Latvia’s State Revenue Service (VID) is implementing changes to make the institution more customer-friendly towards both residents and businesses, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, Baltic News Network reports. Speaking after a meeting with VID director general Baiba Smite-Roke, Silina said that VID should become more efficient by reducing tax administration costs. VID plans to develop…
The Estonian government will tighten controls on the transit of goods subject to EU sanctions, Ukrainska Pravda reports. Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that attempts to evade sanctions continued to occur on the border with Russia. She noted that the EU’s latest sanctions package exacerbated the threats. The government will therefore replace the present risk-based…
The heads of the public broadcasters in the Baltic States and Ukraine signed a memorandum of cooperation during the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in Cyprus, LSM reports. The memorandum aims to establish mutual support mechanisms to ensure business continuity in an emergency, such as a war. The agreement provides for the…
The Latvian language technology company, Tilde, has received funding from the European Commission (EC) to develop a large language model (LLM) for smaller European languages, LRT reports. The company won the EC’s Large AI Grand Challenge competition, which includes an award of EUR 250,000 and access to Europe’s most powerful supercomputer, LUMI, in Finland. Arturs…
US technology company Google has removed the official accounts of EU-sanctioned Russian performers, following a request from the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission (LRTK), BNS reports. LRTK asked Google to remove the YouTube accounts of several Russian artists who have been placed under EU sanctions for actively supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Lithuania’s Ministry of Defence is negotiating with the US defence corporation, Northrop Grumman, on opening an ammunition factory in Lithuania, Defence Minister Laurynas Kasciunas announced, BNS reports. The factory would produce 30mm ammunition for infantry fighting vehicles. Kasciunas suggested that Lithuania’s state-owned ammunition manufacturer, Giraites Ginkluotes Gamykla, could house the new production line.
Latvia’s Riga City Council may revise its property tax policy to address the issue of abandoned and empty shopfronts in the Old Town, LSM reports. Also, the city council has invested EUR 1.5mn in promoting Riga as a tourist destination and will launch a major redevelopment project for two streets in the Old Town to…
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, visited Estonia, where he met with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna, ERR reports. The discussions focused on economic and business cooperation, regional security, and human rights. Also, the foreign ministries of the two countries signed a memorandum to facilitate regular consultations….
Latvia’s state-owned postal services provider, Latvijas Pasts, has reversed its decision to close down more than half of its post offices, LETA reports. The company will only close down 12 post offices in places where the number of post offices exceeds the requirements on universal postal services. Latvijas Pasts plans to relocate post offices in…