Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics plans to propose lowering the threshold for holding public referendums on legislative changes, LSM reports. Rinkevics discussed the issue with Prime Minister Evika Silina and leaders of parliamentary groups, LETA reported. He will invite constitutional experts to join the discussions. Edmunds Jurevics, leader of New Unity’s parliamentary group, and Harijs Rokpelnis,…
Estonia’s Ministry of Interior expects the Estonian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (MPEÕK) to leave the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church before summer 2025, ERR reports. Earlier, the ministry submitted a draft legislative amendment to the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, which would ban religious associations directed by countries that threaten Estonia’s public order,…
The combined revenues of Estonia’s three largest telecommunications service providers dropped to around EUR 671mn in 2024, ERR reports. Estonia’s leading telecommunications company, Swedish-owned Telia, reported an annual turnover of EUR 359.7mn, which was down 0.4% from 2023. Finnish-owned Elisa’s turnover fell by 1.2% to EUR 223mn in 2024. Swedish-owned TELE2’s turnover amounted to an…
Latvia’s general government deficit totalled EUR 849.6mn in 2024, according to the methodology of the European System of Accounts (ESA 2010), the Ministry of Finance announced, LETA reports. The deficit amounted to 2.1% of GDP, which was 0.3 percentage points lower than in 2023. The general government debt totalled EUR 19bn at the end of…
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda does not expect the country’s three-party coalition government to survive, BNS reports. Earlier, Remigijus Zemaitaitis, chairman of the far-right Dawn of Nemunas party, expressed doubts about raising defence spending and labelled Ukraine a corrupt country, LRT reported. Speaking in an interview with Verslo Zinios, Nauseda accused Zemaitaitis of discrediting “not only…
Estonia’s GDP declined by 0.1% on year in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to preliminary data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP remained unchanged compared to the third quarter of 2024. The Estonian economy has been in recession since the end of 2022. However, the pace of decline has…
German aviation group Lufthansa Group will become a strategic investor in Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, LSM reports. Under the deal, Lufthansa will acquire 10% of shares in airBaltic for EUR 14mn. The group plans to close the deal in the second quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approval. The shares will be converted into…
Lithuania’s two largest banks have raised their inflation forecasts for 2025, BNS reports. SEB Bank now expects annual inflation to reach 3.3% in 2025, while Swedbank’s forecast now stands at 3.0%. In November 2025, both banks projected that annual inflation would reach 2.7% in 2025. The banks kept their inflation forecast for 2026 unchanged at…
The total turnover of retail trade enterprises in Estonia amounted to EUR 10.4bn in 2024, which was down 3% from 2023, according to preliminary data from Statistics Estonia, Baltic News Network reports. Retail sales in grocery stores fell by 3% and in stores selling manufactured goods by 4% over a year. Retail sales of automotive…