Latvia’s Corruption Prevention and Combating Bureau (KNAB) has failed to find evidence to support allegations that opposition MP Ainars Slesers had received money from Russian President Vladimir Putin, BNS reports. KNAB started the investigation in October 2022 after Dmitry Muratov, editor of Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, alleged that Putin had paid money to several Western…
Russia’s military intelligence (GRU) stole thousands of confidential electronic documents, including business secrets and health data, from Estonian ministries in November 2020, ERR reports. Margo Palloson, director general of the Estonian Internal Security Service (KAPO), said that no state secrets were accessed. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications lost 360 GB of data in…
Lithuania is deploying permanent counter-mobility measures on parts of its border with Russia’s Kaliningrad (Königsberg) region, LRT reports. The installations include barriers on the Queen Louise Bridge separating Panemune in Lithuania and Sovetsk on the Russian side to stop the movement of hostile vehicles. Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas said that the government planned to spend…
Lending in Latvia remains slow, with high interest rates compared to the Eurozone, particularly in the housing and corporate sectors, according to the Bank of Latvia, LETA reports. While home loan interest rates have decreased slightly since 2018, they are still two percentage points higher than the Eurozone average, partly due to the dominance of…
Traffic issues in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, mirror challenges faced by cities in Western Europe in the 1970s, primarily due to overdependence on cars, ERR reports. Suburban sprawl, inadequate public transportation, and lack of infrastructure for alternative transport modes have increased reliance on cars for daily commutes, leading to traffic congestion and reduced accessibility. Despite…
Baltic transport ministers called for increased EU funding for strategic transport infrastructure projects, The Baltic Times reports. The ministers insisted that the Connecting Europe Facility has to remain one of the key instruments in the EU’s next multiannual financial framwork as of 2028, with sufficient funding for cross-border transport, energy, and electronic communications projects. They…
Estonia’s Ministry of Climate will propose legislation to support the development of more wind farms both on land and at sea, ERR reports. Climate Minister Yoko Alender said that the ministry would create a 20-year support plan for offshore wind farms. The ministry plans to hold an auction for offshore wind capacity in the first…
Estonia’s air quality can be rated “good” overall, according to the Ministry of Climate, ERR reports. Most pollution in Estonia comes from vehicle exhaust fumes, improper use of heating stoves, and similar sources. A study conducted by the University of Tartu in 2022 showed that air pollution causes around 1,200 premature deaths annually in Estonia,…
The Lithuanian wood processing group, VMG Group, has suspended its plan to build a particleboard factory in neighbouring Latvia for an indefinite period, Baltic News Network reports, citing business news portal Verslo Zinios. Rimas Varanauskas, shareholder of the project’s partners, Lithuanian furniture manufacturers Freda and Freda II, said that the project was put on hold…