Tallinn  - The Baltic state of Estonia may need to make deeper-than-planned cuts to its public spending if it is to qualify for euro adoption in 2011, a representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Monday.

Speaking at the conclusion of a two-week long mission to the country, the IMF's Christoph Rosenberg said the Washington-based organization's projections for the Estonian economy were "somewhat more cautious" than those of the Estonian central bank and finance ministry.

Tallinn - Estonia remains on course to replace its national currency, the kroon, with the euro in 2011 but may need to loosen its banking regulations before doing so, the Estonian central bank said Wednesday.

In an official economic policy statement covering 2009-11, Eesti Pank said, "It is possible for Estonia to meet all the Maastricht criteria and to adopt the euro in 2011."

Tallinn  - Estonia's minority coalition government agreed Thursday to endorse Siim Kallas as the small Baltic republic's representative with the European Commission in Brussels.

The two ruling parties managed to resolve earlier differences over the nomination, leaving the incumbent EU commissioner for administration, auditing and anti-fraud with a clear run to serve a second five-year term.

Kallas was appointed in 2004, but his term expires at the end of October.

Tallinn  - Consumer prices in Estonia dipped by nearly 1 per cent in August compared to the same year-ago period, with the biggest reductions in food and transport, according to data released Monday.

Statistics Estonia said the consumer price index fell by 0.9 per cent in August 2009 versus August 2010. The index was unchanged compared to July 2009.

Martin Lindpere, an economist with the Estonian central bank, said the fall had been slightly bigger than expected.

Tallinn - As Estonia's Finance Ministry released a fresh forecast Thursday predicting an economic contraction in 2009 of 14.5 per cent - much more than previously expected - the prime minister remained upbeat and underlined the importance of adopting the euro.

The Finance Ministry's summer forecast is substantially worse than the spring forecast of an 8.5-per-cent contraction for the year.

In a press statement accompanying the forecast, Finance Minister Jurgen Ligi said there was cause for optimism despite the figure.

Tallinn  - Officials at the Estonian central bank, Eesti Pank, said Wednesday that the country could meet the Maastricht criteria for euro adoption by the end of the year, but needs to work harder on reducing its budget deficit.

"When the spring forecast of Eesti Pank was being prepared, changes in the tax policy were not yet under consideration, thus we concluded the consumer basket would cheapen by 0.2 per cent as an annual average."

Tallinn - Brazilian football star Kaka may be able to deliver a perfect 30-yard pass, but his sense of direction deserted him in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, Tuesday.

The 27-year-old playmaker went for a morning stroll around the historic city on the Baltic Sea coast but soon found himself confused by the cobbled streets and winding lanes of the medieval Old Town, police said.

Tallinn - Estonians took cold comfort Wednesday from the fact that a reported 16.6-per-cent year-on-year drop in gross domestic product (GDP) means that the country's economy probably cannot contract any further.

The data, which compared economic performance in the second quarter of 2009 with the same period in 2008 comes after the country's economy registered a 15.1-per- cent contraction in the first quarter.

Tallinn  - Prices in the recession-hit Baltic state of Estonia fell for the third month in a row, according to data released by the national statistics office on Friday.

Statistics Estonia said the consumer price index (CPI) decreased 0.7 per cent in July 2009 compared to July 2008 but increased 0.9 per cent compared to June 2009.

Food products were 0.4 per cent and manufactured goods 4.5 per cent cheaper than last year as weak local demand forced retailers to cut costs.

Tallinn - The government of Estonia paid tribute Monday to one of the Baltic state's soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Master Sergeant Allain Tikko of the Estcoy-8 infantry company was reported killed in action earlier in the day in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province.

Three more soldiers were wounded in the grenade blast that killed Tikko, but none of their injuries are life-threatening.

30-year-old Tikko had previously served in both Kosovo and Iraq after joining the army in 1998.

Tallinn - Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip named new members of his cabinet Wednesday as he seeks to shore up his minority government.

Ansip appointed Jurgen Ligi from his own Reform party as the new Finance Minister, while the Interior Ministry portfolio will be taken by Marko Pomerants from coalition partners the Pro Patria/Res Publica Union.

Tallinn  - The Baltic state of Estonia was facing an uncertain political future Tuesday after talks aimed at forming a new coalition government broke down without agreement Monday night.

Prime Minister Andrus Ansip's had attempted to woo an opposition party into government but failed.

Voters frustrated with weeks of political bickering are likely to show their anger at the polls during this week's European parliamentary elections.

Tallinn- The Prime Minister of Estonia, Andrus Ansip, resisted mounting pressure for his resignation Friday, a day after his three-party coalition government collapsed.

On Thursday Ansip announced that he was ejecting three ministers from the Social Democrat party from government, effectively turning his majority coalition into a minority administration that will need to win a fresh mandate from the Estonian parliament, or Riigikogu.

Tallinnx - Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip announced Thursday that he would seek permission from President Toomas Hendrik Ilves to re-form his coalition government.

Speaking at a press conference in Tallinn, Ansip confirmed he wanted to get rid of three ministers from the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

The SDP, which is the smallest of the three ruling coalition parties, fell out with Ansip's Reform Party and the Pro Patria/Res Publica Union over the introduction of new labour laws and budget cuts.(dpa)

Tallinn - Estonia received warnings Monday about "unsustainable" spending along with a call for a more balanced budget during a visit by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to the recession-hit Baltic state.

Although Estonia has not yet borrowed any funds from the IMF to help it through its recession, IMF representatives met with government officials for an update on the country's economic situation.

Such visits are routine for IMF members states, though the depth of the country's recession has prompted speculation that it might be forced to borrow money.

Tallinn (dpa) - Estonia joined its fellow Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania Wednesday in recording a huge drop in quarterly gross domestic product (GDP) as economic recession deepens across the region.

Data released by the Estonian national statistics office showed the economy shrank by 15.6 per cent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same quarter in 2008.

"The steep decrease of ... manufacturing, construction and retail and wholesale trade influenced the decrease of GDP the most," the statistics office said.

Tallinn  - According to their Baltic neighbours in Latvia and Lithuania, Estonians are reserved, serious, and a little bit slow. Even Estonians themselves grumble about a lack of spontaneity. So it comes as a surprise that one of the most imaginative and spontaneous ways of tackling the current global gloom originates in Estonia.

On May 1, more than 100,000 of Estonia's population of just 1.3 million will take part in a unique nationwide brainstorming session called "My Estonia."

Tallinn - The European Union will soon stage a simulated cyber-attack to test its online defences, Estonian Economy Minister Juhan Parts told an EU ministerial conference in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on Tuesday. Speaking on the second day of a two-day gathering dedicated to Critical Information Infrastructure Protection
(CIIP), Parts said the meeting would mark "a beginning of much needed common action at EU level in the area of CIIP policy.

Tallinn - Estonia unveiled ambitious plans Friday to get high-speed internet access to every one of the Baltic state's 1.3 million residents by 2015.

An agreement reached by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications and an industry group - the Association of Estonian Information Technology and Telecommunications Companies - promises to turn the entire country into a super-high speed internet hotspot by means of a project called EstWin.

Tallinn - The Estonian central bank, Eesti Pank, dropped its outlook for economic growth Wednesday in the latest sign that the recession hitting the Baltic region will be worse than previously forecast.

"According to Eesti Pank's spring forecast, this year's economic downturn in Estonia will be around 12 per cent. The majority of economic experts do not expect growth in the world (and also in Estonia) to resume before 2010," said an economic policy statement released by the bank.