Estonia 2018

Elections in Estonia are continuously considered as free and fair, scoring 9,64 out of 10, from the beginning of the Freedom Barometer – Europe Edition, until today. During the period under review political life in this country was less turbulent and much stable than during the previous one. Citizens of Estonia faced local elections in October 2017. These elections were marked as generally free and fair and were important due to several other reasons. Most notably, this was the first local election successfully held in the new administrative setting, approved in the middle of 2017, when, in the framework of broader reforms, some local municipalities were merged. Also, Estonia, as one of the world leaders in e-voting, scored the highest online turnout in these elections, of

Democratically elected authorities in Estonia have full and effective power to govern without any interference from non-state actors. Separation of powers is clear and in place, allowing for efficient functioning of all three branches - judicial, legislative and executive. Although several corruption scandals emerged in previous years, involving high ranking officials of the state, e.g. former mayor of the City of Tallinn Edgar Savisaar, the suspects were prosecuted. In general, businesses are not able to shape the country`s politics.

Media outlets in Estonia are largely free and independent, expressing a wide variety of views. This pluralism of the media landscape ensures citizens` access to the diverse spectrum of opinions. Public broadcaster is characterized with unbiased approach, no matter that the Public Broadcasting Council is composed by parliamentary party representatives or other people appointed by the parliament. Still, high presence of political figures in this body should be noted. Journalist reporting is mostly not influenced by economic and political pressure, however reporters could face imprisonment if they refused to reveal their sources of information in cases of serious crimes. Ownership of the media is transparent and controlled by the few companies. As a response to Russian propaganda

Freedom House in its recent reports praises Estonia for judicial independence and efficiency. A number of indicators, from the sharp decrease in backlog of cases to the opinion polls among judges or broader public, prove that positive changes have occurred throughout this decade and that there is optimism regarding future. Reforms as of 2014 seem to have already produced more merit-based selection of judges and better environment for their work once in office. According to portal GAN, the risk to encounter corruption when dealing with Estonia`s judiciary is “very low”. Only one in seven citizens think there is such a risk. Some political parties` and media pressure on judiciary is still felt, but it has increasingly been futile. There is a space for improvement in settling disputes

Estonia is the least corrupted of all ex-communist countries in Europe, taking the astounding 21st place among 180 countries ranked by the Transparency International`s Corruption Perception Index 2017 (after being 22/176 in 2016). TI attributes the success to [bold] political leadership in post-Soviet era, radical reforms of the judiciary and public administration, relatively clean and rapid privatization process and introduction of e-government with adjacent rights of citizens to access information of public interest. Earlier FNF research also showed that bold and smart deregulation of economic life, as well as strong civil society, have largely contributed. A landmark case against the former Mayor of the capital Tallinn Edgar Savisaar, accused of serial bribery, saw ups and downs in

Human rights are further on highly respected in Estonia, while the positive trends have occurred throughout entire 2010s. Various personal freedoms, as well as civil liberties and autonomy of a citizen vis-a-vis the government could comfortably be compared with other EU, rather than with other post-Soviet countries. As a manifestation of those, and in support of it, civil society organizations are numerous and active in many fields, from community building, culture and education to social care and citizens` watch. Estonia accepted EU quotas for refugees. Acceptance has been slow yet highly caring. LGBTs face better climate than elsewhere in Baltic countries. Same-sex civil unions were legalized in 2014 (effective since 2016), while same-sex marriages concluded abroad are

Property rights are in Estonia well respected. Although the government has the right of expropriation in certain cases, in public interest (mostly for building public infrastructure), expropriation cases are very rare and they entail market-price compensation. Foreign ownership and investments, which also includes ownership over land, face no limitations nor investment screening, but conducting business in some industries, such as banking, transportation, mining, etc., is preconditioned by obtaining a license. The restitution of the nationalized property is almost complete, apart from some complicated cases. The judiciary is independent from the government influence and is considered to maintain a high level of integrity. However, courts are often overburdened, leading to prolonged

General government expenditures in Estonia stood at 40% of GDP in 2017 - lower than in most European welfare states. After the recession in 2009, Estonia has introduced a strong fiscal stabilization program and since then has experienced a balanced budget. Public debt is therefore low, among the lowest in the world - below 9% of GDP in 2017. Economic growth has significantly picked up from its previous low rates, reaching 4.8% in 2017, based on rising exports and domestic demand. Unemployment is falling, standing near 6%, much lower than the Euro-zone average. Future demographic changes and high emigration rate could pose constraints on future growth. Estonian privatization program might be considered as completed, since there are only 31 companies left in predominant or sole state

High level of economic freedom in Estonia has translated into an overall business-friendly environment. Regulations and restrictions on businesses are not burdensome. They are evenly applied to all business entities. Widespread use of electronic procedures has significantly cut the amount of red tape. Since late 2014 electronic residency has been the way of exporting Estonian business-friendly environment abroad: entrepreneurs that are foreign nationals residing abroad can easily register and run a company under Estonian laws. Estonia has one of the highest numbers of entrepreneurs per capita. Starting a new business is easy and cheap, lasting only a couple of days, but it still involves a relatively high paid-in minimum capital of 2500 euro. Obtaining construction permits is a short

Since its independence, Estonia has been open to foreign trade. Estonia was the only country that had to increase (and not decrease) its import tariffs upon its EU accession. Efficient border administration allows goods to be imported or exported timely and cheaply, due to the minimum paperwork and costs. This is further supported by high quality transport infrastructure, which decreases freight costs. Estonia`s main trade partners are its Nordic and Baltic neighbors, as well as Germany and the Russian Federation. Export oriented industries are an important part of the Estonian economy, which has been experiencing a small trade surplus in the recent years. Mostly owing to demographic developments and net emigration to other EU countries, Estonia has experienced shortages of labour. In