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15 November, 2019


Estonia’s Train Station That’s Straight Out of a Sci-Fi Movie
(Robb Report | Zaha Hadid Architects | Designboom)
“The terminal will be part of Rail Baltica, a planned rail system that will connect Estonia with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.”



Winning designs of Rail Baltic's Ulemiste terminal competition
(Postimees | ERR)
“…  first place was awarded to Light Stream, a joint submission of Zaha Hadid Architects and Esplan, while second place was nabbed by The Ulemiste Leaf, a work of Innopolis Insenerid, and Videvik, created by DBA Progetti S.p.A. and HML Project Management.”

Zaha Hadid Architects
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Friday 15. Nov.
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✔︎ Putin and Zelenskiy agree to Paris talks on Ukraine
(Deutsche Welle)
“Leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France have agreed to revive their "Normandy format" Ukraine talks for the first time since 2014.”
“French President Emmanuel Macron's office on Friday announced the December meeting would take place after months of diplomatic efforts. The Elysees Palace said there had been "major advances" in negotiations since summer, including troop withdrawals by both sides and prisoner exchanges.”



France Plans to Host Ukraine Peace Summit to End Conflict
(WSJ)
“European leaders will meet with the presidents of Ukraine and Russia next month in an effort to advance rocky negotiations to end the conflict in Ukraine. The office of French President Emmanuel Macron said a summit between Mr. Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will take place on Dec. 9 in France.”














Oktoobritorm tegi Lõuna-Eesti metsades suurt kahju
(ERR)
“Lõuna-Eestit räsinud torm tegi eriti suurt kahju metsades, rebides puid hulkade viisi maast välja. Kuigi tormijärgsete kahjude likvideerimine on kallim kui lageraie ning puidu kokkuostuhinnad on langenud, soovitatakse metsaomanikel oma metsad tormi järel korda teha.”



🎄Raekoja platsil avati jõuluturg
Tallinn's Christmas market opened today
(Postimees | Delfi | ERR)
“Täna avati Tallinna Raekoja platsil jõuluturg, kus süüdati ka Haabersti linnaosast toodud jõulupuu tuled.”



Baltic States as Targets and Levers: Role of the Region in Russian Strategy
By Mark Galeotti, The Marshall Center
“The Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) are coming under constant, multi-vector Russian pressure, yet, rather than a prelude to kinetic operations, this pressure is part of Moscow’s wider “political war” with the West. The Baltic states are considered targets not because the Russians believe that these states can be returned to Russia’s sphere of influence—indeed, Russians lost that belief long ago. Rather, Russia uses the Baltic states to exert leverage against a variety of other actors, including the United States, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU), the neutral Nordic states (e.g., Sweden), and even Belarus. …”



NATO Could Occupy Kaliningrad in Two Days, Chinese Outlet Says
by Paul Goble, Window on Eurasia
“… but if the Western alliance did so, Moscow would respond by attacking five to eight European capitals, thus transforming a regional conflict into a world war.”
“What is perhaps the most important aspect of this discussion is that Moscow hopes to use it as another occasion to divide and weaken NATO by suggesting that in the event Russia would attack European cities rather than US ones …”



Estonia to apply for Arctic Council observer status
(ERR)
"Considering the increasing challenges from the Arctic, it is a chance for Estonia to get more involved internationally with topics related to the Arctic. The Arctic Council is one of the most important cooperation forums dealing with the region's issues and it addresses the sustainable development and protection of the environment of the Arctic.”



Baltics' largest data center to be built in Saue Municipality
(ERR)
[Saue is 22.7 km southwest of Tallinn.]



Interview: Lutheran Archbishop Urmas Viila of Tallinn
(Crux)
Crux caught up with the bishop, a member of Opus Dei, while he was in Rome last week to ordain 29 new deacons to the personal prelature. Among other topics, he discussed the rapid secularization in some quarters of western Europe, saying “it is true that our experience of the religious situation in Estonia could be, and with some probability will be, the experience of western Europe in the next generation.”



Russian security services used Estonia to fund activities abroad: Estonian minister
(Reuters)
“Martin Helme said that Estonian authorities are also investigating whether individuals under U.S. sanctions benefited from the movement of money through Estonia, which is undertaking reforms after 200 billion euros ($220 billion) in suspect transactions flowed through Danske Bank’s branch in the country.”





Helme rahapesukahtlustest: Põhjamaade pangad tegid, aga kannatame meie
(Postimees)
“Rahandusminister Martin Helme sõnul suhtuvad SEB peakontor ja Rootsi meedia rahapesukahtlusesse kui Baltikumi probleemi, kuid üha selgemaks saab, et tegu on Põhjamaade pankade käitumismustriga.”



Spy swap: Five freed in Russia-Lithuania-Norway exchange
(BBC)
“Russia has taken part in a carefully co-ordinated spy swap with Norway and Lithuania, in a deal that required the Lithuanians to change their laws.
It took place at Lithuania's southern border with Russia's Kaliningrad exclave …”



Interview: Former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev
(Spiegel, 8. Nov.)
“You blame me for the bloodshed in Latvia and Lithuania. As president, I was of course responsible for everything that went on there. But if you study the documents from this time, you'll see that I always tried to solve conflicts politically.”



Interview: Lech Walesa, legendary Polish Solidarity leader
(Foreign Policy)
“Lech Walesa … is in Washington this week to mark the 30th anniversary of his landmark speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Nov. 15, 1989, a few days after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In words that now seem bitingly quaint, Walesa, the self-described “shipyard worker from Gdansk” who went on to become a Nobel prize winner and president of Poland, called Congress “a beacon of freedom and a bulwark of human rights” at the time …”



Macron: Fox in the EU Hen House
(Spiegel)
“French President Emmanuel Macron has a grand foreign policy vision for Europe and he has been energetically pushing it forward. In the process, though, he has angered Germany and other European Union allies.”




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Thursday 14. Nov.
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Estonia registers lowest unemployment in century
(BNN)
“The unemployment rate in the century-long history of Estonia has dropped in third quarter of the year to a record low of 3.9% …”



As Talks With Putin Loom, Ukraine Looks in Vain for U.S. Help
(New York Times)
“Mr. Putin has sent signals that he’s prepared to dial down tensions with Ukraine, especially since this could help him escape from economic sanctions imposed by Europe and the United States. But he wants to end the war on his terms, and thanks to the disarray in American policy in Ukraine, politicians and officials in Kiev say, the chances of that are improving.”
“In that respect, Ukraine seems to have joined a long list of foreign policy issues where Mr. Trump has intervened in such a way as to advance the Kremlin’s interest, whether in pressuring NATO, withdrawing from Syria, pushing Brexit, siding with right-wing European populists or defending Russia against charges of meddling in the 2016 election.”



Let Russia Be Russia
(Foreign Affairs)
“U.S. policy across four administrations has failed because, whether conciliatory or confrontational, it has rested on a persistent illusion: that the right U.S. strategy could fundamentally change Russia’s sense of its own interests and basic worldview. It was misguided to ground U.S. policy in the assumption that Russia would join the community of liberal democratic nations, but it was also misguided to imagine that a more aggressive approach could compel Russia to abandon its vital interests.”
Russia will not soon, if ever, become a version of the United States or England, Putin wrote.”



UK-educated Russians are upholding Putin’s regime
(The Guardian)
“The children of Russian oligarchs learn about freedom in the UK only to return to Moscow to reinforce Vladimir Putin’s dictatorial rule, Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian dissident jailed for five years by Russia, has warned in a stark assessment of Putin’s stranglehold on power.”
“But I would not expect them to want to challenge the Russian state because it would be contrary to their interests. This state is what keeps them going. This is what pays for their tuition in the UK. Once they have completed their studies, they want to return to Russia and then lead as the younger elite so things can stay the same. These people will never go out and join the barricades.”







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Wednesday 13. Nov.
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Arvamus: Valitsus ei saa enda sisemiste probleemidega hakkama
(Postimees)



Tõusev majandus toob Eesti ehitusmehed lahe tagant tagasi
(Postimees)
“Tallinnas ehitajatele makstavad palgad jälitavad Soome lahe taga tasutavaid.”



More Estonian construction workers returning from Finland
(ERR)
“… as their financial situations as well as wages in the domestic construction market improve.”




Border checks in EU countries challenge Schengen Agreement
(Deutsche Welle)
“As large numbers of displaced people arrived in 2015, some Schengen countries reintroduced border checks. Six are extending controls. That's illegal, EU observers say, and it undermines the idea of freedom of movement.”



The toxic relationship between Britain and Russia
(The Guardian)
“Someone in Downing Street calculated that it was less embarrassing to suppress the intelligence and security committee’s report into Russian interference in the UK than it was to publish it. Boris Johnson’s refusal to allow voters to read the report made waves in parliament a week ago, yet the election campaign has offered a convenient distraction since then. The government can survive one uncomfortable news cycle; but a 50-page report full of revelations about rich Russians funding political parties and associating with politicians, as well as Russian bots meddling in the referendum, could have fed the media for days.”














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Tuesday 12. Nov.
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Sense of Place in Narva: How Do Narva’s Residents Feel and Think about Their City?
(FPRI - 31. Oct.)
“Narva, Estonia, is a city of contrasts and constant concern. Estonia’s third-largest city, Narva is predominantly home to ethnic Russians and Russian-speakers, including many Russian citizens and stateless residents. The country’s rich oil shale region and part of Estonia’s former industrial heartland, Ida-Viru County, where Narva is located, has the country’s highest unemployment rate. Additionally, Narva often has diverged from nationwide politics or elections. For example, Narva held a failed autonomy referendum in 1993. It often votes differently than most other regions in parliamentary elections, including in 2019, in which Ida-Viru County’s electorate (including Narva) gave the Centre Party 35.4% of its vote.”



How Estonia is growing its population
(World Economic Forum)
“Estonia’s fertility rates are rising, and in 2018, the country had 600 more births than the previous year.”



Estonia is in the grip of a deadly opioid epidemic
(The Economist)
“A higher proportion of its citizens die from drug overdoses than in any other European country. Illegally acquired prescription drugs—chiefly fentanyl and other opioids—are the principal cause of these deaths.”



Estonia's contribution to EU budget to increase from 2021
(ERR)
“Estonia's contribution to the European Union's long-term budget could increase from €200 million to €320 million from 2021 due mostly to the United Kingdom leaving the European Union and Estonia's faster than expected economic growth.”
“Despite this, however, Estonia will still receive significantly more in funding than it pays out.”



NATO is not brain dead yet
(The Hill)
“Given the huge resources assigned to the greatest military alliance in the world, it is difficult to take at face value the words of Emmanuel Macron that we are “experiencing the brain death of NATO.” But could the comments of the French president portend the future?”
“NATO leaders will gather in London next month to review the progress on how the alliance adapts to current challenges. Some parts of the agenda are no doubt moving faster than others, but even where it is doing well, NATO will still need to modernize and adapt.”




Germany’s ‘brain dead’ defense debate
(Politico-Europe)
“We shouldn’t just wait to see if others take action and then decide to either participate or not.” — German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
“As long as Trump is president — and who knows what will come after him — we can no longer fully count on NATO and the security systems of the past decades to dependably function. Therefore, the European states need to get together and develop common strategies.” — Green leader Robert Habeck
“A foreign and security policy without Washington would be irresponsible; a decoupling of Europe and American security, dangerous. We will need NATO for many years to come.” — German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas 

















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Monday 11. Nov.
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Ratas New Yorgis: Eesti sõnal on maailmas nüüdsest suurem kaal ja Eesti sõnum peab olema selge
“Praegusaja Eestis on üsna tavaliseks saanud, et mõni valitsuse liige teeb mõnel teraval teemal avalduse ja kuna see riigi kursiga kokku ei lähe, kiirustab peaminister kohe vigu parandama.”



The scandal surrounding Minister of Rural Affairs Mart Järvik
(Postimees)
“The scandal … turned into a government crisis yesterday when the Conservative People’s Party (EKRE) laid down an ultimatum that would see it leave the government should Järvik be forced to resign.”



Estonian Government Teeters in Row Over Nationalist Minister
(Bloomberg)
“Prime Minister Juri Ratas, whose Center Party has held power since late 2016, has deflected criticism from the media and opposition over reneging on pledges to keep the populist and euro-skeptic EKRE out of power following elections in March. The coalition parties have also clashed over personnel issues.”
““The issue is how to get the coalition out of this situation,” Ratas said Monday to reporters in Tallinn after a meeting with Rural Affairs Minister Mart Jarvik. “I am making efforts for the coalition to find a solution.”



Tallinnast võib saada Euroopa segregeerituim pealinn
(Postimees)
“Üha suurenev lõhe rikaste ja vaeste vahel on üha enamaid Euroopa pealinnu muutmas üha segregeeritumateks, märgitakse üle Euroopalises uuringus «Socio-Economic segregation in European capital cities. East meets West». Tallinn torkab selles silma pealinnana, kus erinevate ühiskonna gruppide, rikaste ja vaeste, aga ka erinevatest rahvustest gruppide, eraldumise protsess kõige kiiremini toimub.”



Tallinn could be the most segregated European capital in 25-30 years' time
(BBC)
“This trajectory was flagged up in an academic study that warned the city is becoming more divided not only between rich and poor, but also between various nationalities - most notably the large ethnic-Russian minority. This is already evident in Lasnamae, a mainly Russian-speaking dormitory suburb of Soviet-built tower blocks that houses more than a quarter of the city's population, according to urban geographer Tiit Tammaru, who co-wrote the study "Socio-Economic Segregation in European Capital Cities: East meets West".



Apartment prices in Tallinn rose to all-time high in October
(ERR)
“In October, the average apartment in Tallinn cost €2,040 per square meter, the highest ever recorded, the Land Board's transaction review said.”



Ukraina ja mässulised: vägede lahutamine kontaktjoone lõigus on läbi
(Postimees)
“Ukraina ja riigi idaosa separatistid teatasid esmaspäeval, et sõjaväelaste ja -tehnika äraviimine kontaktjoone Bogdanivka-Petrivske lõigult on lõpule viidud.”



Scandinavian Wine: A Warming Climate Tempts Entrepreneurs
(New York Times)
“… as global temperatures rise, a fledgling wine industry is growing from once-unlikely fields across Scandinavia, as entrepreneurs seek to turn a warming climate to their advantage.
“We’re looking for the opportunities in climate change,” said Mr. Moesgaard, the founder of Skaersogaard Vin, cradling a cluster of golden grapes. “In the coming decades, we’ll be growing more wine in Scandinavia while countries that have traditionally dominated the industry produce less.”



State Department Meets with EANC and JBANC
(EANCDC)
“Estonian American National Council President Marju Rink-Abel and Washington, DC Director Karin Shuey were among members of the Joint Baltic American National Committee who met last week with the State Department’s Director for Nordic, Baltic, and Arctic Affairs Erika Olson, and the desk officers for the three Baltic nations. …”



Helsinki Airport expands again
(Yle)
“… which is to expand Terminal 2 and improve its ground transport links. The most obvious change will be a new main entrance to the terminal, says Finavia CEO Kimmo Mäki.”



Ukrainians Contacted U.S. Officials in May of 2019 About Aid Fears
(Daily Beast)
“Two months before President Donald Trump’s July phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, top officials in Kyiv were so concerned about the fate of U.S. political and military support for the country that at least two inquired about the matter with Washington, according to three sources with knowledge of those conversations.
Despite a strong showing of American support at Zelensky’s inauguration in May, Ukrainian officials were growing increasingly concerned about Rudy Giuliani’s public comments on investigations into Hunter Biden and the gas company he worked for, Burisma.”



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