Defence ministers of the three Baltic States signed a declaration on joint defence of their airspace on the first day of the NATO summit in Lithuania’s capital, Vilnius, on 11 July 2023, LSM reports. According to the declaration, the Baltic States plan to strengthen cooperation in air defence. Also, the three countries will ensure that…
A 100-kilogramme aerial bomb was found during excavation work at an intersection in Estonia’s second-largest city, Tartu, on 4 July 2023, BNS reports. Explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) experts were dispatched to remove the bomb in the city’s Raadi neighbourhood. The bomb will be destroyed at the training grounds of the Estonian Defence Forces in Ida-Virumaa…
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, carried a total of 1.911 million passengers in the first half of 2023, which was up 51.7% from 1.312 million in the same period of 2022, LETA reports. The number of flights performed totalled 20,290, which was up 19.9% from 16,920 a year earlier. CEO Martin Gauss attributed the increase…
The heads of parliaments of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany have signed a joint declaration, calling on the NATO summit in Vilnius to commit to Ukraine’s eventual membership of the alliance, Ukrinform reports. The parliamentary speakers called on NATO allies to work closely together to develop security commitments for Ukraine. At the same time,…
Estonia’s privately-owned energy group, Utilitas, posted sales revenue of EUR 255.9mn in 2022, which was up from EUR 159.9mn in 2021, ERR reports. Production and sale of heat and electricity accounted for 94% of total revenue. The rest came from renewable energy subsidies and other sales. Utilitas produced 2.2 TWh of heat and electricity in…
Latvia’s new president, former foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics, made his first official visit abroad to Estonia on 10 July 2023, ERR reports. He met with Estonian President Alar Karis, Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, and other officials in Tallinn. They discussed bilateral cooperation, regional cooperation projects, continued support for Ukraine, and the NATO summit in Vilnius….
The foreign ministers of the eight Nordic and Baltic countries (NB8) have signed a joint declaration in support of Ukraine’s membership of the EU and NATO, ERR reports. The ministers stated that Ukraine’s future was within the “Euro-Atlantic family.” The declaration said that it was time to use the “Baltic experience of the 1990s” in…
Real estate and rental prices in Estonia have increased the most in the entire EU since 2010, according to Eurostat data, ERR reports. Real estate prices in Estonia have tripled and rental prices have increased by 212% between 2010 and the first quarter of 2023. Average real estate prices in the EU rose by almost…
Estonia’s privately-owned gas company, Eesti Gaas (Elenger), posted revenue of over EUR 1bn in 2022, which was a triple increase from just over EUR 380mn in 2021, ERR reports. Sales of natural gas amounted to EUR 890.2mn (88% of total revenue) and of electricity to EUR 67mn (nearly 7%). Sales in Estonia accounted for 46%…