NordenBladet — Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto will meet Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias in Helsinki on 15 February.The Ministers will discuss the bilateral relations between Finland and Greece, European security and topical foreign policy themes. “Greece is an important EU partner for Finland. I highly appreciate my colleague’s visit to Helsinki and the opportunity to exchange views on European and international questions”, says Foreign Minister Haavisto.
More than 200 legislators from the United States Congress, the European Parliament and national parliaments across Europe issued a statement in support of Ukraine. The Statement is a sign of strong and broad support to Ukraine and encourages to look for a diplomatic solution and jointly prepare a package of economic sanctions.
Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Marko Mihkelson, Deputy Chair of the Committee Mihhail Lotman and members of the Foreign Affairs Committee Henn Põlluaas, Ruuben Kaalep, Raivo Tamm, Indrek Saar, Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski and Eerik-Niiles Kross joined the Statement.
Statement:
“Transatlantic Legislators Statement in Support of the Sovereignty and Territorial Integrity of Ukraine
As legislators across the transatlantic community our support for the sovereign territorial integrity and political independence of Ukraine remains unwavering. We believe that Ukraine, like all sovereign nations, has the right to determine its own political and security future and we commend the Ukrainian government for the significant steps it has taken over the last 30 years to enact democratic and economic reforms reflective of the shared and longstanding norms and values of the liberal democratic nations.
The military buildup of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border as well as those currently involved in military exercises in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, the Arctic and the Republic of Belarus not only threatens that progress but stands as an existential threat to Ukraine’s future and independence.
Transatlantic unity has never been more critical to preserving our democratic values. Our determination and resolve must be resolute.
To that end and in the spirit of our shared democratic values, we call on the transatlantic community to continue to use all possible diplomatic means to facilitate the deescalation of the ongoing tensions, while coordinating our efforts so we speak with one voice and stands united in the face of Vladimir Putin’s destabilizing efforts and reiterate our support for the Ukrainian people and their right to self-determination.
While diplomatic efforts persist, we urge our governments to immediately provide Ukraine with the lethal and non-lethal military assets required to defend themselves. We further urge our governments to prepare a set of coordinated and harsh economic sanctions ready to be implemented should the Kremlin undertake any further incursion into the sovereign territory of Ukraine.
Conflict is not inevitable, and de-escalation is possible.
The cost of war is too great, and meaningful and coordinated steps towards détente must be taken.”
NordenBladet – I started writing this blog already in the beginning of January but then my work and home life took full speed and the blog was postponed. So I’ll sketch a brief overview. Due to covid restrictions I have not been able to travel abroad, my longest trips have taken me as far as Tartu 🙂 hahaaa. In January Raido (my elder sister’s husband) celebrated his 36th birthday. We went to visit them and as we were in the neighbourhood, we also visited V SPA. The shopping centers Kvartal, Tasku, Tartu Kaubamaja department store as well as SPA hotel were all still covered with Christmas decorations.
While the first week of January began with a new painting for the children’s book “His Highness Mouse the First” and was largely humanities-based, then the rest of the month was rather deliberative, analytical and finances-centered. As usual, there was a lot of work with NordenBladet sites, then Airobot Technologies IPO and the sweet recognition that on January 24th and 27th we had just enough cash to invest in the bleeding Baltic and US stock markets. Regarding brokers’ board, there is a sad news, namely Marat Kasparov has announced that he will stop blogging via his page StockFanatt. Since he is an active person with a stronger than usual temperament, then I hope that he will change his mind.
What else? January also accommodated a major cyber attack that I will not thoroughly cover here, but which still ruined mine and Allan’s planned ballet night “Louis XVI – the Sun King” and quite out of the blue created a week of extra work. In conclusion it still had a positive effect because we now reviewed the servers’ security settings with a new pair of eyes. We always have several backup copies of everything in a different cloud and on hard drives, and hackers will accept bunny-pictures instead of money lol
(You can read about February’s events after the gallery)
I wrote in the October blog HERE that Estella Elisheva applied via AIS (American Councils for International Education) programme to be an exchange student in America. She didn’t pass the last part of the contest which retrospectively is a good thing. Now she is 100% devoted to the violin. This year she will graduate from the 9th grade of Tallinn Jewish School and she plans on continuing her secondary school studies in MUBA, the Music and Ballet School.
February started off with super good news! Estella Elisheva was selected to be the main soloist for Georg Ots Symphony Orchestra GOSO in three performances, playing H. Wieniawski’s piece Legende Op. 17. Me, on the other hand, I completed yet another mice series painting!
There have been even more cultural events during February. In the beginning of the month we went to the Centre of Russian Culture to see Ott Sepp’s comedy show Jokker and yesterday we went to Saku Suurhall to listen to the finalists of “Eesti Laul 2022” song contest. Speaking about the latter, I am really sorry for Elina Nechayeva that in her competing song “Remedy” she could show her voice just so little and thus was placed eighth in the competition. With a different song she would have been able to give more vocal energy. All the performers were actually really good, but my yesterday’s favourite was Andrei Zevakin’s and Grete Paia’s song “Mis nüüd saab” (“What’s gonna happen now”). The winning song “Hope” was of course also really great. Stefan Airapetjan has such a big warm aura that why not send him to represent Estonia at the contest.
To conclude the blog, here’s a tasty oven roast!
Place chopped broccoli, cauliflower, onion, meat and blue cheese into oven mold. Add spices, a pack of sour cream, and cover with water halfway to top. Then for one hour to the oven and 65 minutes after that everyone will be moaning with pleasure!
NordenBladet – The Danish Royal Court has issued an update on Queen Margrethe’s health. The Queen of Denmark has for many days now been in isolation after testing positive for Covid-19 on 9 February. Queen Margrethe II was then reported to have mild symptoms and was said to be resting at her home at Christian IX’s Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen.
Today, on 13 February, the following statement was issued by the Royal Court: “After having a mild case of COVID-19, a doctor has today assessed that H.M. The Queen can end her isolation”.
As early as February 21 2022, an official audience has been set up at Christiansborg Palace. It is uncertain whether Queen Margrethe will attend this. The royal calendar nevertheless writes that the Danish queen will participate in an audience on 23 February, when the Duchess of Cambridge arrives in Denmark. It is therefore not known whether Queen Margrethe is traveling to Norway now to resume a planned holiday which was put on hold after she contracted Covid, or whether she will continue to be in Denmark.
The Danish Monarch, who is 81 years old, tested positive just hours after attending the opening of a major new royal exhibition on February 8th 2022. The Danish Royal Household said Margrethe has had to cancel her planned holiday in Norway, where she was due to spend time with King Harald and Queen Sonja, while she recovers.
Queen Margrethe has been vaccinated three times against coronavirus. She got her first dose on January 1, 2021 and her third and finally vaccine at the end of November last year.
NordenBladet – The future of the Norwegian monarchy is about to legally become an adult, and the Royal Household has formally announced her first official engagements.
In anticipation of her 18th birthday, on the 21st of January, Princess Ingrid Alexandra features on the Royal Agenda with three engagements scheduled for the 20th.
At 10am, the Princess will visit the Storting, the Norwegian Parliament, where she will be informed about the Parliament’s work by Storting Chairman Masud Gharahkhani.
At 11:15am, she is scheduled to visit the Supreme Court, where she will also receive an explanation of the functioning of the institution.
And finally, at 12:30pm, she will visit the office of the Prime Minister, where she will hold a meeting with the current office holder Jonas Gahr Støre, as well as other members of his government, and will be shown the daily activities of the government and the various ministries.
The Princess will turn 18 on the next day, and all celebrations for the occasion (which included a gala dinner) have been postponed indefinitely due to the current health crisis. This was also seen as a response to the backlash the Dutch royals received when it came to light that the Princess of Orange held celebrations for her 18th birthday that united more people than it was advised under the country’s pandemic prevention measures.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra is the second in line to the Norwegian throne after her father, Crown Prince Haakon. She will be only the second female to ever be monarch in the country, after Queen Margaret held the position between 1388 and 1412. Back then, all Scandinavian countries were under the rule of one monarch.
She was born on the 21st of January 2004, and christened on the 17th of April of the same year, with an A-list of royal godparents: Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and then-Prince Felipe of Spain (now King).
NordenBladet — A number of research institutes have completed the assessments they were requested to make concerning the adequacy of the measures included in the daft Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan. According to the assessments, stronger actions will be needed so that Finland can achieve its climate objectives with sufficient certainty. In its autumn budget session the Government decided that the adequacy of the measures to be included in the Climate Change Policy Plan will be evaluated in March on the basis of assessments by the ministries, the relevant research institutes and the Finnish Climate Change Panel.The Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan is one of the three climate plans of the Finnish Government. It describes the measures to be taken in the effort sharing sector to achieve the EU target concerning emission reductions by 2030 and the target of a carbon-neutral Finland by 2035. The effort sharing sector comprises emissions from transport, agriculture, building-specific heating, non-road mobile machinery and waste management, and F-gas emissions. Assessments of the adequacy of the measures in the draft Climate Change Policy Plan were requested from the Finnish Climate Change Panel, Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE), Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke), Finnish Meteorological Institute and Technical Research Centre of Finland (VTT). The assessments considered the role of the agriculture and transport sectors as particularly important.Assessments by research institutes support the feedback received in consultationsThe assessments concerning the adequacy of the measures to be included in the Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan support the feedback received in the consultations. The draft plan was circulated for comments from December to January. A total of 210 statements came in, and most of them drew attention to the adequacy of climate measures, with a particular focus on themes concerning the agriculture and transport sectors. Other themes that were commonly raised included the carbon footprint of consumption, climate work in municipalities and regions, and building-specific heating. The matters that were considered positive in the draft plan included the broad perspective on the potential sites and operations where emission reductions can be achieved and the large number of new means included in the measures that will also promote structural changes. However, the key concern in the responses was that the uncertainties associated with the package that is composed of a large number of small-scale actions could be difficult to manage.Ministerial Working Group on Climate and Energy Policy to decide on the package in MarchThe next step for the Ministerial Working Group on Climate and Energy Policy is to discuss the assessments by the research institutes and the feedback from consultations.“The Government is committed to pursuing a science-based policy and to discussing the draft Climate Change Policy Plan on the basis of assessments by the research institutes. We will read the assessments with care and discuss the modifications that may be needed to ensure that the necessary emission reductions will be achieved, while reducing the uncertainties related to this,” says Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Emma Kari, who chairs the Ministerial Working Group.The assessments will also be discussed at the Climate Policy Roundtable on 22 February. The Climate Policy Roundtable is chaired by the Prime Minister and it is composed of representatives of the key stakeholders: trade unions, municipalities, scientists, industrial sectors, interest groups, young people and NGOs.The Ministerial Working Group on Climate and Energy Policy will give its opinion on the assessments concerning the adequacy of the measures in the draft Medium-term Climate Change Policy Plan by mid-March. The focus of the Ministerial Working Group in evaluating the adequacy of the measures will be on this particular plan. The other two key climate change policy plans, i.e. the Climate and Energy Strategy concerning the emissions trading sector and the climate change plan for the land use sector, will be circulated for comments later this spring. The Government will submit a proposal for the new Climate Change Act at the end of February.Assessments by the research institutes (in Finnish):• Finnish Climate Change Panel,
NordenBladet — Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen has approved a proposal to procure ammunition for a heavy rocket launcher system from the United States. The Ministerial Finance Committee supported the procurement in its session on 10 February 2022. The procurement from the United States will provide the Defence Forces with Extended Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Alternative Warheads (ER GMLRS AW) for area targets and Extended Range Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System Unitary (ER GMLRS UNITARY) ammunition for point target effect. The procurement is based on the guidelines of the Government’s Defence Policy Report and the long-term development plans of the Defence Forces. The assignment to procure munitions was given in 2018. The procurement will ensure that the artillery’s capabilities are maintained and developed to correspond to the general level of development. The new munitions will significantly improve the performance of heavy rocket launchers and extend their range. The effectiveness of the ER GMLRS AW and UNITARY munitions corresponds to the GMLRS AW and UNITARY procured by the Defence Forces in 2016. The procurement is part of a plan to ensure the usability and performance of heavy rocket launchers into the 2050’s. The new guided rockets will enable the more efficient use of heavy rocket launchers purchased in 2006 and they will diversify the range of munition used by heavy rocket launchers. The use of guided rockets will be possible due to an upgrade done in 2012-2015 on the fire control system. The area target AW rockets spread preformed tungsten fragments when they explode above the target while the effect of the point target UNITARY rockets is based on explosions and blast effects. The range of both munitions is some 150 kilometres. The procurement’s overall value is about EUR 70 million and the funding is included in the defence spending. The ammunition manufacturer in the United States is Lockheed Martin. Procurement deliveries are estimated to start in 2025.
Today, the Riigikogu discussed the implementation of the Estonian civil society development concept as a matter of significant national importance at the initiative of the Constitutional Committee. Everyone agreed that the Estonian residents are more involved in charity and that new donors are constantly emerging, which is why the government should find ways to promote charity work.
Minister of the Interior Kristian Jaani focused his presentation on the current situation in the development of the civil society and emphasised the importance of continuing with the implementation of the Estonian civil society development concept.
Jaani described the civil society in Estonia as strong and free. The civil society has increasingly contributed to our economy. In 2019, non-governmental organisations initiated by citizens made EUR 207 million in business revenue, with EUR 164 million of this coming from non-profit organisations; this forms about 2% of Estonia’s GDP. NGOs employ nearly 12,000 people.
At the end of 2019, social enterprises employed nearly 1,800 people and their business revenue reached almost EUR 45 million.
Jaani said that one in two Estonians have volunteered at some point. He referred to the studies on volunteering, commissioned by the Ministry of the Interior, which show that nearly 49% of the Estonian residents volunteered during the year leading up to the study. In 2013, only one in three had done the same. While in 2015 EUR 30 million was donated to NGOs, in 2020 the donations totalled at EUR 48 million.
In the international donations ranking World Giving Index, Estonia ranks 53rd among 114 countries. Although Estonia is the highest ranking Baltic state, we still have a lot of room for growth compared to many welfare states such as the Netherlands, Denmark, or Sweden.
Minister of the Interior touched on the main challenges of the civil society, including the need to create the conditions for the civil society to act quickly and flexibly, and outlined the possible ways for the state to give a hand in promoting charity work.
He suggested reviewing the conditions and limits for donations by businesses, seeking out the appropriate solutions in cooperation with businesses and partners, and increasing the flexibility of the current terms and limits. Today, legal persons can donate to NGOs without paying the income tax only up to a certain limit. A private person may deduct up to EUR 1,200 a year.
Minister Jaani concluded by saying that a strong civil society is the corner stone of democracy that needs to be built together.
The Executive Director of the Network of Estonian Nonprofit Organizations Kai Klandorf explained that donations allow us to help those who need our help to overcome an accident, difficult circumstances, or wrong choices. Those who find themselves in a situation that none of us are really safe from, and that we would also need the goodness of others to overcome if these should ever happen to us.
There are over 2,500 organisations in Estonia who collect donations; the donors thus contribute to saving lives, organising cultural and sports events, leading study and hobby groups, and defending democracy. Klandorf defines all these organisations and their donors as part of the civil society.
The civil society is viable when there are active and aware people who use different means and channels for participating in social life, volunteering, joining an organisation at their own initiative, participating in making the decisions that shape their lives, serving their community in a local government or at the national level by getting involved with initiatives they care about, and of course, donating.
Statistically, female donors outnumber men two to one; however, regardless of the age or gender, donating is on the up. In 2020, almost EUR 49 million worth of donations were declared in Estonia. A mere five years ago, this was EUR 18 million less. “This is a rapid increase. We are donating larger and larger amounts and with increasing frequency,” said Klandorf. “Actually, we have a lot to be grateful for. One could even say that charity is doing well.”
Nevertheless, for every regular donor in Estonia, there are still three who do not donate. “A closer look at the amounts tells us that an average donor gives as much a month as a good cup of coffee costs,” she explained. “We could definitely give to charity more than the price of one cup of coffee a month.”
Klandorf feels that Estonia has reached the economic wellbeing where most of us could feasibly comfortably donate one or two percentages of their income to charity.
Klandorf suggested that the government could promote donations by setting a separate limit that is not dependent on other deductions. Today, all tax-paying natural persons who donate may use deductions of up to EUR 1,200 a year; however, she feels that donations in public interest could be subject to a separate limit, and instead of a specific amount we should follow the principle that every citizen with a conscience donates 10 percent of their income.
“Promoting donation culture does not only help to support the capabilities of NGOs and mitigate different challenges in the society, but also enhances the solidarity and wellbeing in the whole society,” Klandorf concluded. “By personally contributing, we form a connection to that field; it is an important component of social activism and the functioning of the civil society, and thus democracy.”
Entrepreneur and co-founder of the technology company Bolt Martin Villig explained charity from an entrepreneur’s point of view. He spoke about his community, which has already given birth to the Education Fund and Jõhvi School, and which has received around EUR four to five million in donations from the founders over the last three years.
Villig referred to Jõhvi School as an excellent example of cooperation between the public and private sectors as well, only with an added contribution from 50 entrepreneurs and businesses. “Every time I see an opportunity to contribute and serve my private interests, or an opportunity to resolve social challenges, I lend a hand,” Villig said.
Speaking more broadly about how entrepreneurs view charity, Villig described most IT industry entrepreneurs as huge patriots of Estonia. “This is why we want the head office to be located in Estonia, although the businesses are built up globally. This means that although Estonian market is fairly small and we cannot build very large companies here, if we create jobs here that are knowledge intensive, and build products that are used across the globe, a big chunk of the export turnover and the taxes end up back in Estonia,” he explained.
Another key is also to think about charity on the global scale while building companies on global scale. “We are of course contributing in Estonia, but not only; our communication is actually global in scope,” Villig said and gave the example of the Founders Pledge, a charity organisation that has 1,700 members across the world by now. “An entrepreneur makes a pledge that if at one point in the future they would be doing well and their company has grown, they would make an agreement with the organisation and donate a certain percentage of their new assets to charity,” Villig explained. The average percentage has reached about 13 by now.
Villig sees a need for businesses and organisations to think about donations just like they do about investments. He also feels that in addition to monetary donations it is also important to think along and transfer the business mindset to the charity sector. This was the idea behind the Good Deed Foundation which is coordinating the Education Fund; the Foundation unites a community of volunteers, whether financial analysts, HR experts, lawyers, etc., who are ready to contribute their time or money if an initiative needs a helping hand.
Villig stressed the need for transparency. “When we are doing something, it needs to be clear to a wider circle why we are doing this,” he said. “In education we see that the better the people who join us and the better the values and foundations people grow up with, the less the state needs to worry about them later: there is less crime, better awareness of healthy eating and exercise, and all this dramatically reduces our social expenses in the future.”
The second key concept is cooperation with the state. He suggested testing out fresh ideas with private money and see if these bring a positive effect that coincides with national priorities, and from that point forward the state could start to offer co-financing. “We are able to import changes and mindsets quicker,” Villig said.
The technology industry has grown over the past five to six years by 25% a year, currently offering 8,000 jobs and about two billion in turnover, large part of which is formed by export, and about EUR one billion in foreign investments came in last year. The industry pays around EUR 500 million in taxes a year.
In comparison, Estonia’s state budget was around EUR 13 million last year, and the value of our technology companies was around six billion, i.e. nearly one half of the current state budget.
Villig predicted that the state budget could be around 30 million in ten years’ time, and the net worth of the Estonian founders of technology companies could be around 40 billion. He suggested that a one percent investment from one’s assets to charity every year would be quite reasonable. “In ten years, this could potentially be around 300 or 400 million,” Villig predicted. “This would help us solve some pretty dire social challenges in Estonia as well as in the global context.”
If a business can currently donate 10% of the profit they made the previous year or 3% of the salary fund this year tax-free, we could consider raising this to 10–15% of the total retained profit, which the businesses could contribute towards charity. He concluded by calling on all entrepreneurs to consider donating.
Chairman of the Constitutional Committee Toomas Kivimägi said that the number of people who are willing to donate exceeds the number of people who are actually doing it by two to three times. For example, the percentage of regular donors in Estonia is 12 percent, and nearly one in two have made single donations. While 27% of Estonians donate in a single month, in Finland this number is 39% and in Sweden 57%. “This is a sign that we still have a long way to go,” Kivimägi remarked.
Kivimägi is not in favour of doubling the deductible amount from EUR 1,200 to 2,400. He suggested introducing the deduction of an additional EUR 500 or 600 only if these are donations.
He emphasised personal approach in collecting donations and highlighted the importance of regular donations. Although financial donations form quite a large amount, a lion’s share of these go to a very small number of organisations, which he sees as a problem. People can also contribute their time, which can be measured in financial terms. In conclusion, Kivimägi sees helping others as a privilege.
The reports were followed by questions to the speakers and comments by the representatives of factions and members of the Riigikogu. During the debate, Andres Metsoja (Isamaa), Peeter Ernits (Estonian Conservative People’s Party), Lauri Läänemets (Social Democratic Party), Heiki Hepner (Isamaa), Marko Šorin (Centre Party), and Margit Sutrop (Reform Party)took the floor.
NordenBladet – Prince Christian of Denmark, the heir to the Danish throne, will be undertaking volunteer work next month alongside his fellow students at his boarding school, Herlufsholm School.
According to the Næstved Municipality’s press release, 125 high school students will be sent out as volunteers in Næstved during the Volunteer Week from 14 to 16 March, with the goal of inspiring young people to become motivated adults who take responsibility for the future. Students are being sent to locations like the municipality’s Park and Road Service, the Centre for Health and the Elderly, and the local Red Cross shop.
The school said: “Half of Herlufsholm’s 600 students come from the local area, and also for that reason the school prioritises that the students do volunteer work here in Næstved to support a volunteer culture in the city.”
The Principal of the Herlufsholm School, Mikkel Kjellberg, said: “Since 2020, it has been a goal for Herlufsholm that all students participate in voluntary work, and therefore it will be exciting when the students now go out into the local area and make a difference. The goal is, in addition to the social formation, that the students should experience the joy of doing something good for others. I hope that with the broad collaboration with, among others, Næstved Municipality, they can challenge the students so that everyone finds their place and can continue as volunteers when the Volunteer Week is over.”
In August last year, it was announced that Prince Christian, the second in line to the throne, would start at a new school, a prestigious boarding college situated a good distance from Copenhagen. Prince Christian completed his school education in Gentofte that summer, and it was confirmed that the future Danish king would start at Herlufsholm School in Næstved in the autumn.
NordenBladet – King Harald of Norway has been on sick leave for almost two weeks, but on February 10th 2022, he returned to work. The Norwegian monarch received three new ambassadors in a solemn audience at the Royal Palace in Oslo.
The ambassadors from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bakir Sadović, from Australia, Kerin Ann Ayyalaraju and from Rwanda, Diane Gashumba, handed over their credentials to King Harald, and thus the three can act as their countries’ ambassadors to the Kingdom of Norway.
The credential is the letter that presents the ambassador and the assignment. It is a very solemn occasion. The ambassador is picked up with one of the Royal Court’s cars. They drive slowly up in front of the Castle where soldiers from His Majesty the King’s Guard stand. The Royal Guard sounds a fanfare as the ambassador arrives at the Palace.
It is not common for photographs from these meetings to be printed and sent out in separate press releases. However, from these meetings, three photographs were published through the royal family’s website. This is to give a clear sign that the King is healthy. In the recent months, the King has used a crutch to lean on, otherwise the Norwegian press is in unison in their interpretation that the King looks quite healthy. The news has received a great deal of attention in the Norwegian media, both in newspapers and on television. It is clear that the Norwegian people are very pleased that the King is back in full force.
On February 11th 2022, the King will also lead the council of state and receive a number of people for an audience at the palace in Oslo. So far, no official events have been set up outside the palace where people have the opportunity to see the monarch.
King Harald began his sick leave on January 28th 2022 when he developed mild cold symptoms. The sick leave was extended twice after this date.The announcement came the day after minister, Anniken Huitfeldt, tested positive for coronavirus just hours after an audience with the King, Queen Sonja and Crown Prince Haakon. Fortunately, no one after the meeting has tested positive for corona.
