THE GEOGRAPHY (Foreign Office UK)
Area: 45,227 sq km (17,462 sq m)
Population: 1,415,681 (July 2002)
Capital City: Tallinn (Pop: 411,600)
People: 68% Estonian, 25% Russian, 7%
other
Languages: Estonian (the official
language), Russian
Religion(s): mainly Lutheran; Orthodox
Christian
Currency: Kroon
Economu: See economy section below
Major political parties: Centre Party,
Res Publica, Reform Party, People's
Union, Pro Patria, Moderates. For
more details, see political section
below.
Government: Parliamentary Democracy
GEOGRAPHY
Estonia, at 45,227 sq. km, is the
smallest and the most northerly of the
three Baltic states, with Latvia to the
south and Lithuania to the south of
Latvia. Estonia also shares a border
with Russia and is only 80km across
the Gulf of Finland from Helsinki. The
country is mostly flat, the highest peak
being the hill Suur Munamagi at 318m
(the highest in all the Baltic states) in
the south east of the country. Lake
Peipsi on the Estonian-Russian border
is the fourth largest lake in Europe at
3555 sq. km (but just 12.9m deep),
although Vortsjarv in the south of the
country is the biggest lake lying totally
in Estonia, at 266 sq. km, but just 6m
deep.
Tallinn, the capital (population 411,600),
is situated on the north western tip of
the country. The old town is well
preserved within its original walls, both
the upper town (Toompea) where the
parliament and the Lutheran cathedral
are located, and the lower merchant
town. The city was an important
medieval port and trading centre. In
1234 it joined the Hanseatic League, the
trading union, which was the dominant
commercial and cultural link across
northern Europe. It is now a UNESCO
world heritage site.
Tartu (population 100,577) in the south
east, is Estonia's second largest city,
and is famous for its university, which
was founded in 1632.
THE HISTORY (Foreign Office UK)
Recent History
During its long history Estonia has been
ruled by the Danes, Swedes, Russians,
Germans and Soviet Union. But the 22
years of Independence, between the
First and Second World Wars, was the
defining period in the country's modern
history.
This was achieved in the wake of the
1917 Russian Revolution. With the
assistance of the British Royal Navy,
Estonian forces were able to repel
Bolshevik troops. Three years of
effective autonomy led to the
formalisation of Estonian independence
in the Treaty of Tartu (1920), signed
with the post-revolution Moscow
government. Independence continued
until 1940, when Estonia was annexed
by the Soviet Union, with Nazi German
agreement, according to a secret
annex to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact
of 1939. Following a rigged election, an
Estonian Parliament declared Estonia a
constituent part of the Soviet Union in
August 1940. The German army
occupied Estonia until 1944 when the
Soviet army repelled the German
forces and re-established control in
Estonia. Society and industry were
modelled along Soviet lines and absolute
control rested with the Soviet
Communist Party. The UK and most
other western countries never
recognised de jure the Baltic States'
incorporation into the USSR.
The more tolerant political atmosphere
in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s
allowed pro-independence and reform
groups to come to the fore in the
so-called 'Singing Revolution'. In March
1990 these groups assumed control of
government. The restoration of
Independence took place on 20 August
1991, and was recognised by the UK
with the rest of the European
Community, on 27 August.
THE ECONOMY (Foreign Office UK)
Basic Economic Facts
GDP: US$5.54bn (2002)
GDP per capita: US$ 3957 (2002)
Annual Growth: 5.8% (2002)
Inflation: 5.0% (2002)
Unemployment: 12.6% (2002)
Major Industries: Timber, food
processing, machine production
Major trading partners: Finland,
Sweden, Germany
Exchange rate (Kroon/£):
22.19(August 2003)
Further information about Estonia's
economy can be found at Trade
Partners UK Country Profile: Estonia
Of all the countries formerly in the
Soviet Union, Estonia has made the
most remarkable progress in the move
to a liberal market economy. It started
major reform before independence.
Estonia has shown impressive GDP
growth which now stands at 5%.
Inflation stands at 5.8%, but
unemployment is about 12% (30% in
some areas). Estonia has followed
tough macroeconomic policies, with
support from the IMF Stand-By
Arrangements. Estonia has also been
very successful in attracting foreign
investment and in reorienting its trade
from east to west (nearly 80% of all
exports now go to the EU), with
Finland replacing Russia as the major
trading partner. The banking system is
healthy. Privatisation, a major priority,
has been largely completed. The
agricultural and food production
sectors were, initially, severely
affected by Russia's erection of a
double tariff barrier and then by the
Russian economic crisis, as Russia had
been a major export market for such
goods. But Estonian production has now
begun successfully to find new
markets.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Estonia's Relations with Neighbours
Membership of the European Union and
NATO are Estonia's highest priorities.
Estonia has had a free trade
agreement with the EU since January
1995, and agreed an Association
(Europe) Agreement, in June 1995.
Estonia began these negotiations to join
the EU on 31 March 1998. On 13
December 2002 Estonia completed
negotiations to join the EU. They will
sign an accession treaty in April 2003,
and, subject to a referendum to be held
on 14 September 2003, will become a
full member of the European Union on
1 May 2004. Public support for EU
membership is currently around 57% of
the Estonian population.
In November 2002 Estonia was invited
to join NATO at a summit meeting in
Prague. Estonia has been an
enthusiastic participant in NATO's
Partnership for Peace programme, and
has joined peacekeeping operations in
the former Yugoslavia. The NATO
summits held in Madrid in July 1997 and
Washington in April 1999, had both
noted the progress towards greater
stability and co-operation by the states
in the Baltic region.
Estonia became an Associate Partner
of the Western European Union in May
1994. It joined the Council of Europe in
1993, and was an effective Chairman of
its Council of Ministers for six months
from May-October 1996.
The Baltic States have developed a
wide network of co-operation.
Intergovernmental co-operation is
managed in the framework of the
Baltic Council of Ministers. Heads of
State and Government meet regularly
- at least once a year. Co-operation
focuses on areas such as trade,
economic relations and EU/NATO
integration.
Estonia maintains excellent relations
with its Nordic neighbours. In
particular, strong historical and
linguistic bonds exist, in particular
between Estonia and Finland. Finland is
Estonia's leading trading partner,
closely followed by Sweden.
European Union
Estonia was in the first wave of
Central European countries invited to
begin negotiations to join the EU, in
1998. Negotiations were relatively
smooth, culminating in the invitation
issued in Copenhagen in December
2002. Estonia was one of the
best-performing EU candidates in
terms of closing chapters of the
acquis, implementing its commitments,
and exemplifying clean government.
Agriculture has been the most
contentious issue in Estonia: quotas for
sugar and milk were considered too
low. The UK view has been that, in the
absence of scope for further
concessions, CAP reform is the best
solution. Estonia was granted the
exceptional right to hunt bears and
lynx: not endangered species in this
forested country. Estonia will gain
financially from EU accession but will
need to prepare to apply for
Structural and Cohesion funds. As an
EU partner, the UK can expect a
like-minded approach from Estonia to
questions such as tax harmonisation,
trade policy and social policy.
The Estonian EU referendum was held
on 14 September 2003. Public support
for the EU was high at just under 67%
with a turnout of 63%, but the result
places Estonia as the most Eurosceptic
of the accession countries – with the
exception of Malta.
Estonia's Relations with Russia
Relations between Estonia and Russia
are an important factor in the stability
and security of the Baltic region. A
number of difficulties exist, which
stand in the way of improved relations.
Although the remaining Russian troops
were withdrawn from Estonian
territory on 31 August 1994, some
problems remain over residence rights
of the numerous retired Russian
military personnel still in the country
(although these are being addressed
with OSCE assistance).
The most sensitive issue in
Estonia/Russia relations is the position
of the Russian-speaking ethnic minority
in Estonia. As a result of the Soviet
occupation (deportation of many of the
indigenous population and inward
migration by Russians), the ethnic
Estonian component of the population
has fallen significantly since 1940.
Ethnic Estonians account for only 68%
of the population; 26% are ethnic
Russian and 6% other (mostly
Russian-speaking former soviet)
nationalities. Most ethnic Russians live
in the industrialised North East (e.g. the
town of Narva, 97% Russian) and
Tallinn (50% Russian).
The major difficulty in relations with
Russia has concerned citizenship. The
Estonian Parliament passed a revised
Citizenship Law on 19 January 1995,
with a five year residence requirement
(+1 year processing) and a new
requirement for knowledge of the
constitution in addition to knowledge of
the Estonian language. Many Russians,
especially the elderly, are reluctant or
unable to learn the Estonian language to
the required level, and thus remain
stateless. The Estonian government
extended the deadline for applications
by these people for residence permits,
and almost all have them. Non-citizens
with residence permits are entitled to
aliens' passports for foreign travel.
Since 1992 about 122,018 non-citizens
have become naturalised Estonian
citizens and about 88,207
Russian-speakers in Estonia have
become citizens of the Russian
Federation. About 164,730 people
remain without citizenship. The OSCE
opened a resident Mission in Estonia in
1993. Russian allegations of human
rights abuses by Estonia (towards the
ethnic Russian minority) have been
consistently judged unfounded by the
UN, and by OSCE and Council of
Europe Missions. However, those
missions and the OSCE High
Commissioner on National Minorities
(HCNM) recommended the easing of
citizenship requirements to help
integrate minorities and promote
better communal relations. In particular
the HCNM recommended that Estonia
should grant citizenship to stateless
children born after 1992. Legislation on
this was debated in the Estonian
Parliament in June 1998 and adopted on
8 December 1998. Estonia has now
satisfied all the HCNM's
recommendations on the citizenship
law. In June 2000 the Parliament
adopted the changes to the Language
Law, which brought the law into line
with international standards. The OSCE
Permanent Council 2001closed the
OSCE mission monitoring the situation
of ethnic minorities in Estonia in March
2002, thus recognising that Estonia had
fulfilled all OSCE requirements.
Since mid-1993 various mechanisms,
including a Presidential Round Table,
have been set up to develop a better
dialogue with the Russian speaking
community. The UK has given financial
assistance to the Round Table and is
actively helping to integrate Russian
speakers, including by funding Estonian
language training.
Failure to sign the Estonia/Russia
Border Treaty also affects bilateral
relations. After protracted
negotiations, a border was agreed in all
technical respects in spring 1996 and
an agreement was finally initialled on 5
March 1999. The Russian government,
however are linking signature to
resolution of what they say are the
problems of the Russian minority.
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