Postimees Digest, Friday, May 3
Please note that the article is more than five years old and belongs to our archive. We do not update the content of the archives, so it may be necessary to consult newer sources.
Government prepares to present EA restructurization plan to EC.
The supervisory board of national airline Estonian Air has presented the company's restructurization plan to the government and set the company's final financial need at 40.7 million euros. The airline has already received 26 million of the said sum whereas another 12.1 million euros was made available yesterday. Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts is set to present the state aid plan to the European Commission in the coming weeks.
"Should the EC approve the plan, the loans will be reclassified as own capital from which the company will repay emergency loans and interest," said EA supervisory board chairman Erkki Raasuke. He also said that the company's final capital need proved smaller than the previously estimated 50-70 million euros on account of efforts by the company's managers to unload unnecessary aircraft and cut costs where possible. While the EU has voiced doubts whether state aid already given to EA is in accordance with the union's regulations, Parts said yesterday that the government believes the EC will find reason enough to give the green light. The airline has received a total of 57 million euros in what the commission regards state aid since 2009. CEO of Estonian Air Jan Palmer has said he hopes the airline will be back in profit by 2015.
Editorial: the endless slowness of judgement
Court queue problem unsolved, for years on end.
What counts most, in rule of law, is that fairs trials exist – as such. Should that take longer, so be it. However: how long, then? If one mayor’s accusation in corruption reached court at the beginning of this year, but the hearings only commence in 2015, the public feels violated in its sense of justice – such long lines in courts make the state and its legal system look feeble. Fair legal practice is also violated: should guilt go unproven, the accused has had to live for years with the court case hanging over his head.
Borderline not discussed at Estonian-Russian border talks
The course of the borderline is not being discussed at the restarted border talks between Estonia and Russia, the talks being based on the borderline confirmed by Riigikogu in 2005, announced Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet yesterday, in answer to a written question by Riigikogu member Juku-Kalle Raid regarding the border talks.
The Estonian-Russian state border and sea boundaries treaty, signed on May 18th2005, in Moscow, prescribed the borderline in details. The treaties with maps have been published in Riigi Teataja (State Gazette). The treaty was not ratified by Russia; this, however, doesn’t mean that the borderline should be discussed anew.