Coordinated action by the Baltic States was essential to synchronise their power grids with the continental European system, Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics stated, LETA reports. Rinkevics discussed the synchronisation project with Climate and Energy Minister Raimonds Cudars. Earlier, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda urged Rinkevics to speed up the synchronisation project, LETA reported. Speaking after a…
Latvia’s retail sector has had no competition, especially in grocery trade, for years, Agriculture Minister Didzis Smits stated, LETA reports. Speaking in an interview with LTV, Smits asserted that retailers could set markups of 300% plus VAT on local produce and still compete, which he said was “abnormal” and “unpatriotic.” He insisted that in such…
Estonia’s Finance Ministry has proposed two alternative models for a motor vehicle tax, BNS reports. Under the first model, the tax would be based on the environmental impact of the motor vehicle over its entire life cycle, including manufacture, use, and disposal. Under the second model, the tax would be based on the amount of…
Latvia’s Economy Minister, Ilze Indriksone, visited South Korea together with a delegation of Latvian entrepreneurs, LSM reported. She suggested that Latvia could become a gateway to the European market for South Korea. Also, the two countries could cooperate on technology transfer in strategic industries, biotechnology, and biomedicine, Indriksone said. She noted that South Korea was…
Lithuanians are slightly more confident about the country’s economy, according to the latest Eurobarometer poll conducted in June 2023, BNS reports. The survey showed that 56% of respondents regarded the economic situation as bad, which was down 3 percentage points from January-February 2023. By contrast, around 41% of Lithuanians said that the country’s economy was…
Annual inflation in the Baltic States was highest in Estonia in June 2023, according to Eurostat data, LETA reports. Estonia’s inflation rate stood at 9% in June 2023, followed by Lithuania with 8.2% and Latvia with 8.1%. Compared to May 2023, inflation amounted to 0.8% in Estonia. Meanwhile, consumer prices went down by 0.1% in…
Latvia’s estimated population totalled 1.883 million people in the beginning of June 2023, according to preliminary data from the Central Statistical Bureau, LSM reports. The number of live births totalled 5,770 in the first five months of 2023, which was 1,022 (15%) less than in the same period of 2022. Altogether 2,966 boys (down 504)…
Estonia’s economic climate index stood at -19.4 points in June 2023, which was down by almost 9 points from March 2023, according to the Estonian Institute of Economic Research (EKI), ERR reports. The economic confidence index, which combines both business and consumer sentiment, stood at 78.7 points, which was significantly worse than the long-term average….
The Baltic States will decouple from the BRELL power grid linked to Russia and Belarus in the beginning of 2025, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas announced, ERR reports. Earlier, Lithuania urged the Baltic States to synchronise their power grids with the continental European system ahead of schedule in 2024. Kallas noted that such a rapid…