more late-night flights to Stockholm, which will give more flexibility for travelers. There will be additional flights on three evenings a week 's Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Stockholm is an important transit airport, offering comfortable connections with North America, Asia  and Europe. Flights from Stockholm to Tallinn take place after flights from Europe have arrived, which allows travelers to  still get home on the same day. All flights offer drinks and light meals on board. Initially  the flights are planned between April 14 and June 13 to see if there is any real interest in them. The line is operated by Estonian Air Regional, which is wholly owned by Estonian Air.