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EESTI ELU reedel, 11. oktoobril 2019 — Friday, October 11, 2019
Nr. 41
Explosion of Celebrations! Round up your friends and book a table for the Explosion of Celebrations taking place on November 2nd at the Estonian House! Help not one or two… but five organizations celebrate their jubilees in a night of fun and entertainment for all ages. No babysitter needed, we have activities for your kids as well! Doors open at 4 p.m. and entertainment starts at 4:30 p.m., dinner is included in the ticket price and the cash bar will be open throughout the festivities. The Toronto Estonian Kindergarten will be running a face painting station, photo booth with cool costumes, and kids’ corner. The program for the night will feature a theatri cal performance by the Toronto Estonian School’s children and youth based on themes from Oskar Luts’ well known film “Kevade” including song and
dance numbers. A slideshow will be running during the fes tivities with photos spanning the long histories of the cele brating organizations. Greetings from honoured guests and other organizations, as well as a for mal cake unveiling will also be a part of the activities during the night. Starting at 8:30 p.m., the Toronto Estonian Youth Organization will be organizing a dance that everyone is more than welcome to attend and is sponsored by the Estonian Ecumenical Relief Organization so don’t forget your dancing shoes! Of course there’s also a silent auction running until 8:00 p.m. with several prizes you won’t want to miss out on. Kungla’s folk dancers will be putting on a show as well, and fun Estonian tongue twisters and sing-along directed by Heli Tenno and Liina Purje-Lepik will allow everyone to have a great time. The MC’s for the
Some of the organizers of the November 2 joint celebration of the anniversaries of the Toronto Estonian Society, Estonian schools and kindergarten and the marksmen’s club situated in Estonian House. Tickets for the gala banquet are a hot item and being rapidly bought. Photo: Estonian Life
festivities will be former stu dents of the Estonian Schools Elli Kipper and Toomas Tammark. Tickets are selling fast, so don’t miss out on the chance to
The government supports the achievement of European climate neutrality by 2050 Government Information Unit, October 2019 The government recently ap proved positions on Europe’s long-term strategic vision ‘A Clean Planet for All’, whereby Estonia in principle supports setting the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 for the entire European Union. According to Prime Minister Jüri Ratas, investing in combat ing climate change is investing in our future, wealth, and wis dom. ‘I am convinced that every euro we invest in combat ing climate change and new technologies will give us mul tiple returns, both in wealth and in quality of life. This is sup ported by the SEI Tallinn analysis released earlier this week. Thanks to the analysis, we have a road map on how to invest wisely in combating climate change,’ the prime minister said. The prime minis ter also considered it important to raise awareness, so that people would make environmentally sound decisions in their daily
consumption, transport, and nutrition choices. According to Rene Kokk, Minister of the Environment, Estonia must have sufficient flexibility in setting sectoral targets and in use of measures. ‘The specific characters and challenges of the various re gions of the European Union must also be taken into account. We believe that regions which are more dependent on car bon-intensive economy must be supported by measures to create new jobs,’ Kokk noted. Earlier this week, SEI Tal linn and OÜ Finantsakadeemia published their ‘Analysis of Opportunities for Increasing the Estonian Climate Ambition’, which mapped out the neces sary measures to achieve cli mate neutrality by 2050 – what changes should be made to get there and what their impacts would be. Estonia would be able to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 by implementing the actions listed in the analysis. This requires contributions from the public, private, and third
sectors. With strategically wise decisions, these investments will be profitable in the long run. The government considers it vital that the specific characters of the member states and re gions are taken into account and that adequate transitional measures are taken to support the achievement of climate neutrality. States must retain the right to choose the appropriate means to achieve the objectives, including sovereign tax decisions to achieve climate neutrality. Estonia also considers it im portant that the transition to climate neutrality takes place gradually and that attention is paid to reducing possible nega tive social impacts. There is a great deal of work to do to find suitable and environmentally friendly technologies to reduce, capture, and recycle carbon emissions. The same goes for introduction of alternative fuels, improving the energy perfor mance of buildings, and storing renewable energy. The Estonian people consider
The recent art exhibit of the Society of Estonian Artists in Toronto was graced with the visit of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, the Rt. Hon. Elizabeth Dowdeswell (third from left), who took time to visit Estonian House during a crammed schedule of events. Some of the Society’s artists were able to join her for a historic photo. Photo: J. Järve
connect with old friends and meet new ones! They cost $35 each, all students, regardless of age, are free as long as they register and receive a ticket as well from Piret Komi via email,
illepiret@gmail.com or through phoning 416-447-7610. All of the celebrating organi zations hope to see you there having a good time along with them!
it important to address climate issues. According to Eurobaro meter results published in September, 85 per cent of Estonians agree that the EU economy should be made climate neutral by 2050. The aim of the European long-term strategy is to take on
a leading role in global climaterelated actions. The strategy defines the long-term direction of the EU’s climate and energy policy towards a near-zero green house gas emission eco nomy by 2050. The transition must be socially fair and cost-effective.
Estonian experts help create international security procurement network
hand, countries have very simi lar needs and, for instance, the Finnish and Estonian Police could perfectly procure security products jointly in the future,” said Hannes Järvine, Lead Law Enforcement Officer of the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board. The Police and Border Guard Board is in charge of the pro ject feasibility analysis and preparing recommendations. A team led by Associate Professor Mari Ann Simovart at University of Tartu’s School of Law will analyse the project from the legal side and work out joint procurement methods. “Although the law already al lows countries to jointly pro cure products and services, there are no specific instruc tions or reliable methods for actually conducting cross- border procurement in such a sensitive and complex field as internal security,” Simovart said. There are also many issues which need a legal solution. “For example, we need to consider which law should be applied at each stage, how to conduct cooperation from the preparation of public procure ment to the delivery of the order, and what the main legal risks are in joint procurement, for instance, in the case of con fidential procurement,” Simo vart explained. The project will also analyze innovation opportunities. The project is funded by Horizon 2020, the EU framework pro gramme for research and inno vation.
ERR News, September 2019 The Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) and the Univer sity of Tartu will take part in an international project to help establish a joint procurement network for internal security products and services. The project, called iPro cureNet, started in May and is funded by the European Com mission. The network makes it possible for public agencies from different countries to carry out cross-border joint procure ment. The project has 15 partners from 11 European countries, in cluding Estonia, Bulgaria, Spain, Cyprus, Lithuania, Portugal, France, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the United King dom. The work will involve contracting authorities, legal and innovation experts, re searchers and users. According to Marine Theve nin, representative of the French Ministry of Interior, the joint procurement of security solu tions will help find the best price and create a common European market in the field of security. Internal security procurements are complex. For example, they may include orders of body ar mour, bomb detection robots or other specific technical equip ment, none of which are regular consumer goods. “On the other
