Roose, who took over the position last week, outlined her duties and the role to "Terevision".

Ask why, when the coalition agreement states that the city will interfere with the business environment as little as possible, the role is needed, she said this still takes a "great deal of work".

Roose explained that the city has several roles in creating an economic and entrepreneurial environment. "The first role is certainly to support entrepreneurs, to increase entrepreneurial activity in Tallinn. But the city also has a role to play in protecting the people of the city, in regulating this environment to some extent," she said.

The city is monitoring food ordering platforms so that alcoholic beverages do not fall into the hands of minors, Roose said, specifying couriers from Bolt and Wolt.

Asked if this is a matter for national regulation, not local, the deputy mayor said: "It is national to some extent, but the local authority still has to do the checks. There is cooperation with the police and Mupo [municipal police]. This cooperation with this operator, with these platforms to find a way how we can check who is ordering and what they are ordering to avoid these problems." 

Roose said there is reportedly a problem with minors ordering alcohol from couriers. "It's certainly the same problem in commerce – how to check that alcohol doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

She could not give exact details when pressed by the presenters.

"I cannot tell you the percentage today, but I know it is a problem," Roose said. "These conversations are ongoing. It is an important issue for the safety of the city and for the people, the consumers. We will certainly be looking at these numbers in more depth and also how this cooperation with businesses is. So that we don't over-regulate them, but we achieve an outcome where consumers are also protected."

Tallinn encouraging circular economy

Roose, a circular economy expert and advisor to green technology companies, said the city plans to continue developing its circular economy.

This includes encouraging procurement, such as in schools, construction, and food, so that as little waste ends up in landfills or in need of repair as possible.

"What will be done with the construction waste, how will it be recycled, how will it be planned," she said, this also includes the design process. "So that you can see what materials are going to be there – exactly where they will be, in what quantities, and what will be done with them when they reach the end of their useful life."

Asked if this will lead to more regulation, she said they will need to change.

"Rather, it is that we cannot continue with a so-called 'conventional' economy, which generates a lot of waste. We have to be able to recycle materials. It is very important here that countries and cities are actually already competing with each other for materials – raw materials.," Roose said.

She could not comment on a line in the agreement that says the city will become as accessible to small boats as possible.

Tallinn looking for ways to encourage winter tourism

The deputy mayor said the city is looking for ways to encourage tourism in the winter months.

"Tourism is very important for the city of Tallinn, its businesses and its citizens. Finding the right balance is key. There is certainly a need to encourage tourism, especially in the winter months, when our climate is not so friendly and we really need to attract people," she said.

Data analysis will be used to find new opportunities.

"I see the biggest development in this area as the need to use as much data as possible, to analyze it, to find a way to target Tallinn in a data-driven way. To see who is searching for Tallinn as a destination in search engines and proactively provide them with that information," Roose said.

Additionally, attracting conference tourism to Tallinn is a big issue. 

"Conference support is already available here, surely a seamless service can be further developed here, perhaps also cooperation between Tallinn and Helsinki," she said.

Margot Roose has worked as a middle-level manager in the U.S. educational group Laureate and as an advisor to the Dutch state's green economy cooperation in the Baltics and Finland. She is a circular economy expert and advisor to green technology companies. Roose has been a member of the board of Eesti 200 and the leader of Estonia's first CO2-neutral election campaign.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!