Only last year Elron replaced the old rolling stock with new electric trains. The new carriages were designed to be wider more comfortable seating with arm rests. Passengers are used to being able to board the train without concern for capacity. To curb this unsafe habit Elron have stated that the ticket sellers are to decide if any more passengers may board. Currently when there are too many passengers standing inside the isle it makes the flow of foot fall almost impossible for those wishing to get on and off. When the ticket sellers and the train driver have decided to stop further boarding passengers will be notified through the public address system and at all the stops only the middle section doors will open. As there are presently too few trains in circulation passengers left standing on the platforms will result.

In going forward with new rail plans Elron have had to take a few steps backwards but they are confident that all rail systems will be up to speed in the not too distant future.

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There was a six day ‘Eesti Fest Festival’ music event highlighting Estonian music and culture starting on the 21^st February at the Kings Place arts centre in central London.

The event was opened at 7pm by Sten Tamkivi, General Manager of Skype Estonia, giving a talk including a Q & A session on ‘Cheap Talk: Skype and Estonian IT Genius’, part of the Words on Monday program. Skype was original first developed in Estonia and is now taken for granted as a world wide communication tool.

‘Eesti Fest’ was a collaborated event by Kings Place, the Estonian Embassy, Tallinn 2011 and the UK representative of Enterprise Estonia London.

Also organised by Enterprise Estonia and in collaboration with European Movement in London was an event called ‘Estonia in the Eurozone and the future of economic governance in the EU’ which was held on the evening of 22^nd February at Europe House in London.

Talks included Estonia joining the Eurozone on 1^st January 2011 and the benefits of joining to the Estonian economy. Speeches were given by the Ambassador of Estonia, Mrs. Aino Lepik von Wiré, also by the Deputy Head of the European Commission Representation in the UK, Christine Dalby, and Raoul Lättemäe, Bank of Estonia, Head of International and Public Relations.

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Estonian real-estate company, Uus Maa, was recently quoted as stating that Estonia was now ripe for Scandinavian private investors, in particular Estonian City centre apartments and the Lasnamae district. These areas due to heavy price dropping during the economic crisis, made these areas especially attractive to investors.

Elari Tamm, Uus Maa’s home residences director, said that Lasnamae properties are 700-766 Euros per square meter on average which is very competitively priced compared to the city Centre, Kristine or Nomme.

“Since independence, Finns have always invested noticeably large sums here. After the Euro transition we have observed that Finns and Swedes, particularly Finns, are interested in city centre apartments,” said Tamm.

Elari Tamm said that Scandinavian investors would be buying into Estonia prime real estate and cashing in crisis created property bargains imminently in 2011

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Estonian-Austrian Economic Forum: Estonia 15 Minute Trading Business.

Presently most Estonian services including banking and public services, such as tax declaration systems, are electronic and available online. Business culture in Estonian has been honed down to a clear and concise configuration making it possible for a new trading company to be established in just fifteen minutes.

Considering Estonia’s accession to the euro zone on 1 January 2011 Estonia can now present a competitive and favourable starting point for new businesses.

President Ilves stated his optimism for continued and future strengthening of trade and industry relations between Estonia and Austria.

Regarding the European Union Ilves said, “We have met all the criteria to join NATO and the European Union and there are no more influential international organizations left to aim for. Therefore, we need to answer the following question: what do we do and how do we proceed, if there are no criteria to be met?”

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The finance group Nordea Estonia is very hopeful of a growth also as they believe a number of opportunities within the Estonian economy will arise, especially with the Euro implementation taking place putting Estonia on the map.

Estonian’s finance minister has indicated that their finance and government infrastructure is on target for the Euro, bringing confidence to the people convincing them the government is fully behind.
The Economy of Latvia is also in a good recovering position with the adjustment decline of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) figure from 4.0 % to 3.5 %.

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