ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES ISSN 2345-0282 (online) http://jssidoi.org/jesi/ 2019 Volume 6 Number 3 (March) http://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2019.6.3(13) Publisher http://jssidoi.org/esc/home BETWEEN SUSTAINABILITY, SOCIAL COHESION AND SECURITY REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHEASTERN ESTONIA* Gunnar Prause¹, Tarmo Tuisk², Eunice O. Olaniyi3 1, 2,3Tallinn School of Business and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehitajate tee 5, Tallinn 19086, Estonia 1Wismar Business School, Wismar University, Philipp-Müller Str. 14, Wismar D-23966, Germany E-mails:
[email protected] [email protected] ;
[email protected] Received 15 October 2018; accepted 20 January 2019; published 30 March 2019 Abstract. In 2012, the European Parliament (EP) established Sulphur Emission Control Areas (SECA) in Northern Europe comprising the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and the English Channel where from 2015 ships are obliged to use bunker fuel with a sulphur content not exceeding 0.1%. Estonia is a maritime fuel producer due to its oil shale reserves in the North-Eastern parts of the country (Ida-Virumaa County). A large part of oil shale is used for the production of maritime bunker oil. Unfortunately, the sulphur content of oil shale is higher than it is allowed by the SECA regulations. The Estonian oil shale industry represents up to 5% of the national economy and plays an important role in a weakly developed Ida-Virumaa County, which shares a common border with Russia and hosts the majority of Russian- speaking Estonians. Approximately half of this regional workforce is employed directly or indirectly in this industry giving the oil shale industry an important role in the county's economic well-being.