With Britain missing its turn for the European Union presidency in light of Brexit, the rotating six-month duty has fallen into Estonia’s lap earlier than planned.
Until the end of the year, the northernmost Baltic country will lead the EU through a complicated period: On top of difficult divorce negotiations between Britain and the 27-nation bloc, Estonia will also oversee talks on the Russian Nordstream 2 gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea to Germany, an issue over which several diverging interests are likely to face off in Europe.
Innovations like Skype, TransferWise, Pipedrive push Baltic state’s post-Soviet success
Amid the fog of uncertainty over Brexit, a growing number of Britons are finding a route to remain in the European Union through a tiny country on the Baltic Sea.
Read more: Estonia’s e-residency offers EU bolthole to Britons facing Brexit
Estonia and Finland have established a nonprofit association titled Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS) to develop the X-Road data exchange layer in information systems, which allows databases and registers to communicate securely, reports LETA/BNS.
The institute that is aimed at making data exchanges between the two countries significantly more effective will be headquartered in Tallinn.
Read more: Estonia and Finland establish nonprofit for developing X-Road
Research by the Estonian Government and Microsoft discusses cutting-edge digital policies.
Failure is not an option for Estonia. In a country where 98% of banking transactions are done online, digital services need to be continuously available.
“Estonia must be able to continue to function as a government, and as a people, even in the direst of scenarios, including the loss of our territory,” writes Taavi Kotka, the former Government CIO.
Read more: How is Estonia building a ‘virtual data embassy’?
For the first time, the European Space Agency has used the Estonian digital signature solution to sign a memorandum – and naturally, the document was between the ESA and Estonia.
Jan Woerner, the director general of the space agency, and Urve Palo, the Estonian minister of entrepreneurship and information technology, signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Information and Communications Technology collaboration on 13 June. According to the space agency, it was the first digital signature signed at the ESA.
Read more: Estonian digital signature used to sign a memorandum with the European Space Agency