Postimees Digest, Thursday, February 14
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Postimees
Ministries not happy with EU tobacco regulations.
The finance and economy ministries are less than happy with the European Parliament and the Council of Europe's tobacco products directive bill, saying that requirements according to which 75 percent of the package needs to be covered in cautionary messages and images are disproportionate in terms of entrepreneurs' right to use their trademarks, that there is no proof that bigger letters or images contribute to health promotion or that menthol cigarettes encourage young people to take up smoking more effectively than ordinary ones.
"In light of the prescribed proposals there arises the question of whether the beneficial effect of such measures is proportional to the breach of right of ownership it entails," the economy ministry writes.
The ministries also agree that such strict regulations might encourage consumers to turn to the black market where various different kinds of tobacco products will be available also after the directive enters into force in the EU, which would result in falling receipt of excise duty. The ministries conclude that the taste, size or packaging of cigarettes does not make the product healthier or more harmful and that banning certain ingredients might create misconceptions, according to which some tobacco products are less harmful than others.
Police losing staff.
Meager salaries are eating away at the number of police officers in Estonia as professionals leave the Police and Border Guard Board in search of more gainful employment. While things are fine in the criminal police where wages are higher, prefectures are having trouble holding on to patrollers as the 700 euro net salary is not enough to keep employees from leaving.
Estonia's biggest state agency is short-staffed and is losing around 100 people every year. Heads of prefectures say that efforts need to be made to hold on to experienced police officers and contain staff turnover and that while the police is capable of maintaining daily order, its resources are by now insufficient to effectively contain mass protests as the police has a few hundred fewer trained men than it did during the Bronze Nights.
EA looking to unload unnecessary planes by summer.
CEO of national airline Estonian Air Jan Palmer said says in an interview that the company is looking to rent out or sell the aircraft it doesn't need by summer and continue with three Bombardiers and two Embraers.
The optimal solution would be to have five identical planes as EU regulations say airlines must maintain a separate stock reserve of spare parts for each type of aircraft it uses and different planes call for different service and pilot training. Plamer said that the airline will first try to unload two Embraers and will then start working towards having five aircraft of the same make.
Potholes burden police, daily
Over last seven days, the Tallinn police accident group has received 38 notices of vehicles damaged in potholes.
«The police get five to six pothole reports a day. As the report comes in, we visit the scene, record the event, and check the traffic arrangements, whether there are any speed restrictions or other details. We record the car’s damage. That’s all the police does,» said Helen Uldrich, Northern Police Prefecture press secretary.
As a rule, it is the local government’s responsibility keeping the roads in order, so, after recording the incident, car owners have to address them, said Ms Uldrich