Periphery more capable than before.
Postimees Digest, Thursday, September 12
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A recent local governments capacity survey, ordered by the regional minister and carried out by consultants Geomedia, suggests that smaller and more peripheral local governments have improved their situation while major centers have lost points. The average score of peripheral local governments climbed from 40.4 points in 2005-2008 to 41.7 points in 2009-2012 while that of centrally located municipalities fell from 58.1 points to 56.9 points. Head of Geomedia Rivo Noorkõiv said that smaller municipalities have made greater efforts to boost quality of services while the capacity of larger municipalities is down due to their tendency to take bigger risks. The overall picture remains unchanged, however, as the most capable local governments are still located around Tallinn with Valga, Võru and Põlva counties bringing up the rear. The local governments capacity index measures, among other things, number of residents, income of people, unemployment rate, diversity of local economy, financial situation of the local government and various services.
Estonia supports visa freedom with Moldova.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet met with PM of Moldova Iurie Leanca in Chișinău yesterday and said Estonia supports giving Moldova visa freedom and a free trade agreement with the EU by next year at the latest. «All manner of pressure, including through trade relations, aimed at making Moldova give up its ambitions of moving closer to the EU are unacceptable,» Paet said. Russia has imposed an import ban on Moldovan wines and agricultural products.