Welcome to Estonia!

Estonia is located in Northern Europe on the Baltic Sea and is the most northern country of the three Baltic States. Its territory is approx. 45.000 km2 or about 1,5 x Belgium. The country has a population of only 1,4 million people which makes it a paradise for tourists looking for a quiet and relaxing holiday. With a coastline of 3500 km, 1500 islands and 1000 lakes one can call Estonia a maritime nation. The capital Tallinn at the Gulf of Finland is only at a distance of 80 km from the Finnish capital Helsinki. There are daily ferry services with Finland and Sweden and of course the International Airport is well connected with all major destinations in the world. In summer time it is a much appreciated cruise destination for well over 200 cruise vessels marking the sky line in the port.

Just like Belgium, the country – throughout its history – has been the battle field of several powerful neighbours. ?Danes, Swedes, Prussians, Germans and Russians came and went. This created a highly developed national consciousness. Estonian culture is best expressed in music and dance. Every five years a grand music and folkloristic dance spectacle is organised in the summer to which Estonians from all over the world participate. Estonian emigrants from all continents and even the children from the second and third generation return to their roots to participate. Everybody knows of course Arvo P?rt and Neeme J?rvi as composers with a worldwide reputation, but the list of contemporary musicians or conductors is much longer. In Flanders, the Estonian Kristiina Poska is since 2019 the chief conductor of the ‘Symphonieorkest Vlaanderen’.

The Estonian Declaration of Independence from 1918 is the founding act of the Republic of Estonia and is celebrated on the 24th February, the Estonian National Day. Belgium recognised the Independence of Estonia in 1920. Estonia immediately took up its role in the international?community. In 1920 Estonia participated in the Olympic Games held in Antwerp and even gained a bronze medal. In 1921 the country became member of the ‘League of Nations’.?

In 1939 Estonia declared ‘neutrality’ but this proved to be futile. On 23th august 1939 Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed the so called ‘Von Ribbentrop-Molotov pact’ dividing North and Central Europe in spheres of influence. Estonia became part of the Soviet influence sphere. The Second World War and the subsequent Cold War were disastrous for Estonia. First the country was annexed by the Soviet Union, then occupied by Germany and from 1944 again occupied by the Soviet Union. The cold war was a very dark period for Estonia with deportations. Thousands of Estonians fled their country and found a new home in Europe, the US, Canada or Australia. The Soviet Union started a period of ‘russification’ with hundreds of thousands of Soviet people forced to settle down in occupied Estonia.

50 years after the Von Ribbentrop-Molotov pact’ in 1989, 2 million people formed a human chain in the Baltic countries from Tallinn to Vilnius as a protest against the illegal Soviet occupation. Finally in 1991 after the implosion of the Soviet system, Estonia restored its independence. This peaceful revolution avoiding a bloodshed was called the ‘singing revolution’ completely in the tradition of the Estonian people. Estonians started rebuilding the country, switching to a difficult market reform and democratic institutions. In 1994 the last Russian troops left the country. In 1999 Estonia became member of the WTO, in 2004 member of the EU and NATO and in 2011 Estonia joined the Eurozone and adopted the Euro currency. Estonia was elected as member of the UN security council from 2020-2021.

In 2007 tensions with the Russian Federation increased after removing a Soviet war monument in Tallinn. Estonia was hit by the first large scale cyber-attack against a NATO country. Every challenge creates however new opportunities. This event led to the establishment of the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence in Tallinn in 2008. Today Estonia is within NATO one of the leading countries to set up cyber-counter attack systems. Many Estonian companies focus either directly or partially on cyber security and share their knowledge with other NATO member countries.?

For years the country is on the cutting edge of digital technology used in industrial processes, distribution, administration, public government, mobility and telecommunication. Well-known applications such as ‘skype’ have their cradle in Estonia.

On digital public services, Estonia is well-known for being a top performer in the digitalisation of its administration. It has well-developed e-government systems, with all central government functions and municipalities providing services online. Estonia continues to invest significantly in its e-government services to ensure the latest technologies to its citizens. Estonia ranks 1st place in the EU on digital public services and continues to be a strong frontrunner in this area. The share of e-government users has increased in recent years, accounting now for 89% of total internet users in the country.?

Estonian companies continue to work on ambitious projects to further improve their leading position in R&D and in the field of artificial Intelligence (AI). There are currently more than 80 artificial intelligence solutions in use in Estonia’s public sector and 300 AI start-ups.

The solution to problems of mobility?is believed to?be found in two words:?innovation and digitalisation.?Innovative visions for intelligent mobility and transportation, should make the traffic on our roads safer and more sustainable. The EU has set ambitious goals by reducing greenhouses gases by 90 per cent and applying the “Vision Zero”, the goal to avoid traffic fatalities. Solutions are found in new technologies and digitalisation. Being a pioneer for sustainable and digital technologies, the small Baltic country has an important role to play. Estonia is a frontrunner in the development of autonomous vehicles and transport systems. Several Estonian companies invested in solutions in the field of autonomous vehicles. It is not uncommon to see a robotic courier in the streets of Tallinn delivering pizza’s ! In November 2022 the first autonomous vehicle on the Belgian roads drove 6 km from the Collect and Go distribution centre in Londerzeel to a Colruyt supermarket. This test run was made by the?Clevon 1 developed by the Estonian Company Clevon.

Finally at the diplomatic field Estonia was recognised with the International Business Diplomacy Award by the ITC (International Trade Council) at the GoGlobal Awards gala held on 21 October 2022 in Tallinn. The head of the Estonian Economic Diplomacy division said that the award is a recognition of the work of Estonian business diplomats and honorary consuls all around the world.

For more information about Estonia, you can contact colleague Tony Vuylsteke via the coordinates below:

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Mr. Antoine (Tony) Vuylsteke

Tel. 03.322.90.61

Email: [email protected]