Estonia ranks highest in the Baltic States on the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index, LSM reports. Estonia ranked 16th globally in 2024, which was unchanged from 2023. Lithuania’s ranking was 35th, which was down from 34th place a year earlier. Latvia ranked 42nd, which was down from 37th place in 2023. In…
The defence ministers of the three Baltic States met with a high official of Poland’s Defence Ministry in Latvia’s Daugavpils to discuss the strengthening of regional defence infrastructure, LSM reports. Latvian Defence Minister Andris Spruds stressed the importance of implementing NATO decisions to strengthen the defence of the alliance’s eastern flank, including regional air-defence capabilities….
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expects the Latvian and Lithuanian economies to grow and the Estonian economy to contract in 2024, LSM reports. The bank lowered its GDP growth forecast for Estonia and Latvia, but raised its forecast for Lithuania. EBRD now expects Estonia’s GDP to decline by 0.8% in 2024, down…
The presidents of the three Baltic States — Estonia’s Alar Karis, Latvia’s Edgars Rinkevics, and Lithuania’s Gitanas Nauseda — have called for reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), BNS reported. They stressed the need to support Ukraine and hold Russia accountable for its military aggression. Karis pointed to the UNSC’s current inability to resolve conflicts,…
Estonia and Finland are drawing up joint plans for increased maritime defence, Major General Andrus Merilo, commander of the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF), revealed, ERR reports. Speaking in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat, Merilo said that the goal was to establish specific plans to close the Gulf of Finland to Russian ships if necessary. Earlier,…
This week, Baltic candidates for EU commissioners were named, and the IMF backed down under pressure on its planned Russia mission. The Estonian government agreed on next year’s draft budget, pressed the Orthodox church to cut ties with Moscow, and voted to condemn Israel. Latvia’s president toured the US, the transport minister survived yet again,…
The crash of a Russian attack drone in eastern Latvia on 7 September 2024 has raised concerns about the ability of Baltic air defence systems to protect civilians from unexpected aerial threats, The Baltic Sentinel reports. Critics questioned why the drone, which was equipped with explosives, was not shot down but was instead allowed to…
Estonian postal services provider Omniva has opened a new logistics centre near Lithuania’s second-largest city, Kaunas, BNS reports. The company invested EUR 42mn in the new facility, which was the group’s largest investment to date. The logistics centre, located in the Kaunas Free Economic Zone (KLEZ), has an area of almost 22,000 m2. The facility…
The financial regulatory authorities of the eight Nordic and Baltic countries have conducted a financial crisis simulation exercise under the Nordic Baltic Stability Group framework, ERR reports. The exercise was aimed at testing preparedness for a potential crisis situation, including in communication, information sharing, and collaboration between the authorities. Around 450 participants representing Nordic, Baltic,…