Baltic and Canadian foreign ministers met in the Latvian capital, Riga, on 2 December 2024, European Interest reported. The ministers discussed transatlantic relations as well as regional and global security and cooperation. Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braze stressed that containing Russia and providing strong support to Ukraine were essential for the long-term interests of transatlantic…
China hopes that the incoming new government in Lithuania will bring bilateral ties back to the right track, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, China News Service reports. The spokesperson urged the new government to abide by Lithuania’s “political commitment” on diplomatic relations between the two countries and to uphold the so-called One China principle….
Lithuania’s far-right Dawn of Nemunas party was the country’s most popular political party in the first public poll conducted after the recent parliamentary elections, ELTA reports. Baltijos Tyrimai’s survey in early November 2024 showed that the Dawn of Nemunas had 15% support, which was up sharply from just 8% in August 2024. The Lithuanian Social…
Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, has drawn up a plan to resume flights to Ukraine as soon as it is safe to do so, Ukrainska Pravda reports. Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, airBaltic CEO Martin Gauss said that the company planned to divert aircraft from other routes and implement overnight stops in Ukraine. He…
The Georgian diaspora in Estonia held a protest outside the Georgian embassy in Tallinn on 2 December 2024, ERR reports. The demonstrators protested against the Georgian government’s anti-Western policies and disinformation campaigns, suspension of the country’s EU accession process, violent repression of peaceful protests, fraudulent elections, and undemocratic laws. The local diaspora organisation, Georgian House…
Estonia’s GDP totalled EUR 10bn in the third quarter of 2024, which was down 0.7% from the same period of 2023, according to data published by Statistics Estonia, The Baltic Guide reported. This was the tenth consecutive quarter of economic decline. The seasonally and working-day adjusted GDP fell by 0.6% over a year but remained…
European news portal Politico ranked the performance of Lithuania’s EU commissioner, Virginijus Sinkevicius, highest of the three Baltic members of the outgoing European Commission, ERR reports. The outlet gave Sinkevicius, who served as the European Commissioner for Environment in 2019-2024, a score of A minus. Latvia’s Valdis Dombrovskis, who is staying on as EC Vice…
The three Baltic States have imposed entry bans on 11 Georgian officials due to their involvement in suppressing mass protests against the Georgian government’s decision to delay the country’s EU accession talks, Civil Georgia reports. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania urged the EU to levy sanctions on Georgian officials responsible for the violent police crackdown, Devdiscourse…
The finance committee of the Estonian parliament, the Riigikogu, has decided to cancel an additional 5% increase in the excise tax on alcohol that was planned for July 2025, ERR reports. Committee chairwoman Annely Akkermann said that the tax hike would have led to increased cross-border trade and grey market sales, thus reducing state budget…