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Why sell a business for one kroon that is earning you a million kroons a year for other reason than corruption? Äripäev is asking this question after looking into the deal where two founders of Estonia’s largest real estate developer Arco Vara who...

My ladies and gentlemen. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my ideas about the current state of Estonian journalism and democracy with the leaders of media enterprises and other decision-makers. As an introduction, I want to be specific – these opinions and assessments should be construed as those expressed by a media consumer, slightly more demanding than the average individual, and not so much as those of the president or a public official. I

Political parties represented in the parliament owe advertising agencies, printing houses and media companies millions of kroons. Debts piled up mainly because of high campaign costs of Europarliament and local elections in 2009 and the fact that political donations have almost dried up. Centre Party and IRL have also outstanding loans that they need to start repaying, while preparations for next year's general elections will require additional outlays.

2010 will be the most important year since the regime change of 1989 for post-communist Central Europe and the Baltics, writes Business Week. Economic crisis and a series of elections in Easter Europe may lead to rising nationalism and test the European Union's solidarity.

Tallinn Circuit Court ruled today that ex-minister Villu Reiljan was guilty of asking a 1.5 million kroon bribe from businessman Aivo Pärn through his lawyer Tarmo Sild. According to ERR, this means that the ruling of judge Märt Toming of Harju County Court on May 19 will stay. Under the judgement, Reiljan received a conditional sentence of 2 years 3 months in prison with 3-year probation period, Sild was ordered to pay 102,870 kroons for mediating the fine and Pärn was ordered to pay 143,440 kroons for promising to pay the bribe.

Tõnis Saarts, a political scientist said that Centre Party will likely talk of government’s activities with fighting the crisis, while Reform Party and Pro Patria and Res Publica Union (IRL) will probably talk of Centre Party’s corruption scandals before local elections, ERR News reports. “Centre Party tries to focus on the economic crisis (in Tallinn). And here they have very good opportunities since governmental parties can’t show big success,” Saarts said. “Those parties, which try to ignore economic crisis completely and focus on other subjects are hardly doing well,” he said.

A survey shows that 9 pct of Estonian entrepreneurs think that cartel agreements are common in their sphere of activities, Rein Lang, the Minister of Justice said, Eesti Päevaleht writes. Today the Minister introduced the directions of Estonian criminal policy to 2010 to the Parliament. He said that last year five competition crimes were registered, which is a very small number.