Estonia and Italy

11.12.2009

Italy recognised the Republic of Estonia on 26 January 1921. The first Italian Ambassador to Estonia was Agostino Deprestis, who presented his credentials in February 1921. Before World War II, Italy's Culture Institute was active in Estonia. Historian Indro Montanelli, a grand figure in the Italian press, headed it.

In June 1921, Estonia's first diplomatic representative in Italy Karl Robert Pusta, residing in Paris, presented his credentials. The first Estonian Ambassador to reside in Rome was Karl Tofer (1927-1931). In addition to the legation in Rome, Estonia had Honorary Consulates in Genoa, Milan, Naples, Palermo and Trieste.

Italy re-recognised Estonia on 27 August 1991. Diplomatic relations between Estonia and Italy were restored on 31 August 1991. Italy's first Ambassador to the restored Republic of Estonia was Carlo Siano, who presented his credentials in October 1991. The representatives of Italy in Estonia have also been Ambassadors Roberto Martini (1996-1999), Luchino Cortese (1999-2002), Ruggero Vozzi (2002-2005) and Fabrizio Piaggesi (2005-2009). The incumbent Italian Ambassador Rosa Maria Chicco Ferraro presented her credentials to President Toomas Hendrik Ilves in October 2009.

Estonia's Embassy in Rome resumed work in September 1996, led by Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Ruth Lausma and was headed from January to September of 1998 by Chargé d'Affaires a.i. Ivar Raig. In September 1998, Estonia's first Ambassador since the restoration of the Republic Jaak Jõerüüt presented his credentials. Thereafter, Estonia was represented by Ambassador Jüri Seilenthal (2002-2006). As of September 2006, Andres Tomasberg is the Estonian Ambassador to Italy.

Estonia is represented in Italy also by six Honorary Consuls: Mario Boidi in Turin, Luigi Cecchini in Florence, Eugenio Kielland in Genoa, Mario Forte in Naples, Giuseppe Barranco di Valdivieso in Milan, Marcello Floris in Cagliari and Giuseppe Iazeolla in Bari.

In 1993, the first Italian-Estonian parliamentary group was established in the Riigikogu. The current Italian-Estonian parliamentary group was created in April 2007, chaired by Mai Treial.

Visits

In connection with Italy’s EU Presidency, almost all Estonian Ministers participated in meetings in Italy in the second half of 2003. The most important meetings were the intergovernmental conference, which was attended by the Estonian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, and Prime Minister Juhan Parts’ EU themed bilateral meeting with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in November 2003 in Rome. Within the framework of other events visits to Italy have been made by Riigikogu speakers Toomas Varek and Ene Ergma, European Affairs Committee chairman Kristiina Ojuland, Chancellor of Justice Allar Jõks, Minister of Culture Laine Jänes, and Social Minister Maret Maripuu.

The spring of 2004 the state visit of the Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi to Estonia tooka place, which was preceded by an equally important visit by Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini.

On 14 and 15 September 2005, Italian Deputy Trade Minister Adolfo Urso made a visit to Estonia. In the framework of the visit a great business seminar was also conducted, in which nearly 70 Italian entrepreneurs participated.

From 14 to 16 November 2005, Foreign Minister Urmas Paet’s working visit to Rome took place. Meetings were held with Foreign Minister Gianfranco Fini, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee Gustavo Selva and a representative of the opposition, Luciano Vecchi.

In January of 2009, Italian Deputy Secretary of State Senator Alfredo Mantica made an official visit to Estonia. Senator Mantica also visited Estonia in March of 2009 when the joint declaration for reinforced co-operation between the foreign ministries of Estonia and Italy was signed.

During his working visit from 13-15 July 2009, President of the Republic Toomas Hendrik Ilves met with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Italian Parliament Gianfranco Fini, and Foreign Minister Franco Frattini.

Agreements

The contractual basis of relations between Estonia and Italy has in recent years significantly increased. All basic agreements have been endorsed. Before World War II, two agreements had been agreed to: provisional trade agreement (came into force 27 Feb 1929), and the agreement on the extradition of persons and court assistance in criminal cases (came into force 1 Mar 1938).

Since the restoration of independence the two countries have signed the following agreements:

• Agreement on Co-operation in the Field of Tourism (came into force 7 Oct 1998);
• Agreement on the Abolition of Visa Requirements (came into force 8 Feb 1999);
• Agreement on Readmission of Persons (came into force 3 Mar 1999);
• Agreement on Mutual Regulation of International Road Transport of Passengers and Freight (came into force 26 Jan 2000);
• Agreement on Cultural, Educational, Scientific and Technological Co-operation (came into force 30 Jan 2000);
• Agreement on Economic, Industrial and Technical Co-operation (came into force 1 Feb 2000);
• Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (came into force 22 Feb 2000);
• Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments (came into force 9 May 2000);
• Agreement Concerning Co-operation in the Field of Defence (came into force 9 Feb 2001);
• Agreement on Mutual Protection of Classified Information (came into force 8 Mar 2001).
• Co-operation agreement against organised crime, terrorism and the illegal drug trade (signed 08.09.2009)

On 18 March 2009, a joint declaration for reinforced co-operation between the foreign ministries of Estonia and Italy was signed.

Defence Co-operation

Contacts with Italy’s defence structures began in 1995, when a delegation of the Italian Defence Research Centre visited Estonia. Upon the signing of the co-operation agreement in 1998, defence related co-operation became more active. As of 1999, the co-operation planning has been brought to a regular level – every year an annual co-operation plan is compiled and signed. The peacekeeping related co-operation has been very good.

Estonia and Italy have successfully co-operated in a multi-national commando unit in Kosovo, where Estonian peacekeepers served under Italian carabinieri within the Kosovo Force of the NATO armed forces (KFOR staff). The military police group ESTPATROL consisting of Estonians kept daily watch over the camp and patrolled in the field of responsibility of the Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU).

Economic Relations

In September 2005 in connection with a visit by Italian Deputy Trade Minister Adolfo Urso, a successful business seminar in Estonia was conducted with the participation of nearly 80 Italian businessmen. The main organizer of the seminar was the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade (ICE).

A seminar introducing business and investment opportunities in Estonia was held in Milan on 1 March 2007. The event was initiated by our honorary consul in Milan, G. Barranco di Valdivieso. The seminar, entitled “Estonia business focus: opportunitá per le imprese italiane”, took place thanks to the close co-operation of the Embassy of Estonia in Rome, Milan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PROMOS Agency), and the Estonian Honorary Consul in Piedmont Prof. Mario Boidi. The seminar included presentations about the perspective of Estonia’s economic development, taxes and the tax structure, and opportunities in investing and tourism, presented by Director General of the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Siim Raie, director of the tax policy department of the Ministry of Finance Lemmi Oro, and Enterprise Estonia representative Reet Truuts.

At the beginning of 2008, many events took place within the framework of the celebration of the Republic of Estonia’s 90th anniversary.
From 21-24 February, a delegation of Estonian tourism agencies led by Enterprise Estonia attended BIT 2008 in Milan, one of the biggest tourism expositions in all of Europe.
On 25 February, a seminar dedicated to business opportunities in Estonia took place in Milan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
On 28 February, an Estonian Air presentation was done in Rome in conjunction with the opening of a new Tallinn-Rome-Tallinn direct flight.

From 4-10 November 2008, Estonia was for the first time represented with a stand at the International Biennal of the Sea in Napoli.

On 18 June 2009 a business seminar dedicated to Estonia took place in Erba (in the region of Lombardy) thanks to the co-operation of the Estonian Embassy in Rome, the Estonian honorary consul in Milan and the advertising agency adsGlen. This was a large-scale event that included participation by 10 Estonian businesses and a representative of Enterprise Estonia as the main speaker.

TRADE

Over the years Italy has belong to Estnia's top 10-12 trading partners. In 2008 exports to Italy amounted to 105.3 million EUR and imports from Italy amounted to 280.3 million. Although exports increased 24% and imports diminished 11%, the trade balance is still negative. Trade with Italy amounted to 2%of Estonia's total trade. During the first half of 2009, exports totalling 632.8 million kroons in value were sent from Estonia to Italy and goods totalling 1156 million kroons in value were imported from Italy.

Main export articles in 2008:

• Machinery and equipment - 35.5%
• Paperpulp and paper products - 11.2%
• Means of transport - 10.9%

Main import articles in 2008:

• Machinery and equipment - 28.9%
• Means of transport - 13.7%
• Textiles and textile products - 11.7%

INVESTMENTS

According to the Bank of Estonia, as of 30 December 2008 the total volume of direct investments made by Italian enterprises amounted to 38.4 thousand EUR, representing 0.4% of all direct investments made in Estonia. Most of the investments were made in real estate, rental leasing and business services. Estonia’s direct foreign investments in Italy as of the same date amounted to 154.1 thousand EUR, which accounted for 1.1% of total foreign investments made by Estonia. No data on Estonia’s investments by specific fields has been published.

Culture and Education

In May 1997, Estonia and Italy signed a culture, education, science and technology related agreement that came into force in January 2000. This is a general framework agreement meant to develop and put into practice activities that will help to improve mutually understanding of each other’s cultural heritage while fostering cultural, education, science and technology related co-operation between the two countries.

Within the framework of the same agreement, Estonian and Italian representatives signed a four-year co-operation programme in January 2005 to bring Italian scholars, students and cultural figures to Estonia and to facilitate the culture, education, science and technology related co-operation. This programme supports the translation of literature, co-operation between library, archive and heritage conservation workers, helping them to participate more actively in cultural events. Both countries support the co-operation of culture and art institutions by offering research scholarships for research, language and literature studies and cultural research.

In March 2000, a group of Italians established the Italian-Estonian Friendship Society (Centro d'Amicizia Italia-Estonia). The president of the Society is former ambassador to Estonia Luchino Cortese and the Secretary General is Constantino Moretti. In October 2000, the society arranged the conference "Baroque in Estonia: Niccolò Michetti and the Kadriorg castle" in Tallinn. In November 2001, a one-day event dedicated to a famous Italian press figure connected with Estonia, Indro Montanelli, took place in Tallinn in co-operation with the friendship society, the Italian Embassy and Estonian universities.

In 1998, the Dante Alighieri Society in Estonia was re-established, open to those interested in the Italian language and culture. The membership includes academics, artists, businessmen and politicians. The society deals with the arranging of language courses and has also organised concerts, meetings and conferences.

In Estonia, one can study Italian at the Estonian Institute of Humanities, as an additional language at the University of Tartu or at various language schools. Federica Botti works as an official lecturer of the Italian language and culture appointed by the Italian Foreign Ministry at the University of Tartu.

Thanks to the scholarships of the Italian Foreign Ministry and activities of the Italian Embassy in Tallinn, a great number of Estonian students and graduate students have been able to study in Italy.

CULTURAL EVENTS 2006

Music

• The St. Michael’s Boys’ Choir participated in the international Pueri Cantores festival in Rome from 28 December- 3 January.
• An evening dedicated to the works of Arvo Pärt took place in Torino’s cathedral on 15 February.
• Estonia was represented in the cultural programme tied to the Torino XX Winter Olympic Games by the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Estonian Filharmonic Chamber Choir, directed by Olar Elts.
• Paavo Järvi directed the Deutsche Kammerphilarmonie at the Stresa Festival on 19 August.
• The ETV Girls’ Choir, directed by Aarne Saluveer, gave two concerts within the framework of the La Fabbrica del Canto choir festival on 13-14 June.
• In April, the Tartu University Teachers’ Seminary Women’s Choir, directed by Ülle Sakarias, won second place and a gold medal in the women’s choirs A-category at the renowned international choir competition in Riva del Garda, Italy. The choir from Tartu also won a special prize out of all the choirs present for best performance of a required piece.

Visual art

The National Library of Estonia opened an exhibition on 25 April entitled „New patrons: Art books of Italian banks.” The Italian Embassy helped to organize the exhibit. The exhibit displays a selection of art books published by banks, which can be read as works of art in their own right, and which clearly reflect the creative cooperation among the authors, the distributors and the banks.

• In September, representatives from Estonia participated in the 10th Venice Architectural Biennial with the exhibition “Joint Space.” The display, which was shown in Venice’s Spiazzi Gallery, was prepared by architectural firm Urban Mark, Tartu University’s Institute of Geography, and development enterprise Positium in co-operation. The creators were Ülar Mark, Indrek Tiigi, Kaja Pae, Yoko Alender, Raul Kalvo, Rein Ahas, Anto Aasa, Siiri Silm, Margus Tiru and Erki Saluveer.
• From 21 June-21 July, Jaan Toomik showed his film “Father and son” (“Isa ja poeg”) as part of the exhibition entitled “Human Game. Winners and Losers.” The curators of the exhibition were Francesco Bonami, Maria Luisa Frisa and Stefano Tonchi.

Film

On 7 May, Liivo Niglase’s 2004 documentary film “Ordinary Adventure” (“Tavaline seiklus”) won the Andrea Morelli special award at the international Trento Film Festival in Italy. The true-life film tells the story of five friends on a bicycle journey from Mongolia to Nepal. The film was produced on the basis of the ETV series “Ehh, uhhuduur.” The award is decided by a jury of mountaineers and journalists and given to the best film about travelling by bicycle or sailboat or on foot. The Trento Film Festival focuses on mountaineering and adventure films, and was held for the 54th time this year.

CULTURAL EVENTS 2007

From 21-24 February 2007, the third Trans Europa Express cultural event, which involves European Union member states, took place in Rome. The theme of the event was “The City and Europe”, and Estonia was represented by writer and journalist Karl Martin Sinijärv.

On 25 March 2007, Italian President G. Napolitano opened an exhibit dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome. Estonia was represented in the exhibit by Erik Haamer’s painting “A Family in Water”.

On 22 November 2007 a seminar about the Italian architect who designed Kadriorg Palace, Niccolo Michetti, was held at the San Luca Academy in Rome through co-operation by the Academy, the Estonian Embassy, and the Estonia-Italy Friendship Society. The Estonian presenters were Tartu University professor Juhan Maiste and the director of the Kadriorg Art Museum Kadi Polli.

Music

• Within the framework of the musical event Musica Coelestis, organist Marju Riisikamp gave concerts in two churches in the region of Emilia-Romagna on 5 and 6 June 2007.
• On 10 June and 25 June, concerts by the choirs Laeti Cantores and Santa Cecilia took place in 2 churches in Rome, during which songs by Urmas Sisask were performed in Estonian.

Film

• On 9 May 2007, the film event “EURO Cine Cite 27” took place in Fiumicino near Rome. Estonia was represented by Jüri Sillart’s film “Golden Beach” (“Kuldrannake”).
• The international Venice Film Festival took place from 28 August to 8 September 2007. Veiko Õunapuu’s film “Autumn Ball” (“Sügisball”) won the Orizzonti Prize.
• Ilmar Raag’s film “Class” (“Klass”) was screened at the second Rome International Film Festival on 20 October 2007. The film was followed by a meeting with the director.

Graphic art

• The 52nd annual Venice Biennial took place from 10 June to 21 November 2007. Estonia was represented by Marko Mäetamm, and the Estonian exhibit was opened on 9 June 2007.

CULTURAL EVENTS 2008

Film

• At the seventh Rome Independent Film Festival, which took place from 18-24 April, Ilmar Raag’s “Class” (“Klass”) won first place in the full-length film category.
• An international animated film festival took place in the town of Luca in Tuscany from 22-26 April. Within the framework of the special programme, 41 Estonian puppet and animated films were shown to the expert audience.

Music

• The Estonian string quartet “The Noble Four” (“Noobel nelik”) presented a programme of Estonian music in the Tempio Civico di San Sebastiano church in Milan on 21 February.
• Professor of the Estonian Academy of Music Andres Uibo gave a solo concert in the Basilica of Saint Mary in Milan on 12 October.

Graphic art

• The opening of artist Mall Nukke’s exhibit of paintings took place in Milan’s Ambrosianeum Cultural Foundation on 26 February. On display were 19 of the artist’s works done in an iconographic style.
• An exhibition of Estonian textiles was on display in the headquarters of the Food and Agricultural Organisation in Rome from 1-12 September.

CULTURAL EVENTS 2009

In this year’s Venice Art Biennale, Estonia will be represented from 7 June to 22 November by Kristina Norman’s project “After War”.