Tartu, 31 October – Today, Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas attended the conference on “Unused Opportunities”, organised in Tartu for senior public service managers, and presented his vision of shared objectives for 2018. He emphasised the need for a development boost for economic growth, security, cohesion and innovation.
”2018 will be a landmark year. We will assume Presidency of the European Union, which should be the crown jewel of the celebrations, dedicated to 100 years of Estonian statehood, as well as a kind of maturity examination,” the Prime Minister said.
Speaking about economic development, the Prime Minister identified an increase in gross domestic product (GDP) by a quarter by 2018 as a target for Estonia. “To meet this target, we need to increase the employment rate, using previously untapped resources: this requires successful implementation of the work capacity reform and encouragement for young people to avoid early dropping out of education,” Rõivas explained.
He also emphasised the need to increase productivity and investment in research and development, as well as general reorientation towards resource and energy efficiency. The Prime Minister further stressed that it is important to pick up the pace with regard to large infrastructure objects: “In 2018, the construction of the Rail Baltic track and the third Estonia-Latvia electricity interconnection should be underway and the Balticconnector pipeline should be nearing completion.”
In the field of security, Estonia aims at a new level of capacity of the Defence Forces, supported by the largest armaments programme after restoration of Estonia’s independence, development of the Ämari Air Base, creation of NATO’s Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, and close cooperation and joint exercises with allies. According to the Prime Minister, the temporary border line between Estonia and Russia should be cleaned up by that time and supported by additional guarding capacity. “A rapid reaction unit will be formed in the border guard in the next year. We will also continue investments in smart solutions to help us increase our border-guarding capacity,” the Prime Minister affirmed.
“In order to increase cohesion in Estonia, it is important to set the target of reducing poverty, especially among children for whom poverty would mean many missed opportunities for full participation in society,” Rõivas said. “The main target in healthcare for 2018 is to increase the mean number of healthy life years by six.”
Rõivas also believes in setting ambitious targets in the field of innovation – we need another step forward in the quality of services and e-services. “In 2018, all popular services should be easy to use, efficiently provided and readily available everywhere and to everyone, with some of the most frequently used services fully transferred to online platforms,” presented Rõivas his vision. “In Estonian economy, the conduct of business affairs and records management takes place in real time and is almost completely paper-free, providing another boost for increased efficiency and productivity,” he said.
Rõivas hoped that, by the 100th birthday of the Republic of Estonia, the country will have gained its first 100,000 e-residents who have registered thousands of new companies in Estonia, supporting our exports and tax base. Estonia will also have become a country where people from all over the world come to create and test novel information and communication technology solutions, he added.
The Prime Minister invited the senior managers to be ambitious and innovative leaders. “The ambition and ability of public authorities to develop and implement policies and to set priorities with limited resources are essential for us to meet the listed targets,” he stressed.
