NordenBladet — The Estonian delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is in Strasbourg, France, for the third part of the Assembly’s 2021 session.
The Head of the Estonian delegation Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski said that today’s sitting would focus on fighting the pandemic and defining the lessons learned, and would highlight the need to protect the fundamental rights in a changed situation. “Social inequality, psychological tension caused by the difficult situation, ensuring freedoms and rights – these are the key words of this event,” Jufereva-Skuratovski said.
The debate today will touch on the need for a more effective solidarity mechanism that would alleviate the migration pressure on the front line countries, and on the freedom of action and speech of incarcerated politicians in Catalonia and Turkey.
Tomorrow’s topics include media freedom and people’s right to information, socio-economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and its impact on the rights of children.
Maria Jufereva-Skuratovski will give a speech at a discussion on vaccine passports and protection of fundamental rights. “We need vaccine passports to restore life to normality, but our common goal is to reach a point where we could give these up,” she said.
The Wednesday meeting is dedicated to domestic violence against women to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Istanbul Convention. The head of the Estonian delegation is giving a speech during a discussion on opportunities to increase the participation of women from underrepresented groups in politics and public decision-making processes. Her speech to her colleagues emphasises that male politicians should act as equal partners to female politicians, and women should have the same political opportunities to participate and make decisions.
Members of the Estonian delegation to the PACE Eerik-Niiles Kross and Raivo Tamm will also take part in the event.
NordenBladet — President of the Riigikogu (Parliament of Estonia) Jüri Ratas and President of Romania Klaus Werner Iohannis spoke of the importance of European unity and the possibilities for strengthening it at their meeting today.
Ratas assured that the bilateral relations between Estonia and Romania were excellent.
“Estonia and Romania are good partners and allies both in NATO and in the European Union. We are likeminded countries in several fundamental foreign and security policy matters,” Ratas said, and mentioned as examples the issues relating to Russia, the Eastern Partnership and transatlantic ties.
Ratas underlined that Estonia and Romania needed to continue cooperation in the name of unity, and to act in a coordinated manner in international organisations as well as bilaterally. “I am confident that our today’s meeting and your visit will give a boost to our relations, and we can cooperate in economy, in education and in other different fields, as well as in digitalisation of public sector,” Ratas said.
Ratas emphasised that he was very glad that the visit of the President of Romania took place namely this year, as in February we celebrated the centenary of diplomatic relations between Estonia and Romania.
The meeting focused on transatlantic relations, unity of the EU, relations with Russia and Russia’s influence activities. The President of Romania expressed regret that there was a lack of strong unity in Europe. In his opinion, this can be seen from the different approaches of European countries to the Nord Stream project, as well as the attitude towards China.
Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Riigikogu Marko Mihkelson and Chairman of the Estonia-Romania Parliamentary Friendship Group Erki Savisaar also participated in the meeting.
Mihkelson pointed out that the countries of the West should be more consistent in their relations with Russia. He thinks that countries like Estonia and Romania have to be more active and strategic in order to make other Member States understand better what Russia is actually like. He also mentioned the meeting of Presidents Biden and Putin that took place yesterday, and said that Europe could counter Russia’s influencing activities only in cooperation with the United States.
“We have to use the mechanisms that could hinder the support of the oligarchs to Russia’s corrupt authorities,” Mihkelson added.
The possibilities of developing the digital governance were also discussed at the meeting. Ratas said that Estonia was ready to share its experiences with Romania and to introduce various digital solutions that could contribute to better provision of healthcare, education and other public sector services to citizens. Erki Savisaar gave the President of Romania an overview of the e-governance services of Estonia and told about their usefulness. He underlined that it was important for the state to involve the private sector in the development of digital services. The cyber security issues relating to digital services and the solutions to them were also spoken about.
NordenBladet — Under the aegis of the Things Foundation, the markings used in Denmark for the collection of waste by type have been analysed to determine which of the 91 pictograms could be adopted in Estonia. The result is a website (www.liigitikogumine.ee) promoting the pictograms, which a number of local governments have already stated they are willing to adopt.
Things Foundation CEO Kristiina Kerge says that since the interest of local governments in the pictograms and their willingness to start using them are so important to the project, it is gratifying that such a high degree of interest has been shown. Among the first making preparations to adopt the markings are the City of Narva, Saaremaa and Saku municipalities, Tallinn Waste Recovery Centre and the NPO Eesti Elektroonikaromu (collecting waste generated from electrical and electronic equipment).
“Together we’ll be able to offer everyone in Estonia easy-to-understand instructions for sorting waste by type,” Kerge said. “The pictograms will make passing on information about collecting waste clearer and will enable information materials and mediums to be planned across countries.”
Deputy-Mayor of Narva Sergei Gorlatš says that the City of Narva decided to join the project because the sorting of waste is such a topical issue. “We feel that by being part of the project we’ll be able to turn more attention to the sorting of waste, make people more aware of it and introduce new types of waste in sorting,” he explained. “We want Narva to be one of the first cities to get involved in this amazing initiative.”
Katrin Koppel, the senior specialist on waste management with Saaremaa Municipal Government, hopes that using the pictogram system for waste collection throughout the country will get the entire population sorting their waste by type. “As a local government, we’ve been trying for years to explain such sorting to our residents, and we still are,” she said. “Now we can use these eye-catching pictograms to do just that, marking all sorts of different types of waste.”
The NPO Eesti Elektroonikaromu likewise decided to join the project so that people would find it as simple as possible in the future to sort their waste by type. “If you have specific symbols for different types of waste that are the same everywhere, that makes it much clearer to people where they’re supposed to take things or put things,” said Aivo Kangus, the chairman of the management board of the organisation. “For us personally, that will mean we’re able to collect old batteries and electronic equipment much more efficiently as well.”
The first stage of the plan being undertaken by Saku municipality is to immediately adopt the pictograms and to order A3-sized magnetic signs featuring them for its household waste recycling centre and for the waste collection point in Kiisa. “A unified system of images will be of help to people whatever waste handling site they happen to be at,” said Saku municipality environmental specialist Kerli Laur. “The pictograms should make it easier for people to bring in their waste, since they won’t have to take a look in the containers any more to double-check what they can throw into them, but simply look for the image they’re familiar with set against a fixed background colour.”
Tallinn Waste Recovery Centre is convinced the pictograms will make it easier for residents of the city to understand the sorting of waste by type. “The first place we’re planning to start using the pictograms is at our waste recovery stations, where clarity of information is very important,” explained the centre’s environmental specialist Sofia Pereskoka.
A cooperation project is being undertaken by the Things Foundation, the Nordic Council of Ministers’ (NCM) Office in Estonia and the Ministry of the Environment to determine whether and how the Danish Pictogram System can be adopted in Estonia. Similar projects are underway in Finland, Sweden, Latvia and Lithuania, while in Denmark itself, as many as 93 of the country’s 98 local governments are using the pictograms. A joint debate between Nordic and Baltic partners on adding the new pictograms to packaging is to be held for the planning of the next stages in the project.
The joint project was launched in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in February 2021 and will last for one year. The lead partner in Estonia is the Things Foundation, the team behind which is also known for creating the Kuhuviia.ee site. The project is mainly being financed by the NCM.
The project is designed to share experience and best practice in and promote the use of the Danish pictograms in the Nordic and Baltic region, as well as to encourage the adoption of good waste-handling practices. The project is directly linked to the objective set out in the NCM’s ‘Vision 2030’ action plan of promoting the circular economy and bioeconomy, sustainable and competitive production, sustainable food systems and resource-efficient and non-toxic production cycles.
For further information please contact: Kristiina Kerge kristiina.kerge@kuhuviia.ee
Today, June 10th Estonia launched the EU digital COVID certificates. In addition to the immunisation certificate the Estonian people can now also create a COVID recovery certificate and negative test certificate on the national patient portal (digilugu.ee). Counterfeit-proof certificates will enable safer travel in the European Union. The European Union’s digital COVID certification gateway will be fully operational from July 1st.
As of today, it is possible to create three new certificates on the patient portal to prove your vaccination, COVID-19 recovery or a negative coronavirus test result.
“More than half a million Estonians have been vaccinated against COVID-19, either partially or completely, and this number is growing by tens of thousands every week. In addition, we have more than 100,000 people who have recovered from COVID-19. The new COVID certificates make it easier and safer to travel and also to participate in major events in Estonia,” said Tanel Kiik, the Minister of Health and Labor.
“We introduce a complete solution of three different certificates – confirming vaccination against COVID-19, a negative test result or recovery. At the moment, all three certificates are still used in only a few countries across the EU. The countries will gradually join by July 1,” explained Katrin Reinhold, the director of Health and Welfare Information System Centre.
Previously established national vaccination certificates are still valid and remain in the patient portal. A certificate that meets the requirements of the EU digital COVID certificate framework will be created during June.
“As there may be a lot of interest in creating certificates on the first days, we ask you to create it when the need arises. Primarily, the certificates are intended for travelling in the EU, “added Katrin Reinhold.
The EU digital COVID certificate is neither a passport nor a travel document and is not a precondition for crossing the border, but may, for example, provide an exemption from self-isolation, depending on the requirements in the country of destination. When traveling, one should always look up the requirements in force in the country of destination. Additional information can be found on the website: https://reisitargalt.vm.ee/
Last week, the government approved the proposals of the Minister of Enterprise and Information Technology Andres Sutt for the national use of the COVID certificates. “The use of digital certificates gives entrepreneurs more freedom to offer their activities and services to a larger number of people and ensures that the easing of restrictions does not lead to a new wave of infection,” said Minister Andres Sutt. “In order to ensure the safety of all participants, as of 14 June, up to 3,000 people indoors and up to 9,000 people outdoors per calendar day may take part in activities without an additional limit.”
To ensure the safety only people who have been fully vaccinated against the disease, have received one dose of vaccine and recovered from COVID-19, have taken a negative PCR test within 72 hours or have done a rapid on-site negative antigen test are allowed to attend. If a person does not have a digital certificate or does not want to use it, the organizer must ensure that rapid antigen tests can be performed on site.
Similarly to the current immunization certificate, all three certificates can be created and downloaded on the patient portal. The certificate can be used both on a smart device and be printed out. the Health and Welfare Information Systems Center has created a website https://kontroll.digilugu.ee/ for the verification of the certificates.
According to the government regulation vaccinated people are free from the obligation of self-isolation when they enter the country or become close contact with the infected person within one year after the vaccine course. The isolation exemption for people recovered from COVID-19 is valid for six months from the date of recovery.
The technical solution was developed in cooperation with the Health and Welfare Information Systems Center, Nortal, Industry62 and Guardtime, as well as the Information Technology and Development Center of the Ministry of the Interior.
NordenBladet —On Friday, 30 April, the Minister of Rural Affairs of Estonia, Mr Urmas Kruuse, hosted a video meeting with his colleagues from Latvia and Lithuania to discuss the CAP reform package, Farm to Fork strategy and COVID-19 emergency measures.
During the meeting, Minister Kruuse pointed out the need to address the reform package of the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) as a uniform plan. The ministers of the three Baltic States assured that they will be standing for their national positions and acknowledged the need to reach a quick agreement on the future CAP. “First and foremost, we need to ensure certainty for the sector, as it is facing major challenges in adapting to both the post-crisis and environmental objectives,” Minister Kruuse said.
As part of the discussions on the Farm to Fork strategy, all the Baltic agricultural ministers expressed their willingness to support the strategy, however, they agreed on the importance of having the specific situation of each Member State and the efforts already made to be taken into account. The aim of the Farm to Fork strategy is to promote a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system.
Minister Kruuse stressed that in implementing the strategy, attention must be paid to the funding of research and development, as well as raise public awareness to increase demand for food that has been produced locally and in an environmentally sustainable way. Alongside, we also mustn’t forget the importance of self-sufficiency in food production.
The Lithuanian Minister of Agriculture, Mr Kęstutis Navickas, pointed out their concerns regarding the outbreak of avian influenza, which could mean new problems for the sector.
When discussing COVID-19 emergency measures, it was revealed that most of the crisis alleviation measures were already distributed in 2020: Lithuania provided 154 million euros, Latvia 100 million euros and Estonia 200 million euros to manage the crisis. “As a new measure, Estonia has also started with the financial leasing of land,” Minister Kruuse stated.
Latvia has mostly supported the vegetable, beef and poultry sectors, while Lithuania has provided the most assistance to the dairy, poultry and pork sectors.
NordenBladet —Today, Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik presented to the Cabinet of Ministers an updated COVID-19 vaccination plan, which specifies the principles and objectives of vaccination organization from April 2021 to the end of June. During May, it is planned to gradually open the possibility of vaccination to all those who wish.
“Vaccination is the only effective way to prevent COVID-19 from becoming severe in order to alleviate the hospital burden and thus return to a normal way of life. In April and May, our goal is to offer the possibility of vaccination to all people at risk and to gradually open the possibility of vaccination to all who wish during May, “said Minister of Health and Labor Tanel Kiik. “In the updated vaccination plan, we have updated the information related to the various COVID-19 vaccines and their expected delivery schedules, as well as the principles of vaccination management and organization, vaccination coverage objectives and schedule. By the end of April, we want to allow at least one dose of vaccination for everyone over the age of 70, and by the end of June for all adults. ”
The plan includes an estimated forecast of vaccine volumes arriving in Estonia by months and a time forecast of achieving 70% coverage by age groups by vaccination with the first doses. The plan stipulates that vaccination will be gradually opened to the entire population during May: first, people aged 60-69, of whom more than 40% have already been vaccinated, and people aged 50-59; then all applicants between the ages of 16 and 49.
Estonia’s goals is to achieve 70% coverage with COVID-19 vccination among people over the age of 70 by the end of April 2021, to make vaccination gradually available to all those who wish from May 2021, to enable everyone at least one dose of vaccination for people at risk by the end of May 2021, to provide at least one dose of vaccination to all those who wish to do so by the end of June 2021, and to achieve 70% coverage in the adult population by autumn 2021.
“Known vaccine delivery schedules allow us to achieve our goals. People’s trust in vaccination and the desire to vaccinate themselves is high, but work must also be done with those who are still hesitant today,” added Minister Tanel Kiik. “Participating in the joint procurement of vaccines in the European Union and contributing to several different vaccine manufacturers has helped to mitigate the risks and enabled us to maintain the pace of vaccination. At the same time, we need to look further ahead, prepare for the next waves of the virus and develop the necessary solutions for COVID-19 vaccination in the years to come. ”
As of this morning, 289,508 people had been vaccinated with at least one dose in Estonia, of which 86,768 have been fully vaccinated. At the county and rural municipality level, it is possible to monitor the progress of vaccination by age groups in the coronavirus dataset of the Health Board.
So far, Estonia has joined the European Union’s joint procurement of COVID-19 vaccine with five pre-purchase agreements (Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and CureVac). The government has approved in principle Estonia’s accession to the pre-purchase agreements of all eight vaccine manufacturers in the European Union’s joint procurement, with which Estonia will be able to purchase a total of 4,761,894 doses of vaccine.
The objectives of COVID-19 vaccination are to protect COVID-19 riskgroups, to prevent and reduce COVID-19 related illness and death, to reduce the burden on the health system and the economy, and to ensure the normal functioning of society.
NordenBladet —Another edition of the Estonian Defense Forces Annual Report was published in Tallinn, Estonia, Apr. 13.
Many articles in the report focus on fighting “the invisible enemy”. Situations that at first seemed overwhelming met solutions and the Estonian Defense Forces was able to focus on its main effort – preparing to defend Estonia with our Allies.
“The short glances in the annual report focus on the development of our military that continued in spite of the virus,” says Lt. Gen. Martin Herem, Commander of the EDF, in the foreword.
The Military Intelligence Center gives an overview about Russia’s security policy and military developments. In its relations with Western countries, the Russia’s regime has a perception that the international situation will continue to move towards a state of chaos and that this will further be accelerated after the pandemic.
In 2020, Estonia improved cooperation with Allies. Equally important were military exercises and procurements of new weapon systems. Many service members of the EDF and the voluntary military organization Estonian Defense League helped other national authorities in their tasks.
“In the annual report, you will find interesting information not only for bystanders but also for those inside the military,” says Herem. “This will most certainly give to the reader a sense of what the Estonian Defense Forces is and what it does.”
NordenBladet – The Estonian Textile Artists’ Union annual awards were announced this week which celebrate the Textile Artist of the Year, Young Artist of the Year and the Act of the Year.
The winner of the Textile Artist of the Year Award was Ülle Saatmäe. Saatmäe was awarded the prize for her use of sustainable nature-themed themes and designs which combine the nature and flora of her homeland, natural colors and plant printing and nature photography.
Karl-Artur Korsar was chosen as the young textile artist of the year. Korsar received an award for a comprehensive result in the development of the KarlKorsar brand.
The textile act of the year 2020 was awarded to Marju Raabe’s who was recognized for her consistent chronicling and analysis of church textiles and the profession in general in the format of a personal blog, and for the organization of the church textile symposium “Church Textiles as a Messenger” in 2020.
The jury consisted of Kai Lobjakas, director of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design and curator of the design collection (chairwoman of the jury), Krista Leesi – Textile Artist of the Year 2019, Young Textile Artist of the Year 2019 Maryliis Teinfeldt-Grins and Karin Paulus.
The exhibition of the winners’ work will take place at the end of the year at the annual exhibition of the Estonian Textile Artists’ Union at the Museum of New Art in Pärnu.
Featured image: Example of Karl Korsar’s creations. Source: Krõõt Tarkmeel
NordenBladet — As of this morning, 166,163 people in Estonia have been inoculated against COVID-19 with at least one dose of a vaccine, while 57,003 people have received both doses. A total of 223,166 vaccinations have been carried out. To date, 36% of people over 80 and 29% of those over 70 have been vaccinated with at least one dose.
‘This week saw the continued vaccination of, primarily, people at increased risk from COVID-19 and, to a lesser extent, frontline workers. Although the quantities of vaccines delivered to Estonia were smaller than expected, more than 30,000 vaccinations were carried out over the week. During the past week, vaccination coverage among people over the age of 70 increased significantly,’ said Minister of Health and Labour Tanel Kiik. ‘In order to prevent serious illnesses and deaths from coronavirus and to alleviate the burden on our health care system, it is essential to immunise those who are the most vulnerable to COVID-19 due to advanced age or poor health as quickly as possible. This will remain our priority in the coming weeks.’
A total of 31,982 vaccinations have been given so far this week, of which 2,285 were given yesterday. In the week ahead, vaccination of people at increased risk will continue at family physicians’ offices; meanwhile, vaccination of educators, social workers, and strategic frontline workers is also underway. Starting yesterday and lasting until Tuesday, additional vaccinations will be given to people over the age of 70 in Maardu, Loksa, and the Lasnamäe district of Tallinn, which are currently the areas with the highest coronavirus infection rates in Estonia.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), on average 10.3% of the adult population in the European Union is currently vaccinated with at least one dose – 14.1% in Estonia. Estonia has now risen to fourth place in COVID-19 vaccination coverage among EU countries.
In terms of age groups, vaccination coverage is highest among people aged 80 and over, of whom more than a third (36%) across Estonia have received at least one dose of a vaccine. In five counties – Saare County, Hiiu County, Lääne County, Rapla County, and Järva County – more than half of those over 80 years of age have been vaccinated. Over the previous week, vaccination coverage has also increased slightly in Ida-Viru County, where every seventh person over the age of 80 has been vaccinated as of now. Of all persons over the age of 70, 29% have been administered at least one dose of a vaccine, which is 8% more than a week ago.
To date, vaccinations have been performed by a total of 492 health care institutions, including 403 family health centres. More than half of all vaccinations (53%) have been given at family health centres. 33% of vaccinations have been performed at hospitals, 6% by specialist medical care providers, and another 6% by nursing care providers.
Next week, 19,890 doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, 10,800 doses of the Moderna vaccine, and 4,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are expected to arrive in Estonia. The national expert committee on immunoprophylaxis has issued a recommendation to reserve the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine primarily for vaccination of people over 60 years of age in the coming weeks.
The objectives of COVID-19 vaccination are to protect at-risk groups of the population, who have a higher risk of becoming infected or developing severe illness from COVID-19; to prevent and reduce COVID-19-related illnesses and deaths; to reduce the burden on the health care system and the economy; and to ensure the normal functioning of society.
NordenBladet — The Government of Estonia decided on today’s (March 25) meeting to allocate 2.5 million euros from the reserves for the organisation of FIA Rally World Championship round taking place in Estonia this year. Via international broadcasting, this major sports event is taken to hundreds of millions of people in 155 countries.
“Last year the first ever WRC round in Estonia was so successful that it has been included in the WRC calendar for 2021 and 2022 as well. The government supports the event as we believe in the success of the Rally Estonia team, who has led the project professionally for 11 consecutive years,“ said Anneli Ott, Minister of Culture. “It is also noteworthy that last year not a single infection was detected at a rally event, and the organisers are cooperating effectively with the Health Board to ensure that the participants and guests could safely enjoy the competition,” she added.
The WRC round represents an opportunity to promote Estonia, its culture and history, and it also has a positive effect on the economy. “This is a major sports event that brings the world’s top racers and teams, who are followed by millions of fans all over the world, to compete on the fast-paced gravel roads of South Estonia,“ the minister added.
The Government supports the organisation of the WRC round, as it is not possible to finance it in the requested amount from the 2021 incentive for international culture and sports events. The reason for this is that the economic impact of the event is expected to decrease this year due to the restrictions connected to the spread of Covid-19. Therefore, the project did not meet the incentive requirements. The allocated support is not considered state aid, as the supported event is an official competition of the world championship round which belongs to the system of international sporting events of a sports federation. The total budget for organising WRC Rally Estonia is 4.4 million euros.
Last year, the WRC Rally Estonia was held in Estonia for the first time. Despite the restrictions related to Covid-19, the event had over 26,000 visitors from Estonia and abroad. This was also the first WRC round that was organised after the coronavirus outbreak. Live broadcasts were produced all over the world, which took the most important sports event held in Estonia to 740 million people.
Rally Estonia is the official FIA Rally World Championship round for 2021 that will be held in Tartu and in Tartu county and the roads of Otepää, Elva, Kanepi, Kambja, Mustvee and Peipsiääre from 15 to 18 July 2021.
