Politicians debate at sTARTUp Day: "As a small country we have nothing but our reputation to shake the table"
Andrei Korobeinik (Estonian Centre Party)
The debate featured topics like climate
neutrality, budgets, scientific development, innovation and immigration. The
debate was fueled by various opinions that where the government should put $
600 million if the oil shale power production should be ended. Kaja Kallas
believes that oil shale energy will be too expensive in the future and Estonia
should not invest in an oil shale refinery. Kristina Kallas pointed out that
the public sector is not investing enough in the development of science, and
since the salary of researchers has remained at the same level for 7 years,
this is certainly something that should be prioritized more.
The controversy was caused by Estonia's decreasing
openness to people without citizenship, immigrants and their quotas. Kaja
Kallas pointed out that even foreign investors feel that they are no longer
welcomed and therefore it cannot be expected of immigrants. Kristina: "As
a small country, we have nothing to put on the table, either during the
negotiations or on the international arena, other than our reputation."
The belief that Estonia's situation has improved over the last 20 years is
divided into two.
One of the major problems is the lack of Estonian
language courses, which limits the acquisition of Estonian citizenship.
According to the panel, the government is investing in the development of
Estonian-language applications to encourage independent learning. Politicians
also promised to be exemplary in their openness and receptivity to immigrants
and foreigners.
The topic of building the Tartu-Tallinn road into
four-lanes road was a source of indignation, believing that car traffic should
not be encouraged, and that 10 to 20 years self-driving cars should already be on
Estonian roads. Instead, the debators offered train travel instead of cars.
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Commenting on sTARTUp Day, politicians agreed that the world of Estonian startups is on the rise and that being an Estonian has also earned a very good reputation in Silicon Valley compared to the beginning of the century, when it did not meet any compatriots there. Andrei Korobeinik invites everyone to come up with new ideas and suggestions: "Let's do it!"