All posts tagged: Estonia

Estonia must double defence spending to counter Russia, military chief says

Estonia must double defence spending to counter Russia, military chief says

Published by Sam

TOKYO: The head of Estonia’s military said on Thursday (Mar 28) that his country needs to double defence spending over the next two years to stockpile enough munitions to inflict a decisive defeat on any Russian invasion force. General Martin Herem said neither the threat of a nuclear response nor the prospect of significant casualties would deter President Vladimir Putin if he chose to attack Russia’s small Baltic neighbour, which would be devastated unless he was driven back fast. “If you show your face over my border, the decisive victory must come very quickly: not by months and years, but days and weeks,” Herem said in an interview in Japan, where he was meeting defence officials. “If we really believe that it may come in three years, then we have to make decisions today.” Putin on Wednesday explicitly denied that Russia had designs on any NATO member, but his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has made Western countries nervous that he could seek to restore Moscow’s control of much of the former Soviet Union, …

Putin on attacking NATO: ‘Complete nonsense’ – POLITICO

Putin on attacking NATO: ‘Complete nonsense’ – POLITICO

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Several top European military officials have over the past few months raised the alarm that an increasingly belligerent Kremlin could order an attack on a NATO country within the next few years. Putin made the comments at a meeting of military pilots in Tver Oblast, northwest of Moscow. A transcript of the conversation was released by the Kremlin and published by state media on Thursday. In the months and weeks leading up to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s foreign ministry and other officials repeatedly denied Moscow had any plans to attack its neighbor. In a familiar narrative, Putin this week also accused NATO of provoking Russia by expanding eastward. “Were we moving toward the borders of those countries that were part of the NATO bloc? We didn’t touch anyone! They were moving toward us,” he said. “Did we cross the ocean to the borders of the United States? No,” he added. Putin has pointed to NATO’s expansion in recent decades to excuse waging war in neighboring Ukraine. Source link

Free lunches, brain breaks and happy teachers: why Estonia has the best schools in Europe | Life and style

Free lunches, brain breaks and happy teachers: why Estonia has the best schools in Europe | Life and style

Published by skeptic

Today’s subject in the sci-fi class at Pelgulinna State Gymnasium is Blade Runner. Thursdays are “voluntary” lesson days, where students at this upper secondary school in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, can choose from a range of subjects; others taking place today include a rights and democracy course, programming and creative writing in English. The seven 17-year-old students in the sci-fi lesson have just finished watching 30 minutes of the film and are preparing to discuss it when I sneak in at the back, switching to perfect English for my benefit. “We’ve talked about Jungian archetypes, persona and the superego,” says Triin, one of the students. “It has been really helpful for me to understand the different aspects of being human and how to create deeper characters.” They’ve also studied Brave New World and 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the few minutes I am there, the students touch on US history, child labour, empathy and more. “I have so many questions,” says Triin. Me too. How did Estonia, a small country that is relatively poor compared with …

‘Broadening’ consensus on need to defeat Putin among EU leaders, says Lithuanian president – POLITICO

‘Broadening’ consensus on need to defeat Putin among EU leaders, says Lithuanian president – POLITICO

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is the EU leader with the closest ties to Putin and, to a lesser extent, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico is also seen as pro-Russia. Nausėda’s view from behind closed doors is mirrored by public statements from EU leaders. The most dramatic shift has been by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has ditched his early efforts to find a diplomatic solution to the war by negotiating with Putin directly. Macron now talks of potentially sending Western troops to Ukraine, and earlier this month said: “We are convinced that the defeat of Russia is indispensable to security and stability in Europe.” That brings the French president into line with views further east. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said: “Helping Ukraine by defeating Putin is the right thing to do in the broadest sense of the word. It is morally sound, strategically wise, militarily justified, and economically beneficial.” Source link

Reynders to compete for Council of Europe top job – POLITICO

Reynders to compete for Council of Europe top job – POLITICO

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The European Union’s chief justice official Didier Reynders on Monday became an official candidate to lead the Strasbourg-based human rights organization Council of Europe, according to the institution. The EU’s Justice Commissioner will compete with former Swiss president Alain Berset and Estonia’s former culture minister Indrek Saar, the two other candidates shortlisted for the job of secretary general after interviews were held with all candidates last week. Reynders will have to take a leave of absence from his position as EU justice chief during the selection process. It is still unclear who will replace him to spearhead work on justice and consumer protection until after the European Parliament election on June 6-9. The European Commission did not immediately respond. Source link

Former Estonian PM booted off flight to Japan after cabin crew contretemps – POLITICO

Former Estonian PM booted off flight to Japan after cabin crew contretemps – POLITICO

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A picture taken at the airport and published by Postimees appeared to show Rõivas being escorted out by the Finnish police. Liisa Toots, director of the media relations bureau at the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told POLITICO that Rõivas was traveling as part of a business delegation, but that the ministry was not responsible for his movements, as “members of the business delegation are in charge of making their travel arrangements.” Toots confirmed that the ministry was aware of the incident, however, she said that the exact reason for Rõivas’ removal from the plane remains unclear. “That’s what we’re asking of those involved in the case,” she added to Postimees. Rõivas was Estonian prime minister from March 2014 to November 2016 and is now chairman of the supervisory board of Auve Tech, an Estonian company which specializes in autonomous vehicles. Rõivas did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment. Source link

Breaking the ice – Estonia comes in from the cold | Estonia holidays

Breaking the ice – Estonia comes in from the cold | Estonia holidays

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“First we have to cross the icebergs,” our guide, Herling Mesi, says, pointing to a barely visible ridge on the otherwise flat expanse of frozen lake. She is worried that a patch of broken ice won’t take the weight of the truck with all its passengers, so we climb out, walk over the slushy chunks, then hop back in. As with many vehicles from the Soviet era, the truck is a homemade mashup of whatever parts were available: the front of an old VW welded to a trailer, with giant bouncy wheels taken from Russian bomber planes. Estonia Lake Peipus, on Estonia’s eastern border with Russia, is the fifth largest in Europe. On clear nights you can see the lights of Russian villages nearly 20 miles away. Later in March the ice will start to melt, but today it is 50cm deep and covered in snow. The sky is white and it feels like we’re in a world devoid of colour. There are several fishers in the trailer with us; they’ve travelled from the island …

‘Are we equals or not?’ – POLITICO

‘Are we equals or not?’ – POLITICO

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“Since the [2004] enlargement, there are 110 million people living in Central and Eastern Europe,” said Ilves. “There are five big positions in the EU and NATO, and they rotate every five years, so that’s 25 jobs in total. During that time, 20 percent of the EU gets 7 percent of the jobs.” In addition to the NATO appointment, expected to take place by the leaders’ summit in Washington this summer, the EU’s top positions will be redistributed this year following June’s European Parliament election. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is likely to be appointed as the new head of NATO this summer | Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a former German defense minister, is expected to receive another term. But the race for the other posts — European Council President, European Parliament President and the EU’s top diplomat, the high representative in charge of foreign policy — remain open. Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski has been floated as a possible Defense Commissioner, a new position von der …

Vladimir Putin sees Estonia ‘as part of Russian empire’ as new invasion fears grow | World | News

Vladimir Putin sees Estonia ‘as part of Russian empire’ as new invasion fears grow | World | News

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Vladimir Putin’s next target could be Estonia as the despot believes it is “part of the Russian empire”, the country’s prime minister has warned. Earlier this year, Russian authorities placed Kaja Kallas, the prime minister of Estonia, on its list of wanted persons after accusing her administration of destroying or damaging monuments to Soviet soldiers. She was placed on the list alongside Estonian Secretary of State Taimar Peterkop and Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys, in a move she said was designed to “silence” her and other opposing heads of state. The leader continued to rail against Russian officials in a recent interview where she claimed Estonia has suffered through “occupation and deportation” at the country’s hands. In the same interview, she took aim at other Western European powers that have thrived since the end of World War Two while others suffered. Darius Rochebin, a journalist for French broadcaster La Chaîne Info (LCI), posted a clip of his interview with the prime minister on X, formerly known as Twitter today. During the short clip, Ms Kallas …

Macron stands by remarks about sending troops to Ukraine – POLITICO

Macron stands by remarks about sending troops to Ukraine – POLITICO

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On Monday, Macron said — after a leaders’ conference on support for Kyiv — that there was “no consensus” on sending ground troops to Ukraine in an “official manner,” but that “nothing was excluded.” The prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine was rejected by other NATO members, including the U.S., U.K. and Germany, and sharply criticized by French opposition parties, but not dismissed by Estonia and Lithuania. French officials also downplayed Macron’s comments, pointing to activities such as demining and arms production which might involved a Western presence in Ukraine. The speaker of Russia’s lower house of parliament even warned Macron against sending troops to Ukraine, saying they would meet the same fate as Napoleon’s army. Source link