(Commentary by zemeunvalsts.lv) It is expected that the upcoming elections will once again be dominated by criticism of virus management, government failures, and the performative aspects of the Green Deal. But when thinking about political actions within European structures, at least for the Baltic states, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary... it is clear that foolish decisions and a lack of understanding are not tied to any specific political system. A fool is a fool in Korea, Sierra Leone, Cuba, or Norway. At a time when we need to think seriously about the other 'green parts' of the Green Deal – electricity, heat, and the use of our own resources – the fools in Brussels and their local lackeys, ready to cater to anything, are acting in their own interests and for the 'momentary gain'. Of course, similar decisions in Latvia would also be met with 'the beating of drums and the blowing of trumpets' (quite literally!), but... You cannot hide a lack of knowledge with activism. You cannot cover up foolishness with a diploma. (...) By the way, the events of 1988-1990 were also about us being independent and no one telling us what to do. What about now?
Right now, the Estonians have ended up with 'crap' worth its weight in gold. Essentially, 42,000 ha of forest have been removed from the neighboring country's economic circulation (12,000 (!!!) ha in private forests, the rest in state forests). It should be added that in Latvia, too, ~45,000 ha of EU-priority forest habitats are in the zone of existing specially protected nature territories (ĪADT), where regeneration felling is permitted.
The official version: Brussels pointed out that in Natura2000 territories, timber harvesting could cause damage to protected habitats and birds, and therefore the Estonian Ministry of the Environment has imposed a 28-month moratorium on felling. Representatives of Estonian forest owners were simply informed of this decision, with state institutions refusing to engage in discussions. The objections from Brussels to the Estonians can be found here:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/inf_21_2743.
The version from the corridors: The Estonian Environmental Board got a new director, a former populist politician who had to leave politics due to a fraud scandal. Rumours are already circulating that inspectors have already been instructed to halt all felling operations from 15.04 to 1.07 or, preferably, 1.08.