Raising Lithuania’s defence spending to 4% of GDP would allow the country’s new army division to reach full operational capacity by 2030, Lithuania’s defence chief, General Raimundas Vaiksnoras, stated, Baltic News Network reports. Lithuania’s new government has increased its borrowing limit for 2025 by around EUR 800mn. The full amount would raise the defence budget…
The Latvian capital, Riga, may propose legislation to ban New Year fireworks at Moscow time, which is one hour ahead of Latvian time, LSM reports. Deputy mayor Edvards Ratnieks noted that current law made it difficult to prove that Moscow-time fireworks amounted to glorification of the aggressor state, which is illegal under criminal law in…
US president-elect Donald Trump has nominated Estonian-born lawyer Roman Pipko for US ambassador to Estonia, ERR reports. The US Senate is expected to confirm the nomination. Pipko will replace George Kent, who assumed the ambassadorship in January 2023. Trump noted that Pipko worked at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Russian-American Enterprise…
Lithuania’s new government plans to ease export controls on dual-use goods, LRT reports. Economy Minister Lukas Savickas said that the previous government had imposed the restrictions without consulting businesses first. He insisted that the restrictions must not harm exporters of high-tech products and should only be imposed if companies violate existing sanctions. An industry representative…
No migrants have tried to cross the border illegally from Belarus to Latvia for nearly a month, the Latvian State Border Guard (VRS) announced, LETA reports. VRS has not detected any attempts at illegal crossings at the border with Belarus since 10 December 2024. VRS estimated that the drop in the flow of irregular migrants…
The malfunction of the EstLink 2 power cable between Estonia and Finland is likely to raise electricity prices in Estonia, according to energy experts, ERR reports. However, Jaanus Uiga, deputy secretary general at the Ministry of Climate, said that, owing to an increase in renewable energy capacity, the price difference between Estonia and Finland could…
Lithuania’s state-owned investment firm EPSO-G Invest and ammunition manufacturer Giraites Ginkluotes Gamykla (GGG) have signed an agreement to establish a joint venture, Rheinmetall Defence Lithuania, with German defence industry group Rheinmetall, Baltic News Network reports. Under the agreemnt, the companies will invest in an artillery ammunition plant in the town of Baisogala in Lithuania’s Radviliskis district. Rheinmetall…
People in Lithuania are more optimistic about the economy, according to a new Baltijos Tyrimai poll for ELTA conducted in October-November 2024, Lietuvos Rytas reports. The survey showed that 40% of respondents believed that the country’s economic situation had deteriorated in the past two months, which was down from 54% a year earlier. Meanwhile, 43%…
Parties in Latvia’s coalition government will discuss possible changes to the management of the country’s national air carrier, airBaltic, LSM reports. Earlier, the airline announced that it would cancel nearly 4,700 flights in summer 2025 due to delays in aircraft engine maintenance. The company insisted that the delays were beyond its control. Aviation industry experts…