German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid a working visit to Latvia on 8 July 2025, LSM reported. He held talks with Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics and Prime Minister Evika Silina. Steinmeier highlighted Germany’s special connection and historical and cultural ties with Latvia. Speaking about bilateral cooperation on security policy, he noted that Latvia was beginning to…
Latvia’s Riga International Airport (RIX) served more than 3.3 million passengers in the first half of 2025, which was 5% more than in the same period of 2024, LSM reported. The number of flights increased by 3% to 30,378. The airport’s cargo turnover rose by 9% to 9,194 tonnes.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has expressed “grave alarm” at the decision of the three Baltic States, Finland, Poland, and Ukraine, to withdraw from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel mines, BNS reported. Türk stressed that the international convention, which has over 160 state parties, was a crucial tool in “responding to…
Almost a third of consumers in Latvia still pay in cash, according to a report from financial technology platform Adyen, Labs of Latvia reports. The data showed that 29% of Latvian consumers prefer to pay in cash. Around a third of those aged 30 and those aged 60 as well as a quarter of 20-year-olds…
Latvia’s National Armed Forces (NBS) intends to recruit an additional 500 professional soldiers, Baltic News Network reports. NBS plans to recruit altogether 8,000 professional soldiers over 2025. The Defence Ministry has allocated up to EUR 7.7mn of state budget funds for military staff salaries in 2025. Another EUR 6.5mn will be needed in 2026. The…
The Latvian government may have to take additional austerity measures to implement the ruling coalition’s policy priorities, Prime Minister Evika Silina stated, LETA reports. Earlier, ministries submitted proposals to cut altogether EUR 150mn in public sector spending in 2026. Speaking in an interview with TV3, Silina said that the sum might not be enough to…
Owners of electric scooters in Latvia need to have mandatory third-party liability (OCTA) insurance as of 1 July 2025, LETA reports. The price of OCTA insurance policies for e-scooters will likely be around EUR 24-50 per year. Insurance industry organisations will launch targeted awareness campaigns to inform owners about the need for OCTA. According to…
The Estonian government has rejected an offer to buy shares in Latvia’s national air carrier, airBaltic, LSM reports. Estonia’s Infrastructure Minister, Kuldar Leis, explained that the decision was due to the fact that airBaltic’s change of management had not been completed and its financial situation remained problematic. He said that Estonia would not raise airport…
The coordination committee of the European Commission’s Connecting Europe Facility has approved another EUR 295.5mn of funding for the Baltic railway project, Rail Baltica, LSM reports. Of the total, EUR 47.1mn will go to Estonia, EUR 153.5mn to Latvia, and EUR 94.9mn to Lithuania. The project coordinator, RB Rail, said that the funds would be…