Eesti in brief - 2011-03-24

The Environmental Investment Center allocated 2.5 million euros for four projects aimed at preserving fishing populations, reports ERR. Supported by the EU Cohesion Fund, the projects will establish four fishladders - migration paths that allow fish to bypass dams - in the town of Poltsamaa, a cement factory in Kunda, a hydroenergy plant in Linnamae and at an old watermill in Vaste-Roosa. Altogether, 12 groups applied for the funds. A 140-meter-long fishladder will be built near the Latvian border, in Vastse-Roosa. The stone-lined artificial lake on Vaidva river is 100 meters long. The fishladder will direct fish around the lake. Founded in 2000, the Environmental Investment Center is the main Estonian agency for managing the state’s environmental investment funds and EU money, as well as green energy schemes, such as carbon dioxide credit sales.

Fast progress took place on March 21 at the Reform Party and Pro Patria and Res Publica Party coalition talks, said Reform Party secretary general Kristen Michal, reports LETA. “Let us say that we reviewed the issues important for both partners and found common ground,” said Michal. The parties discussed legal, internal security, culture, sports, foreign and defense policy issues. Topics that were to be discussed this week include rural life, regional policy and environmental policy. “Then we will most likely start working on the detailed calculations of the finance ministry, which we have already looked at several times but with which we have needed extra information,” said Michal. He considered it important that the future coalition agreement is in line with the real possibilities of the state budget.

Nearly 38,000 Estonian state ending Internet domains, or .ee domains, will become available to everyone on April 6, reports Eesti Paevaleht Online. The aim of the domain reform, which started on July 5, 2010, was to make .ee domains more available to people and to clean up the domain registry, said the Estonian Internet Foundation. The domains that were not reregistered according to the new regulations by the deadline will be deleted from the registry on April 6 and will be available to anyone interested. Some registry keepers accept preliminary registration applications, before the April 6 date, for the freed domains. Still, since there are over 20 registry keepers in Estonia, such registration does not guarantee that the applicant gets the domain he wanted since the distribution takes place on the principle of “first come, first served” and also some domain owners might have reconsidered before March 6 and re-registered their domain.