The advertising revenues generated by multinational digital corporations like Facebook (Meta) and Google (Alphabet) in Estonia are unknown and untaxed, ERR reports. Karin Ulvik, media specialist at the Estonian Tax and Customs Board (EMTA), said that tax authorities had “no aggregated information on such a narrowly defined group of companies.” Collecting such data would require…
Estonian ticket sales platform Piletilevi Group will acquire majority ownership of Romania’s oldest ticket sales company, Departamentul Logistic Event (Bilete.ro), BNS reports. Under the deal, Piletilevi Group will acquire 80.2% of shares in Bilete.ro, with current shareholders retaining 19.8% ownership. Andreea Pop will continue as CEO of Bilete.ro, which employs 40 people. The company, which…
Latvia’s Ministry of Defence has dismissed a third official implicated in a scandalous food procurement contract for the Latvian National Armed Forces (NBS), LETA reports. The official in question worked at the NBS. Earlier, the ministry dismissed Eriks Ezerins, head of the procurement commission, and Imants Freibergs, head of procurement and contracts at the NBS…
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has assigned Category 1 country designation to Latvia following an audit of the Latvian Civil Aviation Agency (CAA), LSM reports. FAA ascertained that Latvia’s civil aviation regulation and CAA’s supervisory activities complied with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The FAA decision allows Latvian airlines to…
The number of new passenger cars and commercial vehicles sold in Estonia totalled 14,076 in the first half of 2023, which was 6.5% more than in the same period of 2022, according to data from the Estonian Transport Administration (Transpordiamet), Postimees reports. The number of passenger cars sold amounted to 12,236 (up 10%) and commercial…
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO) has taken up a case of suspected corruption at Latvian capital Riga’s municipal public transport company, Rigas Satiksme, LETA reports. EPPO conducted three searches as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into possible secret collaboration between Rigas Satiksme and private companies aimed at artificially inflating prices for goods and…
The total area of forest destroyed by fire in Latvia in the first half of 2023 was more than in the past full three years, according to the State Forest Service (VMD), LETA reports. Altogether 508 forest fires were registered and 607 hectares of forest was destroyed in six months. By comparison, the total area…
Lithuania’s state-owned rail freight operator, LTG Cargo, plans to buy electric locomotives for around EUR 100mn to transport cargo between Vilnius and the port of Klaipeda, Baltic News Network reports. The company has launched an international public procurement procedure for the purchase of the electric locomotives, technical maintenance, and supply of spare parts for at…
Accommodation establishments in Estonia received a total of 265,000 guests in May 2023, which was 7% more than in the same month of 2022, according to data from Statistics Estonia, ERR reports. The number of foreign guests totalled 141,000, which was 21% more than a year earlier. The number of tourists from Finland amounted to…