We interviewed the Ambassador of Embassy of Estonia in Budapest. Raul Toomas, history, language and technological innovation were the central themes of the contribution given to us by the Ambassador.
- Could you briefly summarise Estonia’s role in the region and its relationship with Hungary?
Estonia and Hungary are allies and partners in NATO and the European Union. Relations between us have throughout the times been friendly, although not always particularly close. Often mired in different historical and geopolitical constraints, but Estonia and Hungary are connected by a special thread — the thread of the Finno-Ugric language relationship. Our Finno-Ugric roots (both in language and culture) underpin mutual understanding, allowing us openly discuss what we agree or disagree about.
2. Could you elaborate on the diplomatic engagements between the two countries and the common foreign policy goals?
In 1991, when both countries were freed from the yoke of the totalitarian regime, Hungary was again among the first (more precisely, the third after Iceland and Lithuania) to recognize Estonia as an independent country again. Less than two weeks after the proclamation of the restoration of Estonian independence, the then foreign ministers, Géza Jeszenszky and Lennart Meri, signed documents for the restoration of diplomatic relations in Budapest. From then on, we will feel the support of the Hungarians and develop our multifaceted relations. Estonia and Hungary joined the European Union together in 2004. We have worked closely together in the accession processes — and now as partners — we can learn a lot from each other and our interests are the same in many areas. Estonia is very grateful to Hungary for protecting our airspace and territories as a NATO ally.
3. Talking about bilateral relations, what are the main sectors of cooperation between the two countries? What are the institutions supporting business development?
The cultural cooperation between Estonia and Hungary is based on the intergovernmental agreement, on cooperation in the fields of culture and education, signed on the 28th of April 1994, in Tallinn. The agreement is used as a basis for multi-year cooperation programmes of each of the two states, which establish the cooperation targets for the new period.
Friendships partnerships at the local (municipal) government level have existed for many years. A Partnership and Cooperation Agreement has been entered into between the following cities: Tartu and Veszprém, Pärnu and Siófok, Tallinn-Nõmme and Szombathely, Rakvere and Szolnok and Kose and Ócsa. Since 2015, Kõpu and Iszkaszentgyörgy are twin cities.
Cooperation in the field of defense is based on the defense cooperation agreement concluded in 1998. Hungary participated in NATO’s Baltic air security mission for the first time with four Gripen fighters from September to December 2015 in Šiauliai. The second rotation was from May to August 2019. The third from August to November 2022. In 2010, Hungary joined the NATO Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, contributing to the centre’s budget and sending a representative to Tallinn. Hungary has expressed its desire to strengthen cooperation with Estonia in the field of cyber defense. A total of 12 Hungarians have studied at the Baltic Defense College. One Hungarian officer participates in the Estonian NATO Force Integration Unit.
There are positive dynamics in the economic and business contacts between our countries but there is much room for improvement. There is significant potential for our bilateral relations in the area of innovation, especially in further developing digital cooperation, both in the public and private sector. Businesses have understood that digital development brings greater resource efficiency. This is why there has been strong demand for digital solutions in Hungary. Although Estonian export numbers to Hungary have been over the years growing, last year by 20%, there is still room for growth as Hungary ranks as the 37th export partner for Estonia. Trade between
Estonia and Hungary amounted to 151.3 million euros in 2022. Successfully established Estonian companies in Hungary are for example Bolt (Mobility Company, food delivery), Wise (foreign exchange financial technology company) and MarkIT (tool for IT purchasing). Bercman (smart traffic solutions) and DriveX (e-platform for insurance companies) have shown their interest in the Hungarian market.
Since 2014, Estonia has offered e-Residency, a government-issued digital identity that provides global entrepreneurs with remote access to the world’s most digital country. The digital ID can be applied for completely online and the card is handed out at Estonian embassies, including the one in Budapest. With the e-Residency card, you can start a company 100% online from anywhere. It provides the possibility to securely authenticate yourself online, sign documents, and use digital services such as banking and taxation. The e-Residency program has proven to be successful, with over 100,000 people from more than 170 countries applying for it. In Hungary, we have over 1,000 Hungarian e-residents, 1/3 of whom have started a company.
Of great support to establish contacts have been the Estonian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Enterprise Estonia, also honorary consuls and Embassies in both countries.
4. Could you elaborate on how Estonia and Hungary cooperate in the field of culture, science and education?
Cooperation in the field of culture and education has always played an important role in our relations. The cultural ties between the two countries are traditionally strong due to the shared Finno-Ugric family of Hungarian and Estonian languages, which has given ground to some mutually heightened curiosity already since the mid-19th Century. Today, cultural exchange is encouraged by the reciprocal presence of cultural representations, the Hungarian cultural institute in Tallinn and Estonian Institute in Budapest. In Hungary, a yearly festival of Estonian culture takes place each spring with concerts, literary events, film screenings, theatre performances and exhibitions in five cities. Estonian artists and performers are regular at Hungarian festivals and cultural venues all year round. The Finno-Ugrian Days, held in in Estonia, have performers of Finno-Ugric people, among them Hungarian musicians, dance troupes, as well as craftsmen. Institutes are supporting languages studies in both countries. At the moment, Estonian is taught in four Hungarian universities, and courses are available for adults at language schools, including at the institute.
5. What are the main regional cooperation programmes, in which the two countries jointly participate in?
Both Hungary and Estonia prioritise boosting the Three Seas Initiative. We consider it key to develop the strategic partnership, investment fund, smart connectivity and practical aspects of the initiative. The Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is a regional cooperation format that brings together 12 European Union member states between the Adriatic Sea, the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea: Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Croatia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The partners of the 3SI are the United States, Germany, the European Commission and Ukraine. The initiative is designed to promote cooperation in order to contribute to economic growth and energy security, as well as to boost cohesion and unity in Europe. In 2020 Estonia was the coordinator of the Three Seas Initiative and hosted the fifth Three Seas Summit on 19 October 2020, and the first Three Seas Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on 30 June 2020.
6. Plans for the future?
On political level the aim is to intensify dialogue and exchange of views on security policy related matters, especially in the context of Russian aggression against Ukraine and on cooperation in the EU, bearing in mind Hungarian rotating EU Council presidency in the second half on 2024. Regarding economic and business contacts, Estonian would like to see improvement in digital and IT sector cooperation, both in the public and private sector. Of course we are going to continue and intensify our excellent cultural contacts. Plans include cooperation between Budapest ELTE and Tallinn University, also exchange of best practices and ideas between Veszprém and Tartu cities in the framework of European Capital of Culture Network.
If you are interested in Bilateral relations, you might find interesting also the interview with HE Ambassador of Italy Manual Jacoangeli.
