The chairman of the Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond), Jüri Ratas, announced that he would not seek reelection, ERR reports. Ratas has been chairman of the opposition party since 2016. The party’s deputy chairman, Tallinn mayor Mihhail Kõlvart, said that he was ready to run for the post of chairman. Meanwhile, several senior members of the…
Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, has taken his oath of office in the Latvian parliament, the Saeima, LSM reports. In his inaugural speech, Rinkevics pledged to work for the creation of a “modern, strong, legal, and just Latvia,” for people’s well-being, and for an inclusive and respectful society. He said that everyone “should feel that…
The presidents of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland — Egils Levits, Gitanas Nauseda, and Andrzej Duda — have sent a joint letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and leaders of NATO member states to warn them of the threats posed by the developments in Belarus, BNS reports. In the letter, the three presidents pointed out…
The death of a Lithuanian volunteer, Valerijus Polkovnikovas, in Ukraine has caused controversy as it was initially believed to be related to frontline injuries, which later turned out to be untrue, Baltic News Network reports. Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas first expressed condolences and praised the fallen fighter in a social media post but quickly deleted…
Latvia’s Prime Minister, Krisjanis Karins, will temporarily serve as acting foreign minister after current foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics is sworn in as the country’s new president, LSM reports. Karins will perform the duties of foreign minister until the parliament, the Saeima, approves the appointment of a new foreign minister. Rinkevics will be sworn in as…
Latvia’s outgoing president, Egils Levits, delivered his departure speech on 7 July 2023, LSM reports. He thanked the people of Latvia for giving him the opportunity to serve for four years as their president. Levits said that his role was to work for a Latvian Latvia without "remnants of Soviet occupation." The President said that…
The proposal of Estonia’s Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority (TTJA) to begin monitoring media bias will only apply to programmes from third countries, TTJA director general Kristi Talving announced, ERR reports. She apologised for the confusion caused by TTJA’s proposal, saying that the agency should have clarified that the new rules would only apply…
The Estonian Centre Party (Keskerakond) has a rift in its leadership, party chairman Jüri Ratas stated, BNS reports. Earlier, the party’s governing board voted to return a donation of EUR 300,000 from local businessman Parvel Pruunsild. Ratas had insisted that the donation would have helped the party finance its operations. However, the party’s deputy chairman,…
Estonia’s biggest beer producer, Saku Õlletehas (Saku Brewery), reported sales of EUR 72.3mn in 2022, which was down 11% from 2021, ERR reports. The company’s annual net profit amounted to EUR 6.6mn, which was down 18.5% from a year earlier. The company attributed the worse results to the cessation of exports to Russia and Belarus,…