COVID-19 Eestis
Viimati uuendatud: 24. aprill 2020
[Saaremaa 561; Harjumaa 536; Võrumaa 82; jne.]
- Short Video: “The Empty Streets of Tallinn.”
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| President Kersti Kaljulaid appoints Raul Siem minister of foreign trade and IT. Photo: Mattias Tamme | President.ee |
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Friday 24. April
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French NATO force traverses Europe to Estonia amid many challenges
(ERR)
“… The decision was made to transport equipment and four heavy vehicles by rail rather than road, with most personnel flying in separately.”
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“The equipment took almost a week to arrive … with challenges along the way including changes in rail track gauge on reaching the Lithuanian border, and variations in European countries' coronavirus restrictions.”
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“The difference in rail gauge in the Baltic States and the rest of Europe also had to be negotiated, with the entire complement of equipment having to be lifted from one train to another at Šestokai in Lithuania …”
Coronavirus delivers a 'moment of truth' on the meaning of the EU
(The Guardian)
“The EU’s anxious debate over the bloc’s economic response to the coronavirus pandemic is at heart about the nature and competing visions of the union. … The question being posed by events is whether there is enough of a sense of kinship among EU citizens for national governments to back the most radical of the burden-sharing plans proposed to rebuild the eurozone economy as one. … we are approaching what Emmanuel Macron has described as a moment of truth.”
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“The European economy is in a slow-motion car crash with the coronavirus. Initial impact has been made. The full scale of the damage will not be clear for months to come.”
In a crisis, a fumbling America confirms Europe’s worst fears
(War on the Rocks)
“In some ways, the Trump administration’s response to the novel coronavirus epidemic and later pandemic was predictable. As one German analyst we interviewed remarked, Trump’s handling of the crisis “has only confirmed what we in Europe already knew.”
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“However, as the center of the pandemic shifts from Europe to the United States, there have been aspects of America’s response that Europeans have found to be both deeply disheartening and alarming. Irrespective of who sits in the Oval Office, Europeans tend to look to the United States in a crisis because of its unique and longstanding ability to bring the world together. … Beyond the Trump administration’s abdication of global leadership, Europeans have been disturbed to discover that their supposed close relationship with the United States counts for little.”
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Thursday 23. April
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Coronavirus Pandemic Leads to Spike in Disinformation Directed at US, NATO in Europe
(Military,com)
“There have been 807 cases of false or misleading information about the virus, much of it focused on Lithuania, since February, according to an analysis by the Lithuanian military's strategic communication department.”
Teadlased näevad kliimamuutustes ohtu metsade säilimisele
(Novaator)
“Kõrgemad temperatuurid, vähem sademeid ja tugevamad tuuled – kõige sellega tuleb hakata arvestama parasvöötmelistes metsades, tõdevad teadlased. Kliimamuutuste tõttu võime tulevikus näha ka Eesti metsades senisest sagedamini nii metsapõlenguid kui ka tormide laastamistööd.”
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Wednesday 22. April
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Valitsuskomisjon avaldas kriisist väljumise kava
(Postimees)
“Eriolukorra valitsuskomisjon kiitis heaks kriisist väljumise strateegia kava. Nüüd esitatakse see riigikogule ja partneritele ettepanekute tegemiseks ning valitsus kinnitab strateegia pärast arutelusid järgmisel nädalal.”
'Malign actor' poses as NATO chief, emails Lithuania saying troops are pulling out
(Deutsche Welle)
"Fake news like this piece are aimed at sowing distrust in our alliance partners and NATO unity.” - Defense Minister Raimundas Karoblis
Sweden's coronavirus strategy: Right or wrong?
(Euronews)
“Sweden's government has banned gatherings of more than 50 people, stopped visits to retirement homes, and advised Swedes to work from home and avoid bars and restaurants. But on the streets of Malmo on Saturday, there were still plenty of people out and about.”
Navigating Covid-19 in the Digital Republic of Estonia
(Harvard Business Review)
“President Kersti Kaljulaid tells us how Estonia’s e-Government is weathering the coronavirus pandemic.”
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Tuesday 21. April
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RMK kaasab kogukonda vaid näiliselt
(Postimees)
“Riigimetsa Majandamise Keskus (RMK) täidab enda kinnitusel kohustust kaasata kogukond kodulähedase riigimetsa majandamisse, kuid loobub haruharva inimeste palvel metsa mahavõtmisest ja keskkonnaministeerium sõdib omavalitsustele raiepiirangute õiguse andmise vastu.”
Meeting the Interests of NATO’s North-Eastern Flank
(ICDS)
“While the countries of NATO’s north-eastern flank—Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland—are correctly putting emphasis in their security policy on strengthening deterrence, they need to take a more proactive stance on arms control.”
The Current Status of Transportation Infrastructure in the Baltics
(FPRI)
“In the Baltic States, ensuring military mobility and the secure flow of goods and services remains a critical and challenging dilemma. The Baltics’ geography leaves them relatively isolated from the rest of continental Europe, as does the predominantly east-west oriented transportation infrastructure that remains a legacy of the Soviet era. For economic purposes, the north-south highway route from Warsaw to Tallinn is the only land route for European freight, consumer goods and travelers. For military purposes, this route, which runs through the critical Suwałki Gap chokepoint, is a logistical problem for NATO troop and supply transport.”
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“The Defender Europe-20 exercises scheduled for this year, though canceled because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, demonstrate an understanding by the US that operations in the Baltic theater will be complicated by the Baltic states’ geographic and infrastructural isolation from the rest of NATO.”
Russia launches 'genocide' probe into Finn actions in Karelian WW2 camps
(Yle)
"Antti Laine, an academic specialising in the occupation of eastern Karelia, says it is not surprising or new that Russia is investigating what it calls a ‘genocide’. It’s an age-old story, which bubbles up in a similar way from one year to the next," said Laine. "It is about the Soviet Union’s fight against fascism, in which Finland was the fascist enemy.”
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“Laine says many of the tropes blaming others are pushed in modern Russia because that is one way to boost Putin’s regime. "This is part of a process that is linked to the strengthening of powers in conjunction with the recent constitutional changes. It goes with Putin’s move to seek another term in office. In general it is linked to the current political situation in Russia: there is a rewriting of history going on right now."
Russia Passes Dual Citizenship Law, Hoping to Add 10M Citizens
(The Moscow Times)
“… primarily from Russian-speaking populations in the former Soviet republics, to obtain Russian passports as the country tries to fix its demographic crisis.”
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Monday 20. April
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Are The Baltic States Immune To China's Ambitions?
(CEPA)
“How benign are Beijing’s intentions in the region?”
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“For the Baltic States, especially worrying are Chinese attempts to take over large strategic infrastructural objects, where China has a particular interest in developing its Belt and Road Initiative, its signature foreign policy initiative, involving over US $1 trillion in investments. The BRI is aimed at reviving and extending trade routes with Europe and, specifically, to open up a transportation channel from the Pacific to the Baltic Sea.”
Ratas: Ida-Viru maakond on saanud väga tugevasti pihta
(Postimees)
“Nädalaga kasvas Ida-Virumaal registreeritud töötute arv 167 inimese võrra ja ulatus esmaspäevase seisuga 7749 inimeseni.
Ida-Virumaa töötuse määr on kasvanud 12,7 protsendini, mis on võrdluses teiste maakondadega ülekaalukalt suurim. Tööpuuduse poolest teisel kohal oleval Valgamaal oli töötuse määr 9,5 protsenti, Eesti keskmine 7,2 protsenti. Iga kuues Eesti töötu on praegu Ida-Virumaa elanik.”
Kremlin’s Chaotic Actions and Clumsy Propaganda about Pandemic Infuriating Russians
(Window on Eurasia)
“Anyone who turns to the official coronavirus website (стопкоронавирус.рф/) will find not real information but the claims of agitators who “explain that things are in any case better with us than with them, that Russia pays doctors more than they get in the West, and that Russians must not in any case read or listen” to “slanderers” saying otherwise.”
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