Latest news with #ECOC
Russia Today
05-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU state's president refuses to sign law banning Christian church
Estonia's president, Alar Karis, has for the second time refused to support a controversial law targeting the nation's largest Christian denomination – the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (ECOC) – which he claims violates the Baltic State's constitution. The bill that was initially passed by lawmakers back in April is aimed at barring religious organizations from having ties with foreign bodies deemed a security threat. It would prohibit local churches from having ties or economic relations with such bodies enshrined in foundational documents or charters. Legislation seeking to bar religious entities from being governed by foreign bodies or leaders deemed a threat was dropped after Karis opposed the bill in April. He maintains, however, that the changes were not sufficient enough. The bill 'disproportionally limits the freedom of congregations and religion,' Karis said on Thursday, criticizing the definition of a 'threat' in the legislation as extremely 'vague.' Tallinn has 'other effective means' to combat what he called foreign influence and such 'extensive interference' into people's religious life is not needed. Lawmakers have openly admitted that they sought to exert control 'over the church teachings and religious rituals,' he claimed. The president's decision drew criticism from Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro, who claimed the bill was aimed at protecting the country's 'security' and would not lead to 'a ban on Orthodox Christianity or any other religion.' The ECOC has repeatedly expressed its concerns over the legislation. In June, it warned that the bill interfered 'disproportionately' with the internal life of religious associations even after its initial version was amended. The church had previously been required to revise its charter and remove any mention of the Moscow Patriarchate, despite maintaining historic and canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The ROC has previously condemned the draft law as discriminatory against Estonia's 250,000 Orthodox believers, stressing that the ECOC has never engaged in politics or jeopardized public safety. Around 16% of Estonians identify as Orthodox Christians and 8% as Lutherans, according to government data.
Russia Today
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Baltic state's president rejects bill targeting country's largest Christian church
Estonia's president, Alar Karis, has for the second time refused to support a controversial law targeting the nation's largest Christian denomination – the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (ECOC) – which he claims violates the Baltic State's constitution. The bill that was initially passed by lawmakers back in April is aimed at barring religious organizations from having ties with foreign bodies deemed a security threat. It would prohibit local churches from having ties or economic relations with such bodies enshrined in foundational documents or charters. Legislation seeking to bar religious entities from being governed by foreign bodies or leaders deemed a threat was dropped after Karis opposed the bill in April. He maintains, however, that the changes were not sufficient enough. The bill 'disproportionally limits the freedom of congregations and religion,' Karis said on Thursday, criticizing the definition of a 'threat' in the legislation as extremely 'vague.' Tallinn has 'other effective means' to combat what he called foreign influence and such 'extensive interference' into people's religious life is not needed. Lawmakers have openly admitted that they sought to exert control 'over the church teachings and religious rituals,' he claimed. The president's decision drew criticism from Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro, who claimed the bill was aimed at protecting the country's 'security' and would not lead to 'a ban on Orthodox Christianity or any other religion.' The ECOC has repeatedly expressed its concerns over the legislation. In June, it warned that the bill interfered 'disproportionately' with the internal life of religious associations even after its initial version was amended. The church had previously been required to revise its charter and remove any mention of the Moscow Patriarchate, despite maintaining historic and canonical ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022. The ROC has previously condemned the draft law as discriminatory against Estonia's 250,000 Orthodox believers, stressing that the ECOC has never engaged in politics or jeopardized public safety. Around 16% of Estonians identify as Orthodox Christians and 8% as Lutherans, according to government data.
Business Wire
13-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
OIF Q2 2025 Technical and MA&E Committees Meeting Advances Critical Projects and Technical Collaboration, Highlights FlexE 3.0 and Coherent CMIS 1.4 Progress
FREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- OIF, where the optical networking industry's interoperability work gets done, held its Q2 2025 Technical and Market Awareness & Education Committees Member Meeting May 5-8, 2025 in Tallinn, Estonia. 'As network requirements evolve and grow more complex, OIF's collaborative environment is where real, measurable progress happens,' said OIF Officer and Technical Committee Vice Chair Sam Kocsis (Amphenol). The meeting advanced technical specifications and key projects essential to scaling next-generation networks, highlighted progress on related implementation agreements and featured guest speaker Tarko Tikan of Telia Estonia. It also featured a recap of OIF's interoperability demo at OFC 2025, highlights from the 448Gbps Signaling for AI Workshop, and discussion around the upcoming ECOC interoperability demo, building on the success and momentum from OFC. Key project updates include: : The latest update to the C-CMIS IA introduces expanded support for coherent interfaces, including enhanced maintenance/replacement signal control, enhanced consequent action control, payload type support, additional alarming, CD target set and a new CDB command to display Coherent Application Attributes. These updates strengthen interoperability for ZR and ZR+ modules at 400G, 800G and beyond, laying the groundwork for managing a broader class of coherent pluggable modules. FlexE 3.0 Implementation Agreement (IA): Building on previous IAs, FlexE 3.0 supports Flex Ethernet Groups composed of 800G Ethernet PHYs and introduces 100G calendar slots and payload type overhead. These features address growing demands in high-capacity transport and hyperscale environments, increasing flexibility and enabling scalable Ethernet service delivery. In addition, OIF announced that presentations from its recent 448Gbps Signaling for AI Workshop —featuring perspectives from hyperscalers, analysts and member companies driving next-gen electrical signaling—are now publicly available on its website. The workshop, held April 15–16 in Santa Clara, provided a comprehensive look at the ecosystem readiness and future direction of 448G, with robust participation and insight from across the industry, and is directly driving work within OIF moving forward. 'As network requirements evolve and grow more complex, OIF's collaborative environment is where real, measurable progress happens,' said OIF Officer and Technical Committee Vice Chair Sam Kocsis (Amphenol). 'Our member meetings are designed to accelerate technical consensus and ensure alignment across the ecosystem.' In Technical Committee updates, Jia He (Huawei) was re-elected as Chair of the Networking & Operations Working Group. The meeting also featured guest speaker Tarko Tikan of Telia Estonia, who shared insights into Telia's approach to building a resilient, autonomous and secure national network. Tikan outlined the company's transition to a fully converged IP/MPLS infrastructure, highlighted Telia's strong cybersecurity posture—including fully isolated management systems—and emphasized Estonia's ability to implement agile, standards-based network strategies tailored for national resilience. 'It was an honor to join OIF as a guest speaker and share Telia Estonia's perspective on building secure and resilient networks,' Tikan said. 'Normally, I just work with what OIF has specified—but this time, I had the chance to sit in on a Working Group meeting and see that process in action. It gave me a new level of respect for the expertise and collaboration that drive OIF's work.' About OIF OIF is where the optical networking industry's interoperability work gets done. With more than 25 years of effecting forward change in the industry, OIF represents the dynamic ecosystem of 160+ industry leading network operators, system vendors, component vendors and test equipment vendors collaborating to develop interoperable electrical, optical and control solutions that directly impact the industry's ecosystem and facilitate global connectivity in the open network world. Connect with OIF on LinkedIn, on X, on Bluesky and at
Russia Today
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
EU state's president blocks controversial law against largest Christian church
Estonian President Alar Karis has refused to sign a controversial law targeting the Estonian Christian Orthodox Church (ECOC), saying it violates the constitution. The 'Amendment to the Churches and Congregations Act,' passed by parliament earlier this month, would have barred religious organizations in the Baltic state from being governed by foreign bodies deemed a security threat. It specifically prohibited ties enshrined in foundational documents with such entities. The draft law was widely seen as aimed at forcing the ECOC to cut ties with the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC). The ECOC had previously been required to revise its charter and remove any mention of the Moscow Patriarchate. In a statement on Thursday, Karis claimed that the Moscow Patriarchate 'undermines the sovereignty and democracy of states,' but warned that the amendment in its current form contradicts the constitution by 'disproportionately restricting freedom of association and religion.' He argued that an ambiguous ban on foreign ties could trigger legal disputes and lead to similar curbs on all associations, including political parties. The ECOC thanked Karis for his 'principled stand' and expressed hope for continued dialogue with authorities, emphasizing its canonical ties are no threat to national security. 'Throughout its history in Estonia, our Church has demonstrated loyalty to the Estonian state and respect for its people, upholding democratic values – foremost among them, the freedom of religion,' it said in a statement on Thursday. The changes were introduced in response to the Moscow Patriarchate's support for Russia's military operation against the Kiev regime, local broadcaster ERR reported earlier. Estonia's former interior minister, Lauri Laanemets, who initiated the bill, had previously threatened to shut down monasteries that refuse to cut ties and even threatened to classify the ROC as a terrorist organization. In August 2024, the EOC revised its charter and removed references to the Moscow Patriarchate, but Laanemets insisted the move was insufficient. The ROC has condemned the draft law as discriminatory against the 250,000 Orthodox believers in the EU member state, stressing that the ECOC has never engaged in politics or jeopardized public safety. Moscow has described the legislation as 'unprecedented in its aggression and legal nihilism,' and urged Tallinn to end religious discrimination. Although most Estonians are not religious, around 16% identify as Orthodox Christians and 8% as Lutherans, according to government data. Estonia was part of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1991, and Russian speakers constitute about 27% of its population.
