Via Baltica

Latvia: Pres. Rinkevics appoints chief policy advisers, aides

Latvia’s new president, Edgars Rinkevics, has appointed his chief policy advisers and aides, LSM reports. Gunda Reire, parliamentary secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, will become head of the presidential chancellery. The president’s chief legal adviser is Kristine Licis, who has served as Latvia’s representative in international institutions. Edvins Severs will continue as the…

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Latvia: Foreign trade down 4% on year in M5/2023: statistics

Latvia’s foreign trade turnover totalled EUR 17.93bn in the first five months of 2023, which was down EUR 718.4mn (3.9%) from the same period of 2022, according to provisional data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. Exports totalled EUR 8.12bn, which was down EUR 281.2mn (3.3%) over a year. Imports totalled EUR 9.81bn, which…

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Lithuania: Ignitis to invest EUR 115mn in pan-Baltic EV charging network

Lithuania’s state-owned electricity supplier, Ignitis, will invest up to EUR 115mn in the development of an electric vehicle (EV) charging network in the Baltic States, GlobeNewswire reports. The investment will go towards acquiring EV charging stations. Ignitis plans to install up to 3,000 fast EV charging stations in the Baltic region by the end of…

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Lithuania: Defence Minister urges faster German brigade deployment

Lithuania wishes to agree on a permanent deployment of a German brigade “as soon as possible,” Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas stated, BNS reports. Speaking after a meeting with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius in Vilnius, Anusauskas said that Lithuania wanted Germany to deploy the brigade before the end of 2023. He stressed the need to…

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Lithuania: G7 guarantees no substitute for NATO: Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed new security commitments from G7 countries, but noted that they were no substitute for NATO membership, BNS reports. Speaking at a press conference with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, Zelensky said that the G7 security guarantees paved Ukraine’s way to NATO. He expressed confidence that Ukraine…

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Lithuania: “Crimea Beach Party” billboards at intersections in Vilnius

Supporters of Ukraine’s fight against the Russian invasion have put up “Crimea Beach Party” billboards during the NATO summit in Vilnius, BNS reports. The billboards at six intersections in Vilnius show two Ukrainian soldiers sitting on the beach under an umbrella while looking at the destroyed bridge across the Kerch Strait. The billboard campaign was…

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