Estonia’s daily newspapers, Eesti Päevaleht and Postimees, strongly criticised in their editorials on 5 July 2023 the Consumer Protection and Technical Regulatory Authority’s (TTJA) proposed legislation to monitor the truthfulness, impartiality, and balance of news programmes, ERR reports. Both editorials strongly rejected the notion of state intervention in media, emphasising the importance of media freedom…
Latvia’s Riga City Council will hold an extraordinary meeting on 5 July 2023, following the resignation of mayor Martins Stakis, LETA reports. The meeting plans to appoint deputy mayor Vilnis Kirsis (New Unity) as the acting mayor of Riga. Deputy mayor Linda Ozola (Code for Riga) supported the appointment of Kirsis as acting mayor until…
Latvia’s Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins, leader of the New Unity party, urged his coalition partners to prioritise the national interest and set aside personal ambitions and concerns about their posts, LETA reports. Karins expressed his disappointment that only opposition parties, namely the Union of Greens and Farmers (ZZS) and the Progressives, have attended talks initiated…
Latvia’s Minister of Agriculture, Didzis Šmits, has finally been given access to official secrets, the Agriculture Ministry announced, LETA reports. The Constitution Protection Bureau (SAB) confirmed that the minister has received a permit to access official secrets. Security agencies took six months to review his application. Šmits was the last minister without access to official…
The European Commission has approved a financing package of EUR 305mn from the Connecting Europe Facility for transport infrastructure projects in Latvia during the 2021-2027 financial period, the Ministry of Transport announced, Baltic News Network reports. The ministry will allocate the funds to several key initiatives, including EUR 298mn for the Rail Baltica railway project,…
Europe said that the Baltic States were right about Russia, but is ignoring us again, Lithuania’s former president, Dalia Grybauskaite, said, LRT reports. Speaking at a conference on the war in Ukraine at Vilnius University, Grybauskaite noted that when Baltic politicians warned Western leaders after Russia annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014, they were ignored,…
NATO has sent more warships to the Baltic Sea ahead of the defence alliance’s Vilnius summit, Giedrius Premeneckas, commander of the Lithuanian Navy, announced, BNS reports. Premeneckas said that allied ships ensured air surveillance, maritime situation surveillance, and interoperability. The allied naval force includes German, Italian, Polish, and US ships. The NATO summit will take…
The Estonian property developer, Estera Saue, plans to build a new residential area in Saue municipality, on the outskirts of Tallinn, ERR reports. The housing project will consist of over 1,000 apartments primarily targeted at young families. The project will include a mix of apartment buildings, terraced houses, private houses, and commercial premises. Amenities such…
The 13th Youth Song and Dance Festival (Laulupidu) in Estonia’s capital, Tallinn, attracted around 90,000 spectators who watched performances by 31,415 singers, dancers, and musicians, ERR reports. Around 120,000 reusable bowls and spoons were handed out to participants during the festival weekend, while 134,000 dishes and 44,000 utensils were issued to spectators. Around 350 police…