Estonia and Switzerland

31.03.2010

Switzerland recognised the Republic of Estonia on 22 April 1922. Diplomatic relations between Estonia and Switzerland were established in 1938, when the Ambassador residing in Finland was accredited to Estonia.

Switzerland never recognised the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union and re-recognised the Republic of Estonia on 28 August 1991. Diplomatic relations were restored on 4 September 1991.

After Estonia’s re-independence, the first ambassador named to Switzerland was Toivo Tasa (1995-1999), followed by Mart Laanemäe (2000-2003) and Katrin Saarsalu-Layachi (2003-2009). Switzerland is accredited to the Estonian Embassy in Vienna. Currently the duties of consul are being fulfilled by Helena Sepandi.

Estonia has two honorary consuls in Switzerland – in Zurich and Geneva. Honorary Consul Hans Graf, who works in Stäfa near Zurich, is also the executive secretary of the Pro Baltikum association that brings together members of Switzerland’s parliament. Honorary Consul Matteo Inaudi began working in Geneva in the fall of 2009. The formal opening of the Geneva honorary consulate took place in February 2010. The Ambassadors of Switzerland in Estonia have been Sven Meili (1995-1999), Hansrudolf Hoffmann (1999-2001) and Pierre Chrzanovski (2001-2005). Since January 2006 Josef Bucher is the ambassador of Switzerland in Estonia. The ambassador resides in Helsinki. Andreas Lehmann has been the Swiss Honorary Consul General in Estonia since January 2010.

The Swiss-Baltic Chamber of Commerce is located in Tallinn and is run by Jürg Würtenberg.

In September 2005, the Estonia-Switzerland parliamentary group was formed in the Riigikogu.

Estonia and Switzerland’s positive and friendly bilateral relations are defined by regular contact. Many high-level visits have taken place.

Visits

In November 2005, Estonia hosted a visit of the Delegation of the Swiss parliamentary association Pro Balticum. The members of it met with the Economic and Financial Committee of the Riigikogu, the Estonian – Swiss parliamentary group, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee and Foreign as well as Economic Affairs Minister. The Swiss 12-member delegation was headed by Mrs Trix Heberlein, representative of the Swiss State Council (Ständerat).

Agreements

As of 1 March 1998, visa-free travel between Estonia and Switzerland is in force. As of the same date, the Agreement between Estonia and Switzerland on the Readmission of Persons Illegally Staying is in force.

In addition to the aforementioned, the following agreements between Switzerland and Estonia have been signed and are in force.

• Agreement on the Reciprocal Promotion and Protection of Investments (came into force 18.08.1993);
• Agreement on International Motor Carriage of Passengers and Goods (came into force 27.08.1997);
• Agreement on Regular Air Service (came into force 21.04.1999);
• Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital (came into force 12.07.2004).
• Framework agreement for the implementation of the Estonia-Switzerland co-operation programme for reducing economic and social inequality in the enlarged European Union (came into force 29.04.2008)

In addition, the relations between Estonia and Switzerland after Estonia's accession to the European Union on 1 May 2004 are regulated by agreements signed by the European Community and the Swiss Confederation.

Economic Relations

Economic co-operation between Estonia and Switzerland is lively. The entry into force of the agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation in July 2004 was of utmost importance for the development of economic relations between the two countries.

Between 2001 and 2004 close co-operation arose between the Estonian Trade Council and the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), which regulates Switzerland’s import activity. One goal of the project was to guide small and medium-sized businesses of transitioning nations in finding better opportunities on the Swiss market. Another goal was to help Swiss importers find new markets. Through SIPPO, export catalogues about Estonia’s print and chemical industries were distributed. Within the framework of SIPPO’s business mission “Buying Missions”, Swiss businessmen came and became acquainted with Estonia. Estonian entrepreneurs visited Switzerland within the framework of “Selling Missions”.

Business ties between the two countries have been enlivened by the Swiss-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (SBCC) located in Tallinn and the Swiss-Baltic Chamber of Commerce (HSB) located in Zürich, as well as the Swiss Export and Foreign Trade Development Centre (OSEC), with the help of whom many events introducing the Baltics have been held and entrepreneurs have been able to make reciprocal visits. Now the secretariat of the Swiss-Baltic Chamber of Commerce has merged with the Swiss-Central Europe Chamber of Commerce (SEC) and their joint branch is the Swiss-Baltic Chamber of Commerce in Tallinn. On 9 June 2009 the seminar Swiss Baltic Day, a joint effort of the SEC and OSEC, took place in Zürich. The last trip to Estonia by Swiss entrepreneurs took place from 28 September-2 October 2009.

TRADE

* Pre and Post 1 May 2004 data are incomparable. After accession to the EU, the import is calculated on the basis of the sending country, earlier this was based on the country of origin.

Estonia's trade with Switzerland has been steadily increasing during last ten years.
In 2008, Switzerland was Estonia's 25th largest trade partner in terms of total trade (0,5% of total trade). In 2008, exports decreased 24% compared to previous year and imports increased 13%.

Source:Statistical Office of Estonia

Major export articles in 2009:

• Animal products - 23.8%
• Chemical products - 19.4%
• Optical and measuring products - 15.8%
• Machinery and equipment - 11.6%

Major import articles in 2009:

• Precious metals, jeweler's products - 35.8%
• Machinery and equipment - 26.5%
• Medical and measuring equipment - 13.6%
• Metals and metal products - 4.4%

All economic figures originate from the Statistical Office

INVESTMENTS

According to the Bank of Estonia, Swiss direct investments into Estonia as of 31 December 2009 accounted for 343.8 .

According to the Estonian Enterprise Register, as of 1 January 2009, there were 97 companies operating in Estonia with Swiss ownership.
Major businesses with Swiss participation in Estonia are AS Repo Vabrikud (chipboard production), Silmet AS, Termak Real Estate OÜ, United Motors AS (wholesale and retail trade of passenger cars and minibuses) and Trüb Baltic AG.

Projects realized in Estonia with Swiss support

At the beginning of this decade, Switzerland helped Estonia primarily through bilateral projects. There were 18 different aid projects (with a total cost of 150 million kroons or 15 million Swiss francs) that were primarily geared towards developing infrastructure, and in addition to environmental protection (improving the water filtration systems of Tallinn, Tartu and Otepää, developing waste management in Võru, developing the Estonian Map Centre, restoring the organ in Tallinn’s Kaarli Church, etc.). With the framework of Prison Fellowship International, Switzerland gave extensive material aid to Estonian prisons (medicines, daily living needs, clothes).

In the second half of the decade, Switzerland supported Estonia and other newer EU member states through special programmes with the goal of reducing economic and social inequality among European Union member states. In 2004 Switzerland allocated a total sum of 1 billion Swiss francs to 10 newer EU member states. The amount of aid allocated to Estonia was close to 40 million francs (about 390 million kroons). The grounds for the division of the money and the sectors in which it was to be used were concretely stated in the framework agreement of the co-operation programme, which was signed on behalf of Estonia on 20 December 2007 by Minister of Finance Ivari Padar.

More information on the Estonia-Switzerland co-operation programme can be found at the address http://www.fin.ee/index.php?id=81690.

Defence Relations

Defence relations between Estonia and Switzerland are confident and tight, encompassing different forms of co-operation from material aid to training and advising. Several high-level visits have taken place. Switzerland has provided training opportunities at the distinguished Geneva Centre of Security Policy (GCSP) to many Estonian officials. Since the foundation of the Baltic Defence College, Switzerland has been one of the six major donors to the College. From 1998 to 2002, a Swiss instructor worked at the College. There have also been several Swiss guest lectors at the College. The Swiss defence attaché to Estonia is Lieutenant Colonel Christoph Müller, who resides in Stockholm. The duties of Estonian defence attaché to Switzerland are fulfilled by Lieutenant Colonel Kristjan Moora at the Estonian Embassy in Berlin.

Culture Relations

Cultural relations between Estonia and Switzerland have become multi-faceted over the years, and tighter relations have developed in the areas of music and art. From 15 November to 3 December 2006 the Estonia-themed cultural festival Culturescapes took place in Basel and cities in other regions. The Estonian patron of the event was Minister of Culture Raivo Palmaru and, for the Swiss patron, the organisers requested Swiss Foreign Minister Mrs. Calmy-Rey.

To celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia in 2008, three concerts in Switzerland in the tour by the ETV Girls’ Choir were dedicated to the event - on 22 April in the Basel Martinskirch, 23 April in Schaffhausen, and 25 April in Ascona. On 1 March 2008, Tõnis Mägi and Kärt Johanson gave a concert celebrating the Estonian Republic 90th anniversary in Winterthuris. The organiser of the event was the Swiss-Estonian Society.

In 2009, cultural exchange was mainly focused on music. In October the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra conducted by Daniel Reuss gave concerts in three different cities – Montreux, St. Gallen, and Lucerne. In August the jazz group Ajavares participated in the festival “Sonvico in Jazz”. In November the personal exhibit by Navitrolla entitled “Navitrollas Tierleben” was opened in the BaltArt Gallery in Langenthal. The patron of the exhibit is the Estonian Embassy in Vienna.

Swiss Reading Room
A Swiss Reading Room has been open in the National Library since the autumn of 2007, where it is possible to read more than 1 000 publications about politics, law, economics, culture, history, and literature. During President Leuenberger's visit in July 2001, the reading room was re-opened, now in a bigger space.

In September 2007, a Swiss reading room was opened in Tartu's German Cultural Institute, with the support of the Swiss Embassy, Pro Helvetica, and the Gerbert Rüf Fund. The reading room’s collection contains contemporary German-language Swiss literature and gives people a chance to learn about Switzerland as a tourist destination.

Co-operation in education
There is an active and successful exchange of students taking place between Estonia and Switzerland. The Swiss Embassy in Helsinki has been mediating the allocation of Swiss scholarships to Estonian students for years.

A contact centre of the Swiss Baltic Net, a Swiss-Baltic co-operation network, was opened on 1 April 2004 at the Tallinn University of Technology. The goal of the centre is to improve the co-operation of the largest universities in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania while developing academic contacts with Switzerland.
Swiss Baltic Net and the Gebert Rüf Fund also enable Estonian university students to participate in the master's programme at the Basel European Institute. In April 2005 the awards of the programme NETS Estonia, which was initiated and funded by the Gebert Rüf Fund, were given out at Tallinn University of Technology to recognise the most innovative ideas.