There are not many places where Russia would be so close to Europe as in Narva: one only needs to cross the river.
| 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 |
There are not many places where Russia would be so close to Europe as in Narva: one only needs to cross the river.
EU financial perspective 2014–2020 continues to support Estonian investment into the objectives prescribed by the Cohesion Policy. The share of ESF measures will increase thanks to the common floor set by the Council decision.
Education, scientific research, development of technology and innovations play an important role in the development of modern societies. Today, but even more tomorrow the wellbeing of the society and clean environment are dependent on the development of science, innovations and their practical applications.
Culture as a purposeful coordinated joint activity surrounds us everywhere and it is difficult to find in any human community something which would not constitute culture or have no relation to it.
The article discusses the translation of EU documents into Estonian by the EU institutions, and the changing role of translators in this process.
In the author’s opinion, the trends that characterise the development of population in Estonia at present generally are not positive.
In the second part of Cervantes’s famous novel about the adventures of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, the latter is appointed governor of the island Barataria.
*The essay is published in Estonian with the permission of the author. Translated from German by Krista Räni.
*Quotes from the book: Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Teravmeelne hidalgo don Quijote La Manchast (The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha). Tallinn: Eesti Raamat, I–II, 1987–1988, translator Aita Kurfeldt.
The author divides the Estonian foreign policy after the restoration of independence into three large periods.
*This article reflects the personal views of the author.
The main objective of medicine is to stop the suffering of patients or, in certain cases, at least to alleviate it. However, the impact of medicine on the unfolding of a human life manifests itself in a considerably wider perspective than solely by restoring the normalcy of life opportunities of a particular person.
The author recalls that the Estonian Human Development Report 2009 was recently deliberated in the Riigikogu as a matter of national importance.
The writer discusses whether we have a moral right to leave problems we have not succeeded in coping with for future generations to resolve. We cannot even foresee what will happen in the next 100 years, yet nuclear waste remains hazardous for tens or hundreds of thousands of years. Our geographical location is immutable as well, and geography will determine more than politics in the long run.
The poor condition of the Latvian economy is common knowledge, the author acknowledges. There has been very much discussion and writing on the subject recently in Estonia. But what does the average Estonian know about other facets, corners and recesses of life in Latvia?
When she accepted the challenge of being appointed Estonia’s cultural attaché in Moscow, the writer was aware of all of the risks and historical baggage as well as the possibilities represented by Estonian-Russian relations on the political and cultural front.
This essay draws on the author’s academic activities in the field of human rights law and scholarship. A major “ideological” controversy in the field is the question whether human rights are truly universal or culturally conditioned. Another, related question is what the human rights policy of the European states should look like.
*The writing of this essay was supported by the Estonian Research Council Grant No. 7182.
As is well known, the concept of memory entered into contemporary discussions by way of its opposition to history.
The Constitution, which has been in force for fifteen years, is the fourth basic law in Estonia’s nearly ninety years of statehood. It is a good time to consider: what we can thank our Constitution for?
Attempts to introduce in Estonia the ethos of a Nordic-like compassionate state has not fallen on especially receptive ground.
In Estonia as well as other parts in Europe, the search has been on for some time for the magical cure that would make more women have children.
The article discusses Estonia's economic success and future prospects. In order to assess today's results, recollections, assessments and hopes are presented dating from the early 1990s, when Estonia regained its independence. It all began with economic crisis, modest skills and knowledge about market economy, and a considerably poorer situation than in the Central European countries.
The basic question raised in this article is what are the common values that unite the 25 peoples and 455 million people that constitute Europe.
Information-based societies and economies can be thought of in two different ways - according to sphere or according to decision-making mechanism.
Due to historical reasons, the experiences of the EU's 25 member states in relations with Russia differ according to whether they are or were metropolitan or non-metropolitan, large or small, and old or new.
The European Union is an association of democratic nation-states based on the rule of law. We should ask: 1) to what extent are the national, democratic and legal properties transferable to unions of states? 2) which properties must be transferred? 3) is this a spontaneous process, an inevitable result of union, or must there be additional efforts? 4) what might the influence on nation-states be - stimulating or repressive, preservative or destructive?
One of the goals of the discussion is to show that the theory of collective responsibility (like many other similar groups of theories) is demagogical and harmful, designed to disenfranchise people and free those in power from primary responsibility over what happens in a state.
It takes quite a bit of time for a democratic society to crystallize. In order for society to develop a firm moral underpinning and such a respected body of citizens, many other factors besides time are required, such as people who understand and contribute to the social and cultural fabric in sufficient number as to form a kind of cooperation-revering critical mass that would be able to, and indeed desire to, keep society within certain boundaries and not permit the borders of tolerance to be exceeded. Considering Estonian history, academics should take the place of noblemen, for they truly revere honor and dignity above all and serve their own people in the first order.
"Power" and "spirit" (or "intellect") are popular metaphors in Estonia in discourse about society.