Protesters in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, have asked the government to protect the Kedainiai-based fertiliser producer, Lifosa, from closure, BNS reports. Around 300 protesters took part in a rally outside the government office in central Vilnius on 26 July 2023. Kristina Krupaviciene, chairwoman of the Solidarumas (Solidarity) trade union, said that the goal of the rally…
An investigation of the wreck of the MS Estonia passenger ferry has found no evidence that would contradict the official report on the accident, ERR reports. Märt Ots, director of the Estonian Safety Investigation Bureau (OJK), said that the international investigation team would build a digital model of the vessel in 2024. The final report…
The number of schools in Latvia’s capital city of Riga will be the same in the school year 2023/2024 as in the previous year, LSM reports. Riga will have altogether 101 schools. However, 7 schools will no longer have grades 10 to 12, and they will gradually become primary and secondary schools. The number of…
Seven municipalities in Latvia will participate in the Save Our Sea (SOS) campaign for a cleaner Baltic Sea, LETA reports. The municipalities of Adazi, Jurmala, Liepaja, Riga, Talsi, Valmiera, and Ventspils have applied to take part in the campaign. The SOS campaign, launched by Estonian NGO Let’s Do It World, aims to raise awareness of…
Estonia’s Ministry of Climate has proposed ending universal electricity service contracts automatically, ERR reports. Under the proposal, customers with universal service would be switched automatically to state-owned energy group Eesti Energia’s general service if the average market price of electricity remains below the universal service price for three consecutive months. Eesti Energia’s general service would…
African swine fever (ASF) was detected at Estonian pig farming company Rakvere Farmid’s farm in Põlvamaa county, ERR reports. The farm in the village of Lutsu has more than 9,000 pigs, and all of them will now be slaughtered. Quarantine restrictions are in place around the farm. Markus Kirsberg, CEO of Finnish meat processing group…
The Lithuanian government has allocated EUR 276mn from borrowed funds for military mobility and infrastructure projects in 2023, BNS reports. Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste said that the Defence Ministry would invest EUR 148mn and the Ministry of Transport and Communications another EUR 128mn in the first year of the investment programme. Total investments in military…
Canada’s new defence attaché to Lithuania, Colonel Robert Foster, was accredited at the Lithuanian Defence Ministry on 26 July 2023, BNS reported. Prior to his appointment, Foster served as Canada’s defence attaché in Ukraine for the past four years. Lithuania’s Defence Minister, Arvydas Anusauskas, expressed hope for greater military cooperation with Canada, which has deployed…
The foreign ministers of the three Baltic States have sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), expressing concern about recommendations to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris under a neutral flag, BNS reports. In their joint letter to IOC president Thomas Bach, the ministers…