June 25, 2004

Russian Degrees Lose Recognition in Estonia

By BRYON MacWILLIAMS

Estonia has unilaterally withdrawn from an agreement with Russia that provides for the mutual recognition of university degrees.

The Estonian government said the agreement between the former Soviet republics, which had been in effect since 1998, effectively became moot after the small Baltic country became bound to the standards of the European Union, which it joined last month.

But government officials, quoted anonymously by the local news media, have said they also felt that