Estonian parties have partisan interests in abundance, but a shortage of worldview, firm convictions and principles.
| Siim Kallas | Presentation in the Riigikogu at the 1st Reading of the Draft State Budget Act 2000 |
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| Kalle Jürgenson | State Budget 2000, What and Why? |
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| Olev Raju | Commentaries on the State Budget 2000 |
| Madis Võõras | Estonia on the Way to Full Membership of the European Space Agency |
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| Ene Ergma | Estonia Has Become a Space State |
| Urve Läänemets | A Good Teacher Should Be Ready to Learn Also from the Pupils |
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| Külli Eichenbaum | Using the Local Peculiarities of Old Võromaa |
The political dimension of sustainability. Electing the president. The status of members of parliament. Rules of fair play in politics. The European Court of Justice. The business environment and labour relations. Strategic planning. Future scenarios of the European Union. Women´s organizations.
Summaries of articles are in English.
Estonian parties have partisan interests in abundance, but a shortage of worldview, firm convictions and principles.
The Riigikogu Toimetised roundtable conversation, moderated by Aivar Jarne, head of the Riigikogu press service and including members of the Riigikogu Rain Rosimannus of the Reform Party faction, Eiki Nestor of the Social Democratic Party faction, Agu Uudelepp, chief of information of the People's Union Party, Vello Pettai, University of Tartu political science scholar, and Argo Ideon, journalist of Eesti Ekspress, discussed the fact that for the third consecutive time the Riigikogu was not able to elect the president on its own and the right to elect passed to the electoral body.
Attempts to introduce in Estonia the ethos of a Nordic-like compassionate state has not fallen on especially receptive ground.
The connections between world view and educational budget can be seen through the point of view of educational ideologies (values) and the educational policy decisions derived from those ideologies; this determines what the relationship between state and citizen is like when it comes to availability of education
Since the restoration of Estonian independence, the study programme for general education schools has been the subject of constant discussion, since the curriculum is one of the most important documents for self-determination of the state and the nation.
The main aim of education is to contribute to the socialization of people in their environment, their form of coexistence – nature, culture and society.
The writer finds that procrastination with a new study programme puts Estonia's teachers in a quandary.
The higher educational strategy, which is currently in legislative proceedings of the Riigikogu sets the higher educational development directions for 2006–2015.
Taking part in the work of the Riigikogu demands increasing professionalism on the part of all deputies, and as a result the work-related organization and legal regulation of the position of member of parliament inevitably require updating.
The wave of strategic planning in Estonia began in the mid to late 1990s and was above all related to the longer term planning of budgetary resources – both domestic and European Union funds.
In election season, today's Estonian political elite sees electoral principles as being driven primarily by the letter of the law.
The first action plan for acceding to the Schengen legal space was drawn up by Estonia in 2001.
In terms of its pro-European attitude, which at times seems unshakeable, Estonia is far ahead of practically all the other EU member states: nowhere else in Europe is support and confidence in the Communities as high it is in Estonia (78%).
How is the European Union enlargement reflected in the work of the Court of Justice of the European Communities?
*The opinions expressed in this article reflect the personal views of the authors and do not present the official positions of the European Court.
In only over two and a half years, Estonia has had to get used to the fact that it is not only in the jurisdiction of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg but also of the European Court of Justice, the judiciary institution of European Union.
Despite impressive economic growth rates (since 1994, GDP has doubled in real terms), and like many other transition economies, for many years Estonia has experienced jobless or even job loss growth. Employment declined between 1994 and 2005 from 675,000 to 602,000. This job loss partly reflects closure of many enterprises, as well as “defensive restructuring” by enterprises, a process in which redundant labour is shed in order to increase productivity, the gains from which are then translated into higher wages rather than higher employment.
*The views expressed in this article reflect the personal opinions of the author, and may not coincide with the official positions of the World Bank.
The departure of workforce abroad has been described in Estonia as the biggest problem faced by the health care sector.
Parliament is a central institution in representative democracy. But are the members of parliament themselves central to the functioning of the institutions or are they merely vehicles for the will of someone else (party)?
Innovation in the area of information technology makes it possible to use telework (telecommuting) as an integral part of organization of work in Estonian public agencies.
The article reconstructs the policy-making process of two Estonian legal acts: the Government of the Republic Act and the Local Government Act, which were made 1992–1994.
The role and position of minister's adviser in Estonian politics and civil service system is a topic that has received little attention so far.
Once again, Estonia was not able to elect a new president in the Riigikogu.
*The author thanks Rein Taagpera for his comments to the earlier version of the article.
*Marquis de Condorcet was an 18th century French scientist, one of the first to apply mathematics in the social sciences.
What are the institutional preconditions for a knowledge-based and sustainable public policy?
The article views the various scenarios for the future of the European Union as seen by a small member state such as Estonia.
The debate over Estonia's eastern border – in particular the possibility and need to encode it in legislation, based on the existing de facto boundary line – has lasted for practically the entire period of the regained independence among both politicians and the public, including the media.
The article treats current research conducted by the University of Tartu Department of Political Science. The focus of the article lies on the defining of foreign policy ideology of the Estonian political parties in the Estonian parliament Riigikogu (Centre Party, People's Party, Pro Patria, Reform Party, Res Publica, Social Democratic Party).
Russian organized crime was created by the shadow economy and the criminal subculture.
The Estonian women's movement, whose traditions reach back to the century before last, started developing especially rapidly in the beginning of last century when Estonia became an independent democratic state. When independence was lost, all women's organizations stopped operating as well.
The writer recalls the strong opposition that developed between financial experts and the Ministry of Justice in the early 1990s, when the central bank was in the process of drafting a new draft legislative act on Eesti Pank, the central bank.
The central question when it comes to the integration of European Union member states is how to preserve the special national and cultural character of each member in such a diverse body and bind them into a whole, creating a united European identity.
Estonia's ESTLEX legal information system marked its 15 th anniversary in 2006.