Commercial banks and other credit institutions in Lithuania have paid EUR 56mn in temporary solidarity tax for the second quarter of 2023, according to the Finance Ministry’s preliminary data, BNS reports. Altogether 18 credit institutions made the first quarterly advance payment by the deadline of 31 August 2023. Swedbank paid EUR 25mn, followed by SEB…
Latvia’s total volume of passenger traffic by all modes of transport increased in the first half of 2023, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. The number of passengers carried by land transport totalled 93.1mn, which was 22.9% more than a year earlier. Regular bus traffic carried altogether 52mn passengers, which was…
The municipal government of Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, is considering introducing new time restrictions on the sale of alcoholic beverages, ERR reports. The city council will discuss possible restrictions in October 2023. In spring 2023, the municipality agreed with most nightclubs in the city to close their doors half an hour earlier in summer. However,…
The total volume of freight transported in Latvia by all means of transport decreased in the first half of 2023, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. Cargo carried by land and pipeline transport totalled 41.8mn tonnes, which was 16.5% less than a year earlier. The volume of road freight alone amounted…
Lithuania has asked NATO to increase air defences in the Baltic States, BNS reports. Lithuania’s Deputy Defence Minister, Zilvinas Tomkus, met with the commander of NATO’s Allied Air Command (AIRCOM), General James Hecker, to discuss the issue. Tomkus asked NATO to deploy more assets, including fighter jets and air defence systems, to the region. The…
Latvia’s GDP totalled EUR 19.3bn at current prices in the first half of 2023, according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. Compared to the corresponding period of 2022, the GDP rose by 0.1%. In the second quarter of 2023, the GDP totalled EUR 10.2bn at current prices. The quarterly GDP fell by…
The Lithuanian government is unlikely to propose amendments to apply the same restrictions on Belarusian citizens as on Russian citizens, Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, speaker of the Lithuanian parliament, the Seimas, announced, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting of coalition parties, Cmilyte-Nielsen, who chairs the Lithuanian Liberal Movement (LLS), reiterated her position that the restrictions on Belarusians…
The financial intelligence units (FIU) of the Baltic States have conducted a first joint study of cash flows in the region, BNS reports. The study showed that the risks and vulnerabilities related to the flow of cash have changed in the region in 2019-2022. While there is a significant flow of cash from all three…
The Estonian Reform Party does not want its leader, Kaja Kallas, to resign as prime minister, despite a scandal over the involvement of Kallas’s husband in business with Russia, ERR reports. Kallas has repeatedly insisted that she would not resign, and said that her party was not looking for a new prime minister, either. Following…