Estonia to Attract Russians

Estonian Air to Attract Russians
Estonian Air announced two marketing campaigns to attract Russian tourists to Estonia. The first, an ad campaign targeting the more intellectual population of St. Petersburg, is organized by Enterprise Estonia and encourages Russians enjoy a "short-term occupation" of Estonia. A second campaign targeting Russia-at-large is managed by the Tallinn City Tourist Office and uses the promise "We Have Hot Running Water." Special attention in the ads is paid to Estonia's paved roads, year-round electricity, and abundant hard-currency stores.

Latvia to Sell Latvian Products
In a burst of unbridled inspiration, the City of Riga announced a new store for local products will be built at the intersection of Elizabetes-, Birznieka-Upisa-, and Satekles streets with a total project cost estimated at EUR 3.5 million. "For Latvia this store will be somewhat unique," said councilman Edgars Lazo, "in that it will sell Latvian goods." The ten-square-meter shop is slated to carry champagne, chocolate, Latvia's famous naughty knickers, and a wide selection of vodka, and Black Balzam.
The construction of the new store will start within the month. Heikki Jussjärvi, the Finnish project architect, emphasizes the importance of quality in this venture. “Latvians are patriots, and demand quality. Because the products on display will be of top quality, so must the building be. The German brick, Finnish roof, Swedish insulation, Danish lighting – are all quality. Polish bricklayers, Bulgarian hole diggers, and Czech engineers are already on site. An Estonian interior designer will recreate the Latvian country feel so beloved of Latvians. A Lithuanian company will provide the furnishings." Project financing is from Dresdner bank.

Baltic PMs to Proceed with Euro Introduction
The three prime ministers of the Baltic States agreed at a meeting in Vilnius today that the three nations should strive to achieve the introduction of the euro as soon as possible, as it would positively contribute to sustainable economic development. The leaders did not let pundits' skepticism about their ability to meet the rigorous financial criteria go unaddressed. "Should we fail to meet the Maastricht criteria," said Estonian PM Andrus Ansip, "we are prepared to fall back on the barter system."
As a show of readiness for that outcome, Lithuania's Andrius Kubilius traded a live chicken for a handful of blue beads from Latvia's Valdis Dombrovskis in front of television cameras.