Estonia and Germany

02.06.2010

Germany first recognised Estonia's independence de jure on 9 July 1921. Diplomatic relations between Estonia and Germany were restored on 28 August 1991. Thereafter, the respective embassies were re-opened in Bonn and Tallinn. In February 1999, Germany opened its new embassy building in Tallinn. Estonia’s historical embassy building in Berlin re-opened its doors in a formal ceremony attended by President Lennart Meri on 27 September 2001. Diplomatic ties between the Republic of Estonia and the Federal Republic of Germany celebrated the 85th anniversary of their establishment and the 15th anniversary of their re-establishment in 2006. The occasions were marked with a historical exhibit about diplomatic ties between the Baltic nations and Germany, which was displayed in the atrium of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as in the academic library of Tallinn University.

Mart Laanemäe has been Estonia’s Ambassador to Germany since August 2008. Estonia is also represented in Germany by the following Honorary Consuls: Ulf Lange in Hamburg, Horst Werner Maier-Hunke in Düsseldorf, Hans Berger in Kiel, Helmut Aurenz in Stuttgart and Ludwigsburg, and Klaus Luft in Munich. The last German ambassador to Estonia, Julius Bobinger, completed his work in Tallinn in June 2009.

Good relations with Germany are one of the priorities of Estonia's foreign policy. During recent years top-level contacts have become even closer. Germany has supported the aspirations of Estonia and the other Baltic countries to integrate into Europe.

Estonia highly appreciates Germany’s support and contribution to its becoming a member of the European Union and NATO.

Estonia’s accession to the European Union has changed the character of bilateral relations with EU member states, obviously including Germany. Bilateral issues have been pushed aside by European and international topics. The main emphasis of relations between Estonia and Germany continues to shift towards active regional and economic co-operation with Germany’s federal states; development of relations between the political parties of Estonia and Germany is also important.

Co-operation between Estonia and Germany is active and encompasses a variety of fields. Contacts often devolve upon the level of local government officials, as relations at this level allow co-operative initiatives to be arranged in greater detail.

Visits of importance

Agreements

Estonia and Germany’s ties are based upon a multi-faceted agreement base. Since 1 May 2004, economic ties between the two nations have been governed by the EU’s internal market rules, and areas under the jurisdiction of individual member states are governed by bilateral agreements.

• Joint Statement on the Basis of the Relationship (came into force 29 Apr 1993);
• Agreement on Assigning German Teachers to Estonian Schools (came into force 21 Mar 1994);
• General agreement on defence-related co-operation and agreement on the securing the conditions of mutual working visits (came into force 21 Sep1994);
• Agreement on German Wartime Graveyards in the Republic of Estonia (came into force 26 Oct 1996);
• Agreement on Commercial Seafaring (came into force 6 Jun 1996);
• Framework Agreement on Counselling and Co-operation (came into force 28 Feb 1997);
• Agreement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (came into force 12 Jan 1997).
• Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital (came into force 30 Dec 1998);
• Agreement on the Readmission of Persons and the Implementation Protocol of the Agreement (came into force 1. Mar 1999);
• Agreement on the Mutual Abolishment of the Visa Requirements (came into force 1 Mar 1999);
• Agreement on Reciprocal Protection of Classified Information (came into force 8 Feb 2001);
• Agreement on Cultural Co-operation (came into force 15 Aug 2002).
• Aviation agreement (came into force 27 Mar 2002).

Defence-related Co-operation

Germany is one of Estonia’s major co-operation partners in the field of defence, with whom wide-ranging and practical co-operation has been developed.

Germany and Estonia’s former co-operation basis changed in 2007. Instead of their previous positions as giver of aid and receiver of aid, they switched to co-operation based on equivalent contributions, which is expected of NATO members.

Recently co-operation has been focused on training, the procurement and administration of equipment, naval co-operation, environmental protection, and armament control. Germany also participates in the work of the NATO Co-operation Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn. Germany has sent both its students and instructors to the Baltic Defence College. Estonian soldiers have also had opportunities to supplement their studies in Germany.

Since August 2008 Lieutenant Colonel Kristjan Moora has worked as the Estonian defence attaché in Germany. Since the beginning of 2009, Anna-Maria Praks has worked at the Estonian Embassy as a defence policy counsellor. Germany’s defence attaché (as of September 2007), Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Timmer, resides in Helsinki.

Cooperation with federal states

Schleswig-Holstein

Relations between Estonia and the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein were established two decades ago, and in the present time co-operation has become very tight. Relations with several regions of Scleswig-Holstein have developed at the level of Estonian towns and county governments: schools and some congregations have partnership ties, while dozens of Estonian students are studying at the universities of Schleswig-Holstein (mainly in Kiel).
In September 1995, the Bureau of the Federal State of Schleswig-Holstein was opened in Tallinn, as of 1995 the agency of HSH Nordbanken is located in Tallinn as the first German bank – (the former name Landesbank Schleswig-Holstein). Based on the partnership between the chambers of commerce of Tallinn and Kiel, the German economic agency was established in Estonia, which at present is bearing the name of the German-Baltic Chamber of Commerce.
The Ministry of Agriculture has good experience of co-operation with the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein. In 1992, a co-operation protocol was signed and it has been recurrently extended. At the traditional food fair “Grüne Woche” in January 2006 Minister of Agriculture Ester Tuiksoo and Minister of Agriculture of Schleswig-Holstein Christian von Boetticher signed a co-operation memorandum between Estonia and Schleswig-Holstein for the years 2006 to 2010.
Co-operation in police work occurs with the Interior Ministry of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. In May 2007, the Estonian Interior Ministry signed a police co-operation agreement with the Interior Ministry of Schleswig-Holstein regarding the exchange of information, as well as training and consultations. The focal point of the Flensburg folk music festival FolkBALTICA 2008 was Estonia. Performers included Elletuse and Liisi Koikson, Ro:Toro and Karl Laanekask, Kärt and the brothers Johanson, and accordionists Kadri Laube and Tarmo Noormaa, along with their German and Nordic colleagues. Estonia has also taken part in the annual cultural and economic event that takes place each June called “Kiel Days”. Estonia films have been included in the programme of the notable film festival “Nordische Filmtage Lübeck”. The head conductor of the Schleswig-Holstein Landestheater for the 2007/2008 season is Mihkel Kütson.

Mecklenburg-West Pomerania

Contacts between Estonia and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania had not been disrupted during the Soviet period, when friendship relations were initiated between the cities of Schwerin and Tallinn and between the counties of Parchim and Valga. Several other local governments have friendship agreements. In the 1970-s and 1980-s, student exchanges were conducted between Tallinn Pedagogical Institute and Güstrow Pedagogische Hochschule for the purpose of language practice. Greifswald University (Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald) has Nordisches Institut, where Estonian is taught in addition to Scandinavian and Finno-Ugric studies.
Agriculture-related contacts between Estonia and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania were established in 1999. The co-operation programme most recently signed for 2008-2010 sets goals for co-operation in higher education, organic agriculture, and the preservation of agricultural cultural heritage.

Sachsen-Anhalt

A very close co-operation with Sachen-Anhalt is being developed in the field economy. Since November 2000, there is a Contact Bureau of the federal state of Sachsen-Anhalt in Tallinn. Reciprocal economic, agricultural and business delegation visits have taken place along with co-operation between parliaments. In November 2004, the visit of Prime Minister Juhan Parts took place accompanied by a business delegation. Co-operation also takes place between parliaments. In October 2005, Prime Minister of the German state, Sachsen-Anhalt Wolfgang Böhmer visited Estonia.
Co-operation in the area of agriculture continues on the basis of a co-operation memorandum signed in 2006. The co-operation programme, signed at the Grüne Woche fair in 2008 by the minister of agriculture, states plans to focus over the next few years on joint activities in bio-energy, Interreg, and forestation projects.

Baden-Württemberg

Estonia’s contacts with the state of Baden-Württemberg have become pleasantly close over the last few years. Within the framework of the programme celebrating the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, called "E wie Estland", there were numerous cultural, economic and tourism events held in Baden-Württemberg from January to June in 2008. The organisations from Estonia involved in the events were the Ministry of Culture, the Foreign Ministry, Enterprise Estonia, the Estonian Chamber of Agriculture and Commerce, and the Ministry of Education.

Alongside the tightening of economic ties, bilateral relations have also developed on the official level. On 11 March 2008, the formal reception held at the Baden-Württemberg representation in Berlin to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia was attended by Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and the Prime Minister of the state of Baden-Württemberg Günther Oettinger. Minister of Economic Affairs and Communications Juhan Parts visited his colleague in Baden-Württemberg twice in 2008—in January and November, and at the same time Estonia was introduced at a tourism fair in Stuttgart and Estonia participated in the Stuttgart Foreign Trade forum and fair Global Connect. Baden-Württemberg’s Minister of the Economy Pfister paid his own visit to Estonia, along with a business and science delegation, in April 2008. One very important step for progressing co-operation was the memorandum of mutual understanding between EAS and Baden-Württemberg-International signed on 11 November 2008, within the framework of which it is possible for Estonian businesses to find partners among Baden-Württemberg businesses, universities and research and science institutions and to participate in business visits to the state of Baden-Württemberg.

The high point of bilateral relations between Estonia and the state of Baden-Württemberg could be the visit of Prime Minister Andrus Ansip and entrepreneurs dealing with renewable energy and energy technology to Stuttgart from 14-16 July 2009. During the business seminar that took place within the visit, investment opportunities in Estonia were introduced to businessmen in Baden-Württemberg. Productive co-operation ties have sprung up between institutions of higher learning in Estonia and Baden-Württemberg. Study and research co-operation are being developed by Konstanz and Tartu Universities; Tallinn Technical University and Universities of Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Tübingen; Estonian University of Life Sciences and Universities of Konstanz and Hohenheim; the Estonian Academy of the Arts and State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart as well as the State Academy of Fine Arts in Karlsruhe. The Estonian Academy of Music has active partnership ties with Karlsruhe University of Music and Heidelberg Pedagogical University. In the city of Karlsruhe, the organisation Estnische Gesellschaft e.V. brings together Estonians living abroad.

Saxony

Estonia and Saxony have historical ties dating back several centuries. In the 18th century, Baltic Germans studied in the Dresden Art Academy and artists of that region went north to immortalize Estonia of that period in their paintings and etchings.
Close relations between the universities in Estonia and Saxony have existed for decades and many present day Estonian engineers received their education in the universities of Dresden, Leipzig or Chemnitz. The co-operation of these universities with the Tallinn Technical University continues primarily through the exchange of teachers and students and by implementing joint Research and Development projects. The Research and Development projects have been carried out in the fields of digital electronics and energy. For the present, five Estonian higher schools have partnership relations with higher schools of Saxony in the framework of the Erasmus programme.
Estonian cinema has regularly been represented at the international short film festival Filmfest Dresden. Estonian publishing houses have participated in the Leipzig Book Fair for a number of years.
A good co-operation is developed with Saxony in the field of agriculture. In March 2006, a Saxon delegation headed by Secretary General Kuhl of the Ministry of Agriculture stayed in Estonia, training Estonian colleagues in the area of marketing. The Saxon foods have been introduced in Estonia and a great many products have appeared on sale in our supermarkets. In autumn 2006, a week of Estonian products was arranged at Aue foodstuffs chain "Zimmermarkt".

Bavaria

Bavaria has economic contacts with Estonia. In November 2003, Prime Minister Juhan Parts met with Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber in Munich, where he also opened the Estonian honorary consulate. Estonian entrepreneurs participate in the real estate fair “ExpoReal” in Munich. In March 2008, the Munich and Upper-Bavaria Chamber of Industry and Commerce held their first-ever economic event dedicated to the Baltic countries, including Estonia. Bavarian entrepreneurs have an interest in Estonia that has grown greater over the last few years. Within the framework of the event, representatives of the ministries of economy also met. This created great potential for the intensifying of economical and business ties between Bavaria and Estonia in the future.
The annual high-level security policy conference held in Munich has seen participation by Estonian foreign and defence ministers. In 2006, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves participated in the conference.

Thuringia

Many visits have taken place to activate economic co-operation between Estonia and the state of Thüringen. In November 2004, Prime Minister Juhan Parts visited the state of Thüringen with a business delegation during a working visit to Germany. Within the framework of the visit, Prime Minister Parts opened an economics seminar in Erfurt along with Prime Minister of the state of Thüringen Dieter Althaus. In May 2005, Prime Minister Althaus visited Estonia, accompanied by a 30-member business delegation. At a meeting with Prime Minister Andrus Ansip, the two discussed opportunities to develop bilateral economic relations and to intensify co-operation in the areas of education and research.
The Institut für Fügen- und Werkstoffprüfung in Jena does close co-operation with the Federation of Estonian Engineering Industry and Tallinn University of Technology. Four Estonian schools (Turba Secondary School, Valgu Primary School, Tartu Vocational Centre, and Tartu Industrial School) have friendship ties with partner schools in Thüringen.
Co-operation between Thüringen's and Estonia's agricultural ministries in the area of veterinary medicine has been active since 1992. The expansion of this co-operation to other areas was discussed in November 2007, when a delegation from Thüringen visited Tallinn. From 6-9 May 2008, a delegation from Estonia's Ministry of Agriculture participated in "Europe Week" in Erfurd to introduce Estonia's agriculture and food.

Hamburg

Ties between Hamburg and Estonia are traditional – the coat-of-arms of Tallinn (Reval) serving as a decoration on Hamburg's Town Hall attests to that. Dr. Ulf Lange, representing since 1993 Estonia as an honorary consul in Hamburg, was also the first Estonian honorary consul in Germany.
As of 2003, the agency of Enterprise Estonia is located in Hamburg.
Among the co-operation projects between Estonia and Hamburg, one can point out establishing free zones (free ports) in Estonian harbors. Traditional fairs that have always had Estonian participation are the shipbuilding fairs "SMM" and "Hansaboot", as well as the tourism fair aimed at regular tourists "Reisen". The Tallinn Harbour has participated in the cruise-related fair "Seatrade Europe", which takes place every 2 years. In recent years, the wind-energy focused fair "Windenergie" has piqued great interest among Estonians. In Hamburg, the society Pro Baltica Forum (now called the Baltic Sea Forum) functions, the aim of which beginning from its establishment in 1992 has been the promoting of international co-operation in the areas of economy, politics and culture.
In 2004, an Estonian-themed event entitled "Hamburg trifft Estland" took place in Hamburg, during which Estonia was introduced through information materials, music, information technology accomplishments and contemporary cuisine. In 2005, Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip participated in the Estonian tourism event. He spoke at the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry and met with entrepreneurs. In 2006, the port of Hamburg celebrated its traditional birthday, and Estonia was invited as the guest country. In addition to cultural events, a logistics seminar dedicated to Estonia was held in the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce, in which participants included Minister of Economy Edgar Savisaar, Mayor of Tartu Laine Jänes, and chairman of the Tallinn Town Council Toomas Vitsut.

Nordhein-Westfalen

The ties of the federal state Nordrhein-Westfalen with Estonia go back to ancient times. From Westfalen came the building master, who let a church be built in Ridala, Läänemaa in the 13th century. From Rheinland also the family von Glehn originated, who after the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1646 fled to Estonia. The most well-known of the family, Nikolai von Glehn, established a park and a castle in Nõmme.
Estonia has been visited by many delegations from Nordrhein-Westfalen. Up until now, co-operation has focused on agriculture, environmental and educational issues, with an emphasis on training and interning in Germany. From 29-30 November 2009 President Toomas Hendrik Ilves, along with Estonian entrepreneurs, had a working visit to the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen. In addition to meeting with the Prime Minister of the federal state Jürgen Rüttgers, President Ilves also participated in the ceremony of Estonia’s new honorary consul Maier-Hunke assuming his position.
The biggest city of Nordhein-Westfalen, Köln is an internationally known fair centre, in the fairs of which Estonian enterprises have taken part for years, for instance the fairs Anuga (foods), Interzum (furniture).
In bilateral cultural contacts, one could mention the Estonian-Latvian-Lithuanina cultural festival "scene: estland lettland litauen in nrw" that took place in Nordrhein-Westfahlen in 2006. The exchange programme called Ruhrpott was carried through this spring in Estonia.

Economic cooperation

Estonia and Germany’s economic relations are primarily regulated by the rights and responsibilities of both nations as EU members, of which the most important are the principles of a common market (the free movement of goods, services, capital, and people within the borders of the common market). In addition to the previously mentioned agreements, the following bilateral economic agreements also exist between Estonia and Germany:

• Agreement on Finance Related Co-operation (came into force 10 Feb 1995);
• Agreement on Hiring Employees for the Widening of their Professional and Linguistic Skills (came into force 21 Aug 1995); The Agreement provides advanced professional and linguistic training for Estonian employees for up to 1 year in the partner country on equal conditions with the employees of the host country;
• Framework Agreement on Counselling and Co-operation (provisionally applied on 28 Feb 1997);
• Agreement between the Ministry of Social Affairs of the Republic of Estonia and the Work and Social Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany to allow fitters of Estonian companies to erect log cabins in the Federal Republic of Germany and fitters of German companies to perform installations in the Republic of Estonia (came into force 13 Sep 02).

Trade

In 2009 Germany ranked as Estonia’s 5th trade partner (with a volume of 8.4%). On the list of nations receiving exports or sending imports, Germany was respectively in 5th place (6.0%) and 3rd place (10.4%). The total turnover of bilateral trade with Germany was 18.1 billion kroons (1.14 bln EUR) in 2009, of which export made up 6.1 billion kroons (389 million EUR) and import 11.9 billion kroons (759 million EUR). While the export figures, with a little wavering, remained close to those of 2008 – 6.7 billion kroons (430 million EUR) – import decreased by half compared with 2008 (22.6 billion kroons / 1.45 billion EUR). The trade balance remained negative – 5.8 billion kroons (370 million euros).

The biggest deficits came from trade in machinery and equipment, chemical products, and transportation vehicles. The biggest surplus came from trade of wood and wood products.

Source: Statistical Office of Estonia

Major export articles in 2009:

• Machinery and equipment – 19.6%
• Other manufactured articles – 14.2%
• Metals and metal products – 12.5%
• Wood and wood products – 11.9%

Major import articles in 2009:

• Machinery and equipment – 27%
• Chemical products – 11.4%
• Transport equipment – 9.8%
• Metals and metal products – 9.8%

German investments in Estonian Businesses

The interest towards investing in Estonia has grown after accession to the European Union. According to the Bank of Estonia, as of 31 December 2009, German direct investments in Estonia totalled 2.2 billion kroons (140 million EUR), equalling 1.3% of the total volume of direct investments made in Estonia. Most of the investments have gone into the sector of financial intermediation, the processing industry, and real estate.

According to the Commercial Register, as of 1 January 2010, 490 German shareholding companies were registered, of which more than half were 100% based on German capital. The largest companies are ERGO Kindlustus AS, AS Eesti Gaas, and AS Tartu Veski.

The positive development of economic relations has been helped along by economic representations in both Estonia and Germany. Enterprise Estonia has a representation in Hamburg. The representation offers practical aid to entrepreneurs, and is a useful link between Estonian entrepreneurs, German entrepreneurs, and economic organisations. Baltic-German Chamber of Commerce belongs to the world-wide network of German Chambers of Commerce and advises German and Estonian companies in operating in Estonia and in Germany. The Chamber of Commerce brings each year several German companies to visits in Estonia. The Chamber of Commerce represents also the most important German fairs (Hannover, Berlin, Munich) in Estonia.

Tourism

Germany continues to be one of Estonia’s main partners for tourism. Tourism relations between the two nations were positively affected by Estonia joining the Schengen visa space in December of 2007, since nearly half of all German tourists visit Estonia as part of a tour through the Baltic countries.
In 2008 the number of German tourists that used Estonian accommodation establishments reached 92 000 guests. In 2009 those using accommodations totalled 75 966, which was 5.5% of foreign tourists. There are also those who have shorter visits or use other means of accommodation (for example a caravan). Compared with other tourists from Western Europe that visit Estonia, German guests spend travel around Estonia more. They also prefer beautiful natural environments and want to become acquainted with cultural and historical sights. Travelling to Germany has also become more popular for Estonians. According to the data of the European Travel Monitor, Germany was visited by 132 000 Estonian citizens in 2007. In 2009, 15 999 Estonians went to Germany with the help of Estonian travel agencies.

Culture and education

EDUCATION 

Close and wide-reaching co-operation ties have developed between Estonian and German institutions of higher education over the years. Since 1992, the federal government has, in the framework of the Central and Eastern European Special Programme, developed co-operation between Estonian and German universities with the mediation of the German Academic Mediation Service (DAAD). The German Government also supports the Euro Faculty of the University of Tartu, which was founded at the initiative of Council of the Blatic Sea States in order to develop the instruction of social sciences in the Baltic countries. The contact bureau of the Distance University of Hagen that was established at Tallinn University offers classes at the only German university at which academic studies are conducted in the form of long-distance learning.

The annual German-Estonian academic weeks in Tartu, called Academica, have become a tradition. Its patrons have been the Presidents of Germany and Estonia and Academica is financially supported by German enterprises. During the most recent Academica (02.-05.11.2009), the guest was Kiel University, with whom Tartu University has had co-operation ties since 1989.

The education agreement signed by the two governments in 2002 helps to regulate and support the unique programme offered by Germany on the national level for those Estonian high schools where German is taught in-depth. The graduates of those schools receive both German and Estonian high school diplomas, which means that in the course of the same examination they pass the German graduation exam and the Estonian state exam. Thereafter they have rights and opportunities equal to those of graduates in Germany, as the language diploma received certifies their German language proficiency at a level sufficient for studying at German universities. The amount of German taught as a foreign language in general education schools has declined somewhat over the years, but it remains in third place after English and Russian. During the 2008/2009 academic year, 22 828 Estonian students were studying German.

It is possible to study Estonian language and culture at the universities of Munich, Hamburg and Göttingen. Since the fall of 2005, an Estonian language instructor sent by the Estonian state has worked in Göttingen.

CULTURE

The basis for Estonian-German cultural co-operation was established in 1993, when a cultural co-operation agreement was signed by the two governments. During recent years, co-operation has primarily taken place through free and unmediated cultural exchange and direct contacts. Since culture and education in Germany fall under the jurisdiction of the federal states, the greater part of co-operative efforts in those fields is enacted at the level of the federal states; cities and regions with friendship ties to Estonia.

The German Cultural Institutes active in Tallinn and Tartu are the primary promoters of German culture, and in 1998 the Goethe Institute was opened at the German Institute in Tallinn.

Cultural attaché Reet Weidebaum has worked at the Estonian embassy in Berlin since the autumn of 2003 and has actively helped to create contacts and promote reciprocal cultural exchange. In 2008 with the main focus of the events introducing Estonia in Germany was on the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia.

Of cultural events in 2009, one worth noting is the participation of Estonian dramaturges and theatres in the Heidelberg drama festival Stückemarkt 2009, where three awards out of five were given to Estonia (J. Ashilevi, A.Kivirähk, U.Lennuk). Within the framework of the festival programme the works of 11 Estonian artists were presented. On 4 May the Estonian Cinema Bus and Cinema Barge made a stop in Berlin on their way from Linz (European Capital of Culture 2009) to Tallinn (European Capital of Culture 2011). From 26-30 June the 10th global Estonian gathering ESTO 2009 took place in Münster, Germany.

On her visit to the state of Nordrhein-Westfahlen, Minister of Culture Laine Jänes opened the group exhibit by Estonian artists “Wir sind aus Estland” in Düsseldorf. The paintings, graphics and video art of Jaan Elken, Kaljo Põllu, Andres Tolts, Mare Vint, Mall Nukke, Evi Tihemets and others were displayed.